Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(6 months ago)
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Mr Mitchell
The British role at the United Nations is second to none in trying to stop what is happening in Israel and in Palestine. The point I would make to the hon. Gentleman is that Hamas knew exactly what they were unleashing on that dreadful day of 7 October, and the blame for what has happened should be allocated precisely where it rests.
Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)
Gaza used to be described as a “prison camp”—that is what Prime Minister David Cameron called it in 2010. This week the United Nations Secretary-General called it “a graveyard for children”. More than 10,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered in Israel’s assault, nearly half of them children. It would take nearly six hours to read the names and ages of every child killed so far. Yet that horror has been given the green light by this Government. Today I tabled an amendment to the Humble Address calling for an immediate ceasefire, a move backed by 76% of the British public. Will the Government finally do what is right and demand an immediate ceasefire to end the bloodshed?
Mr Mitchell
While the hon. Lady is eloquent on the effects, she is not so eloquent, in my opinion, on the causes. In respect of the amendment that she has tabled, of course that is a matter for the House, but it will not be supported by the Government, nor by those on her own Front Bench.
Shireen Abu Aqla
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(1 year, 12 months ago)
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Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)
As if the ongoing dispossession and discrimination faced by the Palestinian people was not enough cruelty, Israel continuously targets Palestinian journalists. There is not only the murder by Israeli snipers of Shireen Abu Aqla, who for decades bravely reported the crimes inflicted on her people. Since 2000, Israel has killed an estimated 51 Palestinian journalists and an independent UN commission of inquiry found that, during the 2018 march of return, Israeli snipers intentionally shot Palestinian journalists who were clearly marked as such, killing Yasser Murtaja and Ahmed Abu Hussein. What will it take for the Government to stop equivocating over these horrific crimes and hold Israel to account for its routine violations of international humanitarian law? And for the seventh time, will the Minister summon the Israeli ambassador?
Vicky Ford
We stand by journalists all across the world and it is a tragedy that so many journalists have been killed in recent years, and particularly this year. That is why we continue to raise issues of media freedom on the global stage. In February in Estonia, we announced support for the secretariat for the Media Freedom Coalition, which we founded and which now has 52 members. We will absolutely stand for media freedom and for journalists all across the world.
Prime Minister’s Visit to India
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(2 years ago)
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Vicky Ford
I know the Prime Minister keeps a close eye on trade and economic numbers and on the prosperity of this country at a very difficult time for world prosperity.
Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)
The Prime Minister began his trip to India with a visit to a JCB factory, just one day after the company was embroiled in controversy after its bulldozers were used to illegally demolish Muslim homes and businesses in Delhi, and following widespread anti-Muslim violence in India, which is widely seen as being whipped up by Modi and the ruling BJP. I ask the Minister again, since she has failed to answer the question: did the Prime Minister challenge Modi on the BJP’s role in anti-Muslim violence in India, or did he again disregard human rights abuses? Does the Minister acknowledge that the visit to the JCB factory was a mistake?
Human Rights: Kashmir
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(2 years, 7 months ago)
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Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams).
Today’s debate on rights abuses in Kashmir is one close to my heart. It is very personal for me. In the 1960s, my grandfather came to the west midlands to work in the foundries, having left his home in Kashmir. I still have family in the region, and that is what makes what is happening in Kashmir all the more painful.
It is now more than two years since the BJP Modi Government unilaterally revoked articles 370 and 35A of the constitution, robbing Indian-occupied Kashmir of autonomy, reflective of its status as an occupied territory, violating UN resolution 47 and initiating a brutal lockdown. This has intensified human rights violations in the region, with widespread reports of torture, rape, extrajudicial execution and illegal detention. In what is now the largest military occupation in the world, the internet connection was cut off, and political leaders, activists and journalists were arrested.
In 2020, following its reports of widespread state abuses, human rights organisation Amnesty International faced reprisals from the Modi Government and was forced to halt its operations in the region. These repressive actions have been mirrored in how the Indian Government have cracked down on the largest protests in world history, led by tens of thousands of farmers; in how they have unlawfully detained British Sikhs in India, such as Jagtar Singh Johal; and in how they attempted to have three British Sikhs from the west midlands extradited, only for Westminster magistrates court yesterday to rule that there was not evidence to justify it. I send my solidarity to the families of these men, who have faced months of agonising uncertainty and fear, and to the Sikh community in Coventry and across the UK.
Human rights abuses in Kashmir are not simply some issue of foreign policy of which Britain can wash its hands of responsibility, nor are they a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve. This House has a special responsibility for the plight of the Kashmiri people. In 1947, as the colonial power, the British Government oversaw partition of the Indian subcontinent and rejected calls for Kashmiri independence. That decision laid the groundwork for the oppression we see in Kashmir today. But far from standing up to the Indian Government for their violations of human rights and international law, this Conservative Government would rather cosy up to Prime Minister Modi, and would rather refuse to speak out and, once again, demonstrate moral cowardice that shames this House.
Britain has a special responsibility to the Kashmiri people, and it is long past time that we spoke up for their inalienable rights and pursued diplomatic channels to secure UN resolution 47, securing their right to self-determination.
Mr Deputy Speaker
Apologies to Jim Shannon, who has been here throughout, but, sadly, we have run out of time. Wind-ups—I call Hannah Bardell.
Detention of Jagtar Singh Johal
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(2 years, 10 months ago)
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Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone.
While in India for his wedding on 4 November 2017, British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal was shopping with his newly wedded wife when he was bound, hooded and bundled into a car by plain-clothed police officers. Leaving his wife with no explanation why he had been taken, Jagtar was taken into police custody and denied his right to see a lawyer, family members or a representative from the British high commission. Once imprisoned, Jagtar reported being tortured by police. He said crocodile clips were placed on him, with electricity fired through his body. Such was the severity of the torture that Jagtar had to be carried out of the interrogation room. To make the pain stop, Jagtar reports that he was forced to confess to the alleged conspiracies.
Why has he faced these basic violations of his rights? Prior to his arrest, Jagtar was involved in raising awareness of human rights abuses against India’s Sikh population. Human rights organisation Reprieve fears that he has been targeted for exercising freedom of expression and his right to it. It has already cost him four years in prison without trial. He has endured torture and now there is a real risk that confessions extracted through torture could be used to sentence him to the death penalty. Jagtar now languishes in prison, where mass covid-19 outbreaks have triggered calls for states to protect vulnerable prisoners.
In the face of these humans rights abuses, what have the British Government done? Rather than standing up for the rights of British nationals overseas, they have failed to follow Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office policy to lobby for arbitrarily detained UK nationals overseas, and ignored calls from myself and 139 colleagues earlier this year to do precisely that. The Government have even failed to secure an independent medical assessment of Jagtar to judge the severity and extent of torture, and to secure private consular visits with him for over three years. The Foreign Secretary has failed to meet with Jagtar’s family and despite calls from human rights organisations to raise the issue, the Prime Minister failed to challenge Indian Prime Minister Modi on Jagtar’s detention and treatment in a meeting in April.
This is a shameful dereliction of duty, Mr Hollobone: a pattern of what is happening in India and how the British Government are failing to stand up for human rights. In recent years in India, there have been a growing number of arrests of humans rights defenders, student leaders, trade unionists, journalists, and others critical of the ruling Government. In occupied Kashmir in 2019, the Indian Government unilaterally revoked articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution.
Mr Philip Hollobone (in the Chair)
Order. I call the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Kirsten Oswald).
Government Support for India
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(3 years ago)
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Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab) [V]
The images from India are horrifying—from people gasping for air and dying—[Inaudible]—with hospitals overrun, to seas of blazing makeshift pyres. This is a human catastrophe for India, and, with a virus that does not respect borders, none of us is safe until we are all safe. Vaccine supply is artificially limited by patents, leading to the global vaccine apartheid. At the Word Trade Organisation, India and South Africa have proposed a temporary waiver to vaccine patents, allowing production—[Inaudible]—expand. Public money funded these vaccines, so will the Government put public health before the profits of big pharma and support a waiver of the vaccine patents?
Nigel Adams
The audio was a bit in and out there, but I think I got the gist of the hon. Lady’s question. As I have said several times in my response, we are doing an immense amount. We are at the forefront of efforts to ensure that vaccines are getting to the most vulnerable countries—to developing countries—as well as being, I think, the second or third largest donor to the COVAX programme. I gently remind the hon. Lady that that support will assist 1.3 billion people in low and middle-income countries across the globe, including India, where we have seen such horrific scenes; our hearts are with them.
Yemen: Aid Funding
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(3 years, 2 months ago)
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Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab) [V]
The Minister began his remarks by saying that improving the situation for Yemenis was
“a priority for this Government.”
How he can say that with a straight face I do not know. Not only has he announced a 50% cut in aid to Yemen, but since the Saudi-led war in Yemen began, his Government have licensed £6.7 billion-worth of arms sales to the Saudis. That is British-made bombs dropped from British-made jets flown by British-trained pilots. Instead of warm words and crocodile tears, will the Minister take the necessary action for peace and end arms sales to Saudi Arabia?
James Cleverly
The hon. Lady raises this issue on the day after Houthi missiles were sent into civilian areas of Saudi. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seeks to defend itself against such aggression, as every country in the world has the right to do. Our arms export regime is robust, and the best thing that we can do, as I say, to help the people of Yemen is to encourage all the parties, both those in Yemen and regional partners, to bring this conflict to an end.
Occupied Palestinian Territories
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(3 years, 7 months ago)
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The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa (James Cleverly)
I am genuinely grateful that the hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) secured this debate on what is a sensitive but incredibly important issue. A number of Members from all parts of the House have highlighted that since initially being given a date for this debate, much has changed in Israel’s situation and its relationship with its regional neighbours and the Palestinian people.
The middle eastern peace process continues to be a complex and sensitive issue. I cannot really do it full justice in the time allocated today, but I will attempt to cover as many points as I can. I know that many Members correspond with the Department on a regular basis on this area. I hope that, through correspondence and perhaps in future debates, any details that I am not able to cover today will be explored.
The UK remains active in attempting to secure a peace process for the region, and we warmly welcome the recent announcements of the normalisation of relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. All three countries are good friends to the United Kingdom. We welcome that their relations have improved. I recognise the points that the hon. Member made about it formalising what was, in many instances, a pre-existing relationship, but that public formalisation really matters. As has already been discussed, it has unlocked direct flights through Saudi airspace, which is another significant issue. I do hope that it has also shown the leadership of the PA that there is a shift in mood among Arabic neighbours. They should recognise that and take this as an opportunity to positively engage with a dialogue for future peace.
That said, it should be clear that the United Kingdom’s position on the future relationship between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples has not changed. We desire a stable, secure and peaceful two-state solution, with a thriving Israel next door to a thriving Palestine based on 1967 borders, with agreed land swaps, Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states and fair, agreed and realistic settlements for refugees. We continue to believe that a two-state solution is the only viable long-term solution for the area. More than that, as a good friend of Israel, we genuinely believe it is in Israel’s best interests to also have a viable Palestinian state so that it can maintain its desired future as a Jewish democratic state.
I have been asked very explicitly in a number of speeches about the UK’s position on annexation, so let me explain it to the House in clear and unambiguous terms. The UK’s position on annexation is that it would be a violation of international law. It would be counterproductive to securing peace, and it would be a significant blow to a viable two-state solution. As a lifelong friend, admirer and supporter of Israel—
Zarah Sultana
In August, the Labour party announced that should annexation take place, we would call for a boycott of goods sourced in the occupied territories. Does the Minister agree that this would demonstrate a genuine commitment to the rights of the Palestinian people and international law?
James Cleverly
The UK Government have a long-standing position to oppose the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement towards the state of Israel, but more than that, it is better that we prevent annexation from taking place. We have made the case, through our excellent bilateral relationships, that we oppose annexation. The Prime Minister has consistently made it clear, as a vocal friend of the state of Israel, that he opposes annexation. He expressed this publicly in an article in the Israeli media and directly, including in a phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 6 July. The Foreign Secretary raised this in Jerusalem on the 24 August with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Alternate Prime Minister Gantz and Foreign Minister Ashkenazi, and I outlined our opposition to such moves at the UN Security Council on 24 June. Our position is clear on that.
As a strong friend of Israel, and a friend who stood up for Israel when it faced biased and unreasonable criticism, we are continuing to urge Israel not to take steps in this direction and for annexation to be permanently removed as an option.
Yemen
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(3 years, 7 months ago)
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Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)
On the morning of 9 August 2018 in Dahyan, Yemen, a group of schoolchildren were on a day trip. On their way, the bus driver stopped at a market to pick up water for the children. Then, the bus was hit by an airstrike. At least 40 children were killed, along with a dozen adults. A further 63 people were injured. The bomb had been dropped by a Saudi jet. The Saudi authorities later admitted that there were no military targets in the area. The strike was a mistake, they said.
That is just one of countless examples of apparent war crimes that have been committed by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The conflict has now lasted five years. More than 100,000 people are estimated to have been violently killed in that time, and the war has triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Last week, the UN warned that more than 20 million Yemenis face starvation, including 10 million children. Eighty per cent. of the population is now dependent on aid, and an estimated 1 million Yemenis have covid-19.
What utterly shames this House—it should be a national scandal, leading the front pages of newspapers every single day—is that these war crimes and this humanitarian crisis would not be possible without British and American support. As an expert on the war has observed:
“Bombs supplied by Britain and America are dropped from planes built by Britain and America, flown by pilots trained by Britain and America, and kept in the sky with British and American maintenance.”
This war would not be possible without that support, these violent deaths would not occur without that support, and a humanitarian crisis on this scale would not have happened were it not for that support.
Since the war began, the UK Government have issued arms export licences worth £5.3 billion to the Saudis. Figures revealed in response to a written question that I tabled show that, in that time, the Ministry of Defence has recorded 516 known instances of alleged breaches of international law. Yet this summer, the Government decided that those violations are not systematic, in spite of their repeated, consistent occurrence, so they resumed granting export licences to the Saudis.
This war could have been stopped by the British and American Governments. They could have withdrawn their support. They could have stopped selling the weapons, stopped training the pilots and stopped maintaining the planes, but they have not. The British and American Governments have put the profits of arms dealers first. They have put their alliance with the Saudi dictatorship ahead of the basic human rights of the Yemeni people.
This Government like to boast that Britain upholds peace and justice on the world stage. Their record in Yemen is the latest example of what a cruel joke that is. This Government are deeply complicit in this war and in pushing Yemen to catastrophe. So my message is simple: stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia, stop your support of this horrific war, and truly stand up for peace, justice and human rights on the world stage.
Detention of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang
Zarah Sultana Excerpts(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)
Over the summer, a coalition of human rights organisations reported that many of the world’s biggest fashion brands are complicit in human rights violations perpetrated against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, including the use of forced labour. Does my hon. Friend agree that multinational corporations have an urgent responsibility to ensure that their supply chains are free from such gross abuses of human rights?
Shabana Mahmood
My hon. Friend makes a very important point. I will come on to talk about forced labour, the supply chain and actions that we might take against the Chinese Government and companies.