Belarus: Presidential Elections

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

We have made it clear that we do not accept the illegitimate election that took place. We will watch carefully. The consistent practice of the UK has been to recognise states rather than Governments, but we have been clear that this is an illegitimate election that cannot produce a legitimate result.

On the Baltic states, they are our friends and NATO allies, and I recently saw the Lithuanian Foreign Minister. We have been working closely with them because not only do we share the same values but they will feel under threat as close neighbours to Belarus and indeed Russia. They need stalwart support now from the United Kingdom.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)]

I am pleased to hear the Secretary of State talk about how we must support and strengthen civil society, but many trade unionists in Belarus have been arrested. What conversations has he had with the European Trade Union Confederation and trade unions to support the role that trade unions play in civil society in Belarus?

[Dominic Raab]

I think it is true to say that, particularly in eastern and central Europe—I think in particular of Czechoslovakia, where my father came from—the trade union movement has been closely aligned with the human rights movement and the cause of liberty for many years, including under the Soviet Union. I join her in the spirit of solidarity with unions that are feeling imperilled at this time. We certainly stand with them, as we do with the journalists, for the basic principles of freedom and liberty that unite us all.

Yemen

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)]

Like other hon. Members across the House, I am deeply concerned about the situation in Yemen, as are many of my constituents, with over 900 people in Luton South signing the parliamentary petition relating to the subject of this debate.

I want to focus on the health and humanitarian crises caused by the conflict, which are exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic. Before the global pandemic, Yemen had already been described by the UN as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. More than 20 million people require urgent humanitarian assistance. The threat of famine is very real. People are struggling to access food due to the logistical challenges posed by the blockade. UN official Sir Mark Lowcock has said that, because aid has been cut, the UN is barely able to give food to half the people it is reaching. Fundamentally, this comes down to powerful countries choosing to abandon the people of Yemen in the middle of a global pandemic.

The virus thrives on vulnerabilities and chaos. The UN has warned that covid-19 could spread faster and more widely, and with deadlier consequences, than in many other countries, due to the hundreds of thousands of people displaced in camps. Poor access to water and sanitation is helping the virus to spread. The country’s health infrastructure is close to collapse, and there is only enough capacity to treat those in the most critical situations. Malnutrition is ravaging the youth of Yemen, but only half of the health facilities are operational and there are huge shortages of medicines, equipment and staff.

In July, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated that there are 1 million covid infections in Yemen, with the forecast that without concerted action, cases could rise to 11 million and cause 85,000 deaths.

We have a moral duty not to leave the people of Yemen in their time of need. Every report in the country shows growing misery and desperation, but instead of maintaining aid through this critical period, powerful countries have decided to cut aid for Yemen. While the Government state that they are very concerned about the situation, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, they have more than halved their aid, from £253 million in 2019, to £125 million in 2020. This will severely impact on healthcare services for Yemeni civilians, with some forced to close.

UNICEF states that, without additional aid funding, millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to the brink of starvation. As Dr Ali Al Ashwal, who works in a hospital in Hajjah, north-west of the capital Sana’a, told CNN:

“Those who aren’t killed by the airstrikes or this war? They will die form shortages in medical supplies”.

I urge the Government to take global leadership on this issue and call for increased aid to support the people of Yemen.