Baroness Tyler of Enfield
Main Page: Baroness Tyler of Enfield (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children
Baroness Tyler of Enfield Excerpts(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)
My Lords, as noble Lords will know, talks are continuing today, and it is not the Government’s intention to provide any kind of running commentary on this, and I know that that noble Lords would not want us to do that. In answer to the noble Lord’s question, he can be assured that the UK and our partners and allies in the European Union are taking part and doing everything we can to bring about the lasting and just peace that we all wish to see.
Baroness Tyler of Enfield (LD)
My Lords, I welcome the fact that the UK Government have been closely working with the Bring Back Kids organisation and providing much needed assistance. Looking at the additional support that is very much needed, parliamentarians who have visited Kyiv recently have pointed to the need for greater collaboration between intelligence services on the tracing of those stolen children and financial assistance to support the interrogation of the data. Both those things could make a real difference. What consideration are the Government giving to these proposals?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
Speaking personally and for the Government, I think that the removal of 20,000 Ukrainian children is one of the most horrific elements of this whole awful war. We are doing everything we can to work with our partners and allies, even as far as working with celebrities or anybody who can bring attention to this and put pressure to see these children returned home to where they ought to be. Several hundred have returned, and we are helping to support them with the psychosocial support that they very much need. We know that these children are held in around 400 different locations. This is complex and difficult, but it is incredibly important, and our focus will remain—as the noble Baroness would want it to be—on seeing these children returned home.