Iran

Tom Clarke Excerpts

Monday 20th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I will give way later, but I must have regard to the number of hon. Members who wish to speak.

Our Government’s objective is simple. It is shared by the international community as a whole and, I believe, by this House and by our country. We wish to see a peaceful, negotiated diplomatic settlement to the Iranian nuclear crisis by which Iran gives the world confidence that it is not developing, and will not develop, nuclear weapons. All our efforts are devoted towards such a peaceful resolution.

Our strategy to achieve this and to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon coming about has two elements: first, diplomacy and engagement with Iran; and, secondly, pressure on Iran in the form of peaceful and legitimate sanctions.

[Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Hague]

I think that I must carry on with my argument for a few minutes.

This strategy of diplomacy and pressure has been reflected in six consecutive United Nations Security Council resolutions backed by all its permanent members including Russia and China, which work alongside Britain, the United States, France and Germany as the E3 plus 3 to negotiate with Iran on behalf of the international community. These resolutions have shown that the world is united in opposing Iranian nuclear proliferation and in supporting a diplomatic solution. The UN sanctions target companies and individuals associated with Iran’s nuclear activities and ballistic missile programmes. On top of this, European Union member states have adopted successive rounds of sanctions, including, most recently, an embargo on Iranian oil exports into the EU that will come to effect on 1 July.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hague]

I shall finish the argument on sanctions before I give way again.

Sanctions are designed to show the Iranian Government that there is a considerable price attached to their current policies and to urge them to change course. The sanctions have a practical impact, slowing Iran’s progress towards a nuclear weapons capability. They are also necessary to uphold the authority of the UN and the IAEA, which have called on Iran to suspend its enrichment programme—demands that Iran would otherwise flout with impunity. The Iranian Government can act to bring sanctions to an end.

Sanctions, however, are a means to an end, not an end in themselves. Our ultimate goal is a return to negotiations that addresses all the issues of concern about Iran’s nuclear programme and the successful conclusion of the negotiations. The door of negotiations has been open to Iran at every stage over the past eight years and it remains open today.

[Mr Tom Clarke]

Will the Foreign Secretary give way?

[Mr Hague]

I will give way in a moment—I want to conclude this point.

To help bring Iran to negotiations, the E3 plus 3 has offered it help to develop civil nuclear power stations—a point that was just made—and its economy in the form of economic and agricultural assistance, provided Iran satisfies the concerns of the international community about its nuclear programme. That offer was most recently put to Iran again at talks in Istanbul in January last year. It remains on the table and we urge Iran to respond to it in good faith.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hague]

Absolutely—force is a last resort in any situation, and it is not what we are calling for now.

[Mr Tom Clarke]

As one who supports the amendment, I welcome the tone of the Foreign Secretary’s remarks in the past few minutes, as I believe engagement is important. He might recall that some years ago four hon. Members of the House, including me, were asked to go to Iran to meet the leaders and negotiate on the release of Terry Waite, John McCarthy and Brian Keenan. I am saying not that it was a pleasant experience or that we succeeded immediately, but that we made a contribution to an improved situation and their release. As somebody much better than I once said, jaw-jaw is better than war-war.

[Mr Hague]

That is very much what we want. This may be an opportune moment for me to update the House on where we are now on negotiations.

On 21 October last year, Baroness Ashton, who chairs the E3 plus 3 in her capacity as EU High Representative, wrote to Iran to ask it to set a time and place to resume meaningful negotiations. In the last few days, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Mr Jalili, has finally responded to that letter. Mr Jalili states in his letter that Iran is willing to resume negotiations with the E3 plus 3 on the nuclear issue. We are studying the letter in consultation with our American, French, Russian, German and Chinese counterparts to assess whether it amounts to serious intention by Iran to negotiate with the international community, which would permit talks to resume. As the Prime Minster has said:

“If there is going to be dialogue then Iranians need to enter it in a new spirit and recognise they are taking a different path.”

We hope the Iranians do so in respect of any such negotiations as we study that response.

We will continue to intensify our diplomacy and the peaceful, legitimate pressure on Iran. There is still time for peaceful diplomacy to succeed. That remains the best course available to achieve the goal of an Iran without nuclear weapons and to avert the risk of any military conflict.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Clarke Excerpts

Tuesday 29th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Certainly, it is true that the European Union has not only too much centralised power but too much power in total, in my view. As my hon. Friend knows, I have long stated that I wish to see the repatriation of powers to the United Kingdom.

[Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)]

T3. During the visit of President Santos of Colombia, did we, the British Government, make representations about the appalling human rights situation in that country, particularly the attacks on and killings of human rights defenders? If so, did he give a concrete response?

[Mr Hague]

Yes, I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that we raised those issues. I raised them myself with President Santos at my meeting with him last week. The Colombian Government are well aware of opinion in this country about those issues. However, it is fair to point out that President Santos’s Government are very clear about their commitment to human rights and have made a renewed, much stronger, commitment in Colombia to their observance in that country. I believe in his Government’s sincerity and their commitment to dealing with those issues.

Human Rights (Colombia)

Tom Clarke Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd November 2011 Westminster Hall

[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Williams, and may I express my appreciation to Mr Speaker for having selected this important debate?

The conflict in Colombia is one of the oldest on the planet and it spans some 50 years. Technically, the fighting is between Colombian Government official armed forces and various guerrilla groups such as the ELN—the national liberation army—and FARC. The situation, however, is more complicated because of the large number of right-wing paramilitaries, who operate with almost complete impunity, systematically murdering the ordinary people of Colombia in droves, and an army that clearly colludes and co-operates with them. I requested this debate because we need to send the Colombian Government a clear message.

[Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)]

I have with me a statement on Colombia issued jointly by the Governments of Colombia and of the United Kingdom, and I understand that an important visit took place yesterday. The statement contains, however, no reference whatever to the trade unions, or—as far as I can see on a quick reading—to any of the Churches. Does my hon. Friend find that somewhat interesting?

[Jim Sheridan]

My right hon. Friend raises an important point; he has a proud track record of looking at situations in terms of human rights. I hope that the Minister will take his comments on board and perhaps clarify that point.

Middle East

Tom Clarke Excerpts

Monday 14th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

The settlements are illegal under international law. We are clear about that, and the previous Government were clear about that. There is no question about it. The issue of the settlements can be finally resolved only with a settlement on borders, which in our view, as I said, should be based on 1967 borders, with land swaps. That would have implications for some of those settlements. The United States has made valiant efforts to bring the parties back together on the basis of a continued Israeli moratorium on settlements, but sadly did not succeed in doing so. We all feel strongly about the issue. The hon. Gentleman is right to feel strongly about it. What we now need to find is a practical way to get both parties talking again, and that requires both of them to be ready to make the compromises necessary to do so.

[Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)]

What was the Foreign Secretary’s specific purpose in visiting Bahrain, and did it meet his objectives?

[Mr Hague]

My purpose in visiting Bahrain was to discuss the situation in the region with Bahrain’s leaders, which I did with his Majesty the King, his Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister, so I had extensive discussions—[Interruption.] No, I did not have time for any leisure, despite the aspersions of those on the Opposition Front Bench. I also visited the British maritime component of the military command there, which conducts counter-terrorism and counter-piracy operations, and saw some of the valuable work that our Navy is doing, based in Bahrain. I also met human rights activists there, because the British Government have given a great deal of support to their activity, recognising that many reforms have taken place in Bahrain in recent years, but also that improvements could be made in its human rights record.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Clarke Excerpts

Tuesday 14th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alistair Burt)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. She is absolutely right: Yemen is increasingly important in concerns about counter-terrorism. The Friends of Yemen initiative has been rekindled since the current Government came to office, and there is an important meeting in New York on 24 September. This is a group of nations that has come together in order to support Yemen, recognising that it faces economic and security challenges. The United Kingdom is already doing effective work bilaterally, but we are also working increasingly with other nations to assist on economic reform and political reform and dialogue, and to give continuing support on counter-terrorist activity to ensure that al-Qaeda does not get a grip in that crucial region.

[Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)]

Is the Foreign Secretary aware that there are still very strong concerns about human rights abuses in Darfur and more widely in Sudan? Would he care to brief the House on the Government’s view of the current situation and what initiatives they might have taken?

[Mr Hague]

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. We have long-standing concerns about Darfur across the House. One of the things we are doing is to try to ensure that we retain a strong peacekeeping force in Darfur; the withdrawal of any of that threatens to make these problems even worse. We support, of course, the indictment that the International Court of Justice has put forward on the President of Sudan. We are doing a lot of work on the south of Sudan and the prospects for a referendum there, including all the arrangements for that and the controversy and political disputes that it may bring. Our ambassador in Khartoum is well engaged in all these matters, and we will continue to be very vigilant about them.