Iran: Women Protesters

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Wednesday 9th November 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I assure the noble Lord that we are not turning a blind eye, whether on the issue of Iran or the issue of Ukraine. There are countries, partners and friends of ours that have different perspectives. I cannot speak to their foreign policy, but I can assure the noble Lord that we are robust in putting to them the United Kingdom’s position, and our position on Iran is of course very clear.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I recognise what the Government have been doing, particularly at the United Nations, and I recognise what we have been doing Government to Government. However, the real issue here is how we support those very people who are on the street, how we support civil society and how we amplify those voices. Faith leaders need to be heard across the board, as do civil society organisations globally. Can the Minister assure us that we are supporting those organisations so that it is the people’s voices that are heard, not simply those of Governments?

Inter-American Investment Corporation (Immunities and Privileges) Order 2022

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2022 Grand Committee

[Lord Bruce of Bennachie (LD)]

I thank the Minister for that introduction. We appreciate that the consolidation of the bank’s arrangements has led to this situation; that is perfectly understandable.

I will raise just one or two questions. The Minister said the bank aligns with UK aid, but on previous multilateral assessments the bank has not performed as well as other international institutions and international banks in a number of areas, particularly on inequality and gender issues. It has improved on climate change, which the Minister will be particularly pleased about, but can he indicate the extent to which the bank aligns and the extent to which the UK can influence it? We have a UK director—I assume we still have—and it would be interesting to know what his or her brief is and what they are looking for, given that we are a very small shareholder in the bank. The UK and the bank worked together on the green bond initiative. I wonder how that has developed and whether it could develop further.

With the bank operating here, is there a particular objective to being in the UK? Its interests clearly are not here. Is it about raising money? Is it about partnerships? It would be helpful to have some idea of the bank’s interests in being in the UK.

This is a small point, but I see that the Scottish law is different. Just for clarification, given that the Scottish Government have been consulted and have agreed, is there any significance to this? Will the passing of instrument and the relevant legislation in the Scottish Parliament ensure, from the bank’s point of view, that the UK operates as a homogeneous whole and that there are no differences? An international bank such as that might have some trouble if there were internal differences.

We have just had an election in Brazil, which has been welcomed by many people, particularly on climate issues. Again, I am sure the Minister will be very supportive of that. I suppose the question is: is there an opportunity for the bank to refocus and reprioritise? To the extent to which there is, does the UK have some capacity to shape that so that it matches UK aid objectives?

As an aside, UK aid objectives are somewhat confused and reduced at the moment, but I very much welcome the reappointment of Andrew Mitchell as the Development Minister attending Cabinet, because I know from his past record that he will certainly want to ensure that UK development aid gets back to where it has been, not just in financial terms but in quality and impact.

The Inter-American Development Bank is not the most important vehicle for UK aid and development but, given that we are part of it, it is important that it aligns and that we use whatever influence we have to help shape it. I will be grateful if the Minister is able to give us any flavour of that.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for those questions. I shall not repeat them, although I was going to cover some of the issues myself. One thing that struck me, which the Minister mentioned, was that, when we presented the treaty in 2018 to join the bank, the associated impact assessment stated that secondary legislation would be required to grant immunities and privileges. I am not at all surprised that we have this SI, but I am slightly interested to know why it is happening four years later. Just to pick up the point, it would be good to better understand what prompted it to come now.

The Minister mentioned that there was no physical presence of the bank in London, but is there going to be? If there is going to be, what are the reasons for that? Is it something that we can positively influence and shape? We heard from the noble Lord about how we might be able to have influence, even as a minor shareholder. He is absolutely right to draw attention to the election in Brazil and the fact that there will be a greater opportunity to push the green agenda. Given that the Amazon is the lungs of the world, it is even more important that we focus on that.

I have just a couple of technical points. When SIs of this nature have come up before, particularly as part of privileges, I have asked the specific question about road traffic offences and immunities and whether they are part of those privileges. I hope that the Minister can reassure us on that. On the question of physical presence, if he is expecting there to be one, is there any anticipation about the number of officials who are non-UK citizens who might be here?

In conclusion, I agree with the comments that have been made. This is positive news; we welcome this, and we certainly welcomed the treaty and our engagement with the bank in 2018. In its original presence, it has been around since 1984, and the more we can influence it, the better. Such investment has an important role to play in development and reaching the UN’s 2030 agenda on sustainable development goals. We certainly welcome these regulations, which should allow the corporation to contribute to that.

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

I am grateful to noble Lords for their contributions and questions, and I shall do my best to answer them. I welcome the support for our membership of IDB Invest.

I turn to the questions from the noble Lords, Lord Bruce and Lord Collins, who both mentioned the scope for further alignment of international objectives between the UK and IDB Invest. We are very much moving in the same direction already; the IDB played a very important role in the run-up to and at COP 26. Noble Lords will remember that, as part of our forest package, we secured commitments from what are now 145 countries, representing 91% of the world’s forests, to end deforestation and reverse it by the end of this decade. We secured $20 billion in finance from Governments and philanthropists to help them to do that, and, as part of it, we got the multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to commit to aligning their portfolios not just with Paris but with those broader deforestation goals as well. We would not have been able to do that had it not been for the intervention of key figures in the IDB. I am personally very grateful to them for the support that they provided during COP and in the run-up to it.

Obviously, climate change continues to be a top international priority for us and is a key priority for the IDB. In the context of that region, the obvious contribution that can be made to the challenge of tackling climate change is protecting the lungs of the earth, as the noble Lord, Lord Collins, said. There is no solution to climate change that does not involve nature and protecting and restoring degraded forests. From the perspective of the IDB, the Amazon is absolutely central. This remains a priority for us. At COP, we committed £200 million of UK ODA to support efforts to protect the Amazon, and we are working in many other ways to amplify that support; it is not just financial.

Both noble Lords mentioned the election in Brazil. From the point of view of the environment, climate change and the protection of the Amazon, the result was wildly good news. The previous Government had a hostile attitude to environmental protection and, in particular, the indigenous people who live in the forest. President-elect Lula takes a completely different approach. He has been bullish and ambitious in the statements he has made about his plans to protect the Amazon. We will of course do absolutely everything we can to support him in those endeavours.

I should also say that he has a record: under his previous two terms, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon came down very markedly, and it went up very sharply under the last Government. So we know that it can be done, and we stand ready to support our friends in Brazil in whatever way we possibly can, alongside other donor countries, with which I have had many conversations in the past few days about how we might work together to support the new Government in that objective. I thank noble Lords for raising this issue.

The noble Lord, Lord Bruce, talked about other areas of the IDB’s performance. IDB Invest certainly has space to improve but it is found to be good for transparency, and it is rated as one of the highest-performing organisations in that regard. As one of its priorities, the UK will use its membership of the IDB to invest in and push for higher levels of transparency still, greater learning across the bank and the sharing of best practice. This very much remains on the agenda for us but we are happy with our relationship with the multilaterals. There are numerous big multilaterals, and not all of them are as easy to deal with as the IDB on the issues I have just talked about.

Both noble Lords asked about the likely presence of the IDB in the UK. It does not have a staffed office at the moment; the only people who are expected to be granted immunities and privileges, therefore, are staff members who travel to the UK on official business—for example, to meet UK Ministers or businesses. We anticipate that fewer than 10 IDB Invest staff will travel to the UK per year on official duties.

With respect to the important point made by the noble Lord, Lord Collins, about road traffic accidents, it is hard to discuss this issue without making reference to the tragic case of Harry Dunn. Before moving on, I should say—I know that everyone in the Room will echo this—that my deepest sympathies very much remain with his family; I pay tribute to their resolve. We are pleased that criminal proceedings are now taking place in that case. It is a long-standing government policy to seek a carve-out of immunities relating to road traffic accidents when granting privileges and immunities. However, the possibility of such a carve-out was not included in the establishment charter for the IDB in 1959, so it was not passed through to the IDB Invest treaty. Instead, the FCDO has negotiated a bilateral memorandum of understanding with IDB Invest to mitigate this risk. The MoU states that IDB Invest staff members are not permitted to drive a vehicle on official business in the UK.

The noble Lord, Lord Collins, asked why it has taken so long to ratify the UK’s membership. The delay in laying the required legislation was the result of two factors: first, the higher priority given to legislation to facilitate our exit from the EU; and, secondly, the time taken to negotiate an MoU with the bank to clarify that IDB Invest staff members are not permitted to drive a vehicle on official business in the UK.

It is good news that we are now here. In taking up our membership of IDB Invest, we will undoubtedly be better placed to influence the investment that it makes to support private sector development. This will allow us to support the UK’s goals of promoting development and reducing poverty in a region of enormous strategic importance. Once again, I thank noble Lords for their contributions and commend the instrument to the Committee.

Ukraine

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 1st November 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I reiterate that these Benches are completely at one with the Government in giving full support to the Ukrainian people in their fight against Putin’s illegal and immoral act of aggression.

The Russian missiles launched against Ukrainian energy and water systems are part of a deliberate and callous strategy to target civilian infrastructure ahead of winter, causing as much damage to civilians as possible. Therefore, the resilience of Ukraine’s energy, heating and water systems is vital in resisting Russia’s attacks on that civilian infrastructure.

James Cleverly said yesterday in response to my right honourable friend David Lammy that

“the UK has pledged £100 million to support Ukraine’s energy security and to reform, and £74 million in fiscal grants to support Ukraine through the World Bank.”—[Official Report, Commons, 31/10/22; col. 625.]

All this is very welcome, but he was unable to give a specific answer on the number of generators we have supplied, and promised to find out the details. The reality is that, in such war conditions, practical support and speed of delivery are essential. In addition to detailing the number of generators that we will supply, can the Minister assure the House that we are working with all relevant suppliers to speed up matters? Also, can he tell the House whether such action is being co-ordinated in conjunction with our allies, particularly our European allies?

As we have heard in media reports today, Russia’s attacks on infrastructure and the electrical grid have not been limited to the use of drones, missiles and bombs. Europe Minister Leo Docherty said on the BBC this morning that Ukraine faces

“the same threat and same challenge in the cyber domain,”

representing the most extensive compromise of a single Government seen in history. He confirmed that support is provided through the FCDO, with officials saying that it has led the way among allies in providing specialist expertise. Can the Minister tell us whether this support is being co-ordinated with such allies? What assessment has the department made of the implications of escalation of the conflict?

In relation to arms supplies to the Russians, the Foreign Secretary said that the UK will be keeping a close eye on the actions of Iran, and indeed other countries. He confirmed that we would take appropriate action to dissuade them from supplying arms and would react if they do. Can the Minister assure the House that in reacting the Government would work in complete tandem with our allies, such as the US and the EU? On too many occasions we have been slower than our allies to react.

On the important issue of grain exports from Ukraine, the UN-backed agreement has been vital in reducing global food prices. Putin’s unjustifiable decision to pull out of this deal will undoubtedly have catastrophic consequences. It comes at a time when many countries are already food insecure, including Somalia, where an imminent famine is feared. This is a cruel and transparent use of hunger as blackmail. Any spike in world food prices will be the responsibility of the Russian Government. Therefore, this agreement must be restored.

The Foreign Secretary said that he had spoken to his Turkish counterparts in the past, expressing our gratitude for the work they have done in securing the grain export deal. However, it was unclear from what he said whether he has spoken to his Turkish counterparts and Turkey’s political leadership on the potential for restoring grain flows since Russia’s announcement. Have the Minister’s department or the Foreign Secretary been in touch with Turkey in recent days? The Foreign Secretary did not address the steps that the UK is considering to mitigate the worst consequences for the developing world if these efforts fail, but I hope the Minister will be able to do so today.

James Cleverly also told the other place that we are supplying a considerable number of air defence missiles, which is very welcome in light of the attacks we have seen. Can the Minister assure us that we are able to keep up with the demand for these missiles with our US and NATO allies? Can he assure the House that we can provide all the lethal and non-lethal equipment that is being requested?

I conclude by reiterating Labour’s full support for the Government’s actions in respect of Ukraine.

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

My Lords, as the barbarity of Putin continues and winter approaches, our admiration for the resilience of the people of Ukraine knows no bounds. The Minister knows that we have supported the government strategy; the support for the Ukrainian Government and people; and the sanctions regime— notwithstanding that we have highlighted areas where we could have gone further and faster on sanctions, as has been highlighted. There is no doubt that Putin wants both malaise and division in the West, and we support the Government in ensuring that that does not happen.

I have a number of questions for the Minister about the direct impact of the sanctions regime on Russia, which he will have heard me ask before. I ask for an update on what the direct impact of our sanctions has been, because they do not seem to have prevented the barbarity continuing in certain areas.

Could the Minister also be specific about what we are saying to our allies in the Gulf and in Asia, India in particular? Have the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister raised at the highest levels the concern about the impact of our allies providing neutrality but also therefore de facto support? This is a challenging area for UK foreign policy, but one we need to tackle. It would be depressing if we are so reliant on the Gulf’s inward investment and so hopeful for a trade deal with India that it prevents us having very hard conversations with our allies.

As the noble Lord, Lord Collins, indicated, we have seen the grotesque weaponisation of energy, fuel and grain by Russia. Prices have risen already with the 4 million tonnes of shipments that are being prevented from being distributed. As the Minister knows, this will have a disproportionate impact on the countries in east Africa and the Horn of Africa that are already facing famine. What direct measures are we taking to ensure that shipments can be released? What security support might be made available to ensure their supply?

The Minister knows that we have supported the UK’s support for Ukraine and we of course supported the resettlement scheme at home. He will also know that we have repeatedly highlighted concerns that this is provided at a direct cost to overseas assistance to countries in need. Figures suggest that the resettlement scheme at home for Ukrainians will be met entirely from ODA funds, which will mean that, for the first time in our nation’s history, more overseas development assistance will be spent domestically than bilaterally abroad. That is unprecedented. I hope the Minister will say that this is not correct.

It was disturbing to read Kwasi Kwarteng’s tweet in June, posted when he was BEIS Secretary, saying on supplying defence equipment:

“My Department has contributed to the effort by surrendering climate finance and foreign aid underspends.”


Countries with which we are seeking to build a diplomatic consensus against Putin are seeing the UK provide support, which is welcome, but at a direct cost for those countries. Just before the start of proceedings this afternoon, I met the deputy speaker of the Malawi Parliament, who raised questions as to why cutting support for young girls in Malawi was a cost of UK support for Ukraine. Surely this is a cost which will do us long-term damage. I hope the Minister is able to respond to these issues. We will not retain moral value in our work for Ukraine if other countries see us cut directly as a cost of it.

European Political Community

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Monday 31st October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, it will be for BEIS to provide specific details on next steps in relation to this issue but I can confirm that it was discussed. The former Prime Minister pushed for the development of new North Sea hybrid interconnectors to accelerate renewables capacity, among other things, but I am afraid that I will have to leave the outcome to colleagues in BEIS.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I know it feels like some time ago but, at the Conservative Party conference, the Foreign Secretary said:

“We want to find ways of working well with our neighbours and partners … in Europe”.


I am rather disappointed with the Minister’s response; the security situation is incredibly grave and we do need more formal structures to address security. Instead of trading insults and threats to break international law, will the Government consider an EU-UK security pact to complement NATO in light of the security threats that we now face?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, the UK will always do what is in our interests, and our interests are closely aligned with those of our European neighbours. The fact that progress was made at the forum without that forum being owned exclusively by the EU, with the summit being open to other non-EU member countries on the continent—as I said, one-third of the attendees were not members of the European Union—and the fact that no new structures or institutions needed to be created mean that this is exactly the kind of forum that we need, to be able to talk honestly with our friends and to align our response to things such as Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine with one another in our mutual interest.

Genocide Determination Bill [HL]

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 28th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for introducing this Private Member’s Bill today: it is an important element of our fight to defend human rights. I stress that it is an element of our fight to defend human rights because I must pick up the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Mann: there is a pathway to genocide. It does not start with mass murder or gas chambers; it starts with abuse, disrespect and all kinds of actions that can accumulate. It is really important that we look at that sort of pathway.

Certainly, since the UK acceded to the genocide convention in 1948 and introduced laws that criminalised genocide, no matter where it is committed, we have a duty to prevent and punish the crime of genocide wherever it occurs. An important lesson from this debate is that we need to look at the mechanism to prevent, as much as to punish, genocide. The UK Government, as we heard from all speakers, has a long-standing policy of leaving the question of genocide determination to the international judicial system. Of course, it has not stopped the Government supporting efforts and I know that the Minister will say that where there is a strong evidence base, we will support the gathering of that evidence and make sure that there is a strong basis for pursuing that international court action. But the lack of a formal mechanism, whether grounded in law or policy, was, as we heard from my noble friend, criticised by the Foreign Affairs Committee in December 2017, particularly on the situation in Rakhine state in Myanmar.

On these Benches, we support the efforts of the noble Lord, Lord Alton. We supported him in the Trade Act. In debates on that Act, I also had amendments, supported by this House, to underpin the element of it being not just about genocide. A lot of the things we have been talking about today are not simply about genocide; they are that pathway to genocide.

When I read the Library briefing and the campaign briefing that the noble Lord has been associated with, what struck me was the question of whether a determination makes a difference. I found the research in the briefing by Gregory Stanton from George Mason University fascinating. It found that recognising as genocide mass atrocities that meet the legal definition has resulted in a more comprehensive response, including to stop atrocities. That is what the Bill is about. It is not about having the luxury position of saying, “We now know they’re guilty and there’s a legal process”, but about how we stop it. I thought that research was really important. As Gregory Stanton put it, genocide determination is the first step towards an effective and comprehensive response, including to prevent the risk of genocide materialising and to prevent further atrocities. Has the department seen that research? How might it help the department to consider the broader policy issues in relation to how we pursue evidence of genocide?

The global community has previously acknowledged the failure to prevent tragedies such as the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and the Srebrenica genocide in 1995. I have been working on the United Nations for the last year for the Labour Front Bench, and I was struck by Kofi Annan’s report from 2000 on the role of the UN in the 21st century. He posed the question,

“if humanitarian intervention is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to a Rwanda, to a Srebrenica—to gross and systematic violations of human rights that offend every precept of our common humanity?”

The result of that question was the 2005 world summit to address the four key concerns: to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The outcome was a global political commitment, endorsed by all member states, called the responsibility to protect, referred to by the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan. That commitment had three pillars. First, there are the protection responsibilities of the state. Each individual state has a responsibility to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The second is international assistance and capacity building. States pledged to assist each other in their protection responsibilities. The third pillar is a timely and decisive collective response. If any state is manifestly failing in its protection responsibilities, states should take collective action to protect that population.

Despite the apparent consensus about the responsibility to protect, there is a persistent contention over the application of the third pillar in practice. In preparing for today’s debate, I thought I would reread the Secretary-General’s annual report on the responsibility to protect that was published last year. Key points in the report were:

“Systematic and grave human rights violations, widespread impunity, hate speech, exclusion and discrimination can all increase the risk of atrocity crimes. Prioritization of prevention remains crucial. Atrocity prevention should be integrated into all relevant fields of the work of the UN.”


Can the Minister tell us today what assessment the FCDO made of last year’s report? How is it influencing our engagement with the UN and underpinning the principles of the right to protect?

As we have heard, since 2005 and that global consensus, we have seen clear evidence of genocide in Myanmar, Syria, Iraq and China. Yet, in the face of all this, the UK Government’s stance remains unchanged. Impunity begets further crimes, and the lack of action will only empower those seeking to commit this crime. I read in today’s Guardian about the crimes in Syria and the appalling video evidence of the case of Major Yousef, who committed and filmed a massacre. I understand that the French Government are looking at preparing a case and taking action.

That leads me to my other point. I hope that, in supporting the pathway the noble Lord, Lord Alton, is pursuing through this Bill, we do not have to wait for his legislation to act. I know that the Minister will come back on some of the practical things in terms of evidence, but what are we doing to work with other Governments and our allies to pursue cases such as Syria—for example, co-operating with the French Government? I hope the Minister can reassure us this afternoon that this Government will work with their allies.

Whatever happens, I wish this Bill a successful passage. It does not give us all the answers—I think the noble Lord, Lord Alton, would be the first to admit that—but it provides a pathway. What we cannot do is continue to stand by and watch these horrendous crimes being committed. I support the Bill.

Women, Peace and Security Bill [HL]

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 28th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson, for bringing this Bill before Parliament. I also thank her for all her work on this agenda; she has worked tirelessly on a cross-party basis. As noble Lords have said, I hope that the response to the Bill, from these Benches and from the Government Benches, will be at one in seeking to deliver this agenda.

The denial of the rights of women and girls remains the most widespread driver of inequality in today’s world. Gender-based violence is a major element of this massive and continuing failure of human rights. Delivering this agenda, as action plans have recognised, is not a matter for government alone. The ingredients of a thriving democracy are not limited to Parliaments and parliamentarians. As the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, rightly highlighted, civil society organisations such as women’s rights groups and trade unions remain an important part of democratic life and are frequently the only guarantors of human rights in society.

Women endure discrimination, violence and the denial of their rights simply because they are women. We must tackle the underlying problem of a lack of empowerment, education and inclusion. As my noble friend Lord McConnell has frequently argued,

“development is the mortar of peace.”—[Official Report, 8/7/10; col. 360]

I also welcome Andrew Mitchell’s appointment. He certainly has a tremendous track record on this issue, both as a Minister and a Back-Bencher. I echo the comments of all noble Lords, and I hope he will see his focus as establishing a very clear timetable for the return to 0.7%.

Ethiopia is an example of how quickly incredible levels of development can fall apart when conflict re-emerges. A really sad and horrific example of that conflict has been the sexual violence we have seen, particularly in the Tigray region. I know that is something we will be focusing on in the Bill which we will be considering later. In the Ukraine conflict we have also seen rising levels of sexual violence. Yesterday we had a very short debate on the situation in Iran, where the shameful killing of Mahsa Amini was followed by alarming reports of the continued use of disproportionate force, particularly against women, opposing the restrictions on their rights. This is all evidence of how women and girls pay a very heavy price in conflict and instability. There is more; sadly, I could go into a long list.

The UN Secretary-General’s 2020 annual report on the responsibility to protect focused on the role of women in peace and security. The report was published on the 15th anniversary of the responsibility to protect, as well as the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. The report recognised that the full and equal participation of women in peace processes and in decision-making, as well as in the design of preventive measures, is important in closing any gender-based gaps in atrocity prevention. Globally, only 13% of negotiators, 6% of mediators and 6% of signatories in major peace processes are women. Women deserve to be part of peacebuilding and conflict response because, unless they are given the opportunity to voice their demands and needs, they may be left in danger, even though the fighting appears to have stopped.

As the noble Baroness, Lady Sugg, said, the United Kingdom has a proud record of supporting the women, peace and security agenda for many years, including setting up a network of women mediators. It is currently the pen holder at the UN Security Council. Noble Lords have referenced the forthcoming conference in November of the international Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, which focuses on ending conflict-related sexual violence. The Minister and I have talked about the conference and stressed the obvious importance of hearing the voices of those most affected, ensuring that we make it clear that these are the ones the world needs to hear. I have also stressed to him the importance of civil society being properly engaged in that conference, and I hope that he will give us some idea in his response about the conference’s shape and agenda.

Labour has argued and believes in foreign and development policies based on the principles of gender justice, rights, intersectionality and solidarity. That is why we support the Bill transforming words into actions. As the noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson, said, we have signed up to the conventions, but we have to make sure that those commitments are a “must” rather than a “should”. That is why the evidence she highlighted is so important and why we need to make it clear that this is not a desirable objective but an absolutely necessary one.

Of course, as the noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson, highlighted, the delay in the national action plan report to Parliament, which was not published until July this year, is just one part of the evidence that she presented. It is an important and crucial mechanism of accountability, which is why we support the Bill. I hope the Minister will also commit to supporting it and to giving it a successful passage through Parliament.

Zimbabwe

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 27th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, Zimbabwe is a country with extraordinary potential and an extraordinary history, and of course it is right that the current political approach inhibits that potential. The UK is a long-standing partner of Zimbabwe and we provide significant levels of ODA. However, I want to be clear to the House that we do so in a way that avoids government-to-government bilateral financial aid. In other words, none of the money that we provide is channelled through the Government. Instead, we work through multilateral organisations, and wherever we possibly can we support civil society and NGOs in the private sector.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, just to pick up on that point, I have raised on numerous occasions with Ministers the continued repression of civil society in Zimbabwe, including of trade unionists. Can the Minister tell us the latest FCDO assessment of the passage of the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill, which Ministers have acknowledged could be used to restrict civil space? Could he tell us also how we are working with allies, global civil society and interfaith groups to ensure that it is their voice that is heard in Zimbabwe and not simply government voices?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

The Government very much agree with the opening remarks of the noble Lord. We are concerned that the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill, if it becomes law and is implemented, could very easily be used to undermine the ability of civil society to operate effectively in Zimbabwe. It also puts at risk its ability to deliver development and humanitarian assistance. We engage very widely, not only with civil society within Zimbabwe and through our overseas development assistance, which I mentioned earlier, but also, importantly, with South Africa. As noble Lords will know, we have deep and long-standing ties with South Africa, recognising the important role that the African Union and the Southern African Development Community have in relation to Zimbabwe. UK officials speak very often on a broad range of issues, including of course on Zimbabwe.

Armenia and Azerbaijan

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Wednesday 26th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I do not agree with the noble Viscount on the UK’s position. We are active in our engagement with our EU partners, but we are also central to, and support, the efforts of the OSCE. In terms of stability and security, we need peace between those two countries, which will see the resumption of inward investment, boosting the economies of both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

The Government’s efforts to de-escalate are certainly welcome, as are their efforts to work with the EU and the civilian mission that will go there. One of the advantages of the Minister’s longevity in post is that he will remember my repeated questions to him about Russian involvement in this area. What is the Government’s assessment of this, and what is being done to ensure that Russia does not provoke even more violence than it already has?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

On the noble Lord’s first point, time shall tell. On the more substantive point of Russia’s role, we have been very clear, and I appreciate His Majesty’s Opposition’s strong support for the position on Russia. Russia is playing a particular role in the region, between those two countries. We have made no attempts to engage with Russia—we are very clear on this issue—while other partners do so. The important role for Russia, or anyone else mediating or keeping the peace, is to do exactly that.

China: Security and Trade (IRDC Report)

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 20th October 2022 Grand Committee

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I start by commenting that we have of course all been looking at our mobile phones during this debate. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Howell, that the Prime Minister’s resignation earlier today is not a matter for debate now, but I also agree with the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, that we should not underestimate the impact of the Government’s actions on our global reputation and credibility. It will come back to haunt us.

I very much welcome this report, and certainly the excellent introduction by the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay. We have discussed elements of the report in previous debates, and I repeat what we said then: this is about making a very clear case for a consistent written strategy setting out the Government’s security relationship with China. As long as Ministers maintain their policy of ambiguity, we cannot be confident that they are properly balancing the need for economic engagement with the importance of the UK’s interests and values.

Unfortunately, as noble Lords mentioned, the response to the report gave no further indication of a wide-ranging strategy—far from it. Instead, there were only piecemeal points about the UK’s interests and values. It focused on things such as the importance of avoiding strategic dependency on China. The Government argued that the National Security Council provided clear direction for their China policy, and that it was supported by the work of the integrated review. I too welcome the fact that events have overtaken us and the integrated review will be re-examined in the light of Russian aggression. I accept that that does not undermine the case that the committee has made. The fact that events have overtaken us does not undermine the fundamental case for a clear strategy in dealing with China.

As the noble Baroness said in her contribution and in her follow-up letter to the Minister, ambiguity and uncertainty are

“damaging to businesses and detrimental to our partnerships and alliances in the region.”

I hear what the noble Lord, Lord Howell, said about those alliances, but unless we are clear, they will not know what we stand for. The noble Baroness wrote that it was unclear how the Government intended to balance human rights issues with the economic relationship with China, and how they

“will prioritise when these considerations clash.”

Amanda Milling said:

“We will uphold our values and protect our national security while promoting a positive and reliable economic relationship”.


As I have asked in previous debates, can the Minister say what exactly is the extensive programme of engagement with UK businesses to ensure that our policy is fully understood? The noble Baroness was absolutely right: the ambiguity continues to damage both our business interests and our political interests. Noble Lords will want to hear some concrete examples from the Minister, not just vague words.

The noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, mentioned the language deficit. It is a sad fact that, under the Conservative Government, the number of Mandarin speakers in the Foreign Office has fallen to a pitiful 14, the deployment of personnel to the strategically vital Pacific region has shrunk, and the often-mentioned China strategy is nowhere to be seen. The resultant drift and confusion undermine our position on the world stage, leave our allies unable to rely on British support and risk our technological and industrial advantages, while Chinese companies single out emerging technological advantages in areas such as semiconductors and biotech. Let me be clear. Labour will take a strong, clear-eyed and consistent approach to China, standing firm in defence of human rights, national security and international law while, as my noble friend, whose name I have forgotten—I am sorry.

[Baroness Blackstone (Lab)]

Do not worry.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I had a mental block; it is age, I fear. As my noble friend Lady Blackstone urged, we will engage with China where it is in our interests to do so, particularly, as noble Lords have highlighted, in the global challenges we face that we cannot address unless we work with it, such as climate change, trade and especially global health. For years, the Government have turned a blind eye to human rights and national security concerns. Now they are divided and have no strategy, lurching between U-turns on issues such as Huawei and nuclear power.

In government, Labour will carry out a complete audit of UK-China relationships so that we can ensure the relationship reflects our interests and values and set a consistent strategy for the long term. China remains crucial to addressing those global challenges I have mentioned and is deeply integrated into the global economy. We will engage with China on the basis of our national interest and those clear principles but will not be afraid to speak out on human rights, particularly in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet. It is simply wrong that China has brought sanctions against UK parliamentarians for raising those concerns. I too pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Alton.

The brutal campaign of oppression in Xinjiang is a scar on the conscience of the world. In this House we have consistently raised the plight of the Uighur people, which the UN has said constitutes a crime against humanity and which our Parliament has voted to recognise as genocide. We support absolute, strong action, including a ban on cotton produced with forced labour, and the extension of human rights sanctions against the individuals responsible. As part of that strategy, a Labour Government will increase our independence in critical national infrastructure and will not repeat the sort of mistakes the Government have made in the past, particularly over nuclear power.

However, as the report and noble Lords have mentioned, it is really important that we underline our soft power activity, particularly the British Council and the BBC, which are key elements of an overall integrated strategy. I noticed in today’s Guardian an article showing how the Chinese Communist Party was using influencers in social media—it spreads without us even noticing that it is happening. What is our strategy in response to that? I do not see one. It is really important that we work cross-departmentally and across government to have that absolutely clear strategy.

As the noble Lords, Lord Howell and Lord Hannay, mentioned, we cannot do this on our own: it is really important that we work with our allies to provide real alternatives to China’s finance and investment in the developing world. Again, we have sort of turned a blind eye to that. The noble Lord, Lord Howell, is also absolutely right to mention the Commonwealth; our response to that has been minimal. In fact, as noble Lords have mentioned, we have seen how we have cut our influence by going to 0.5%. We use a statistic such as 0.5% and 0.7% but those bilateral programmes, particularly in Africa, were cut overnight. There was no plan or strategy—no understanding of the impact. Instead, they were cut straightaway. The speed of those cuts, not just the amount, was incredibly dangerous.

I repeat what has been said about the importance of our relationship with Taiwan. We absolutely support and want to see dialogue and peaceful moves to address those issues across the Taiwan Strait. We have been clear about our serious concern about China’s increasingly aggressive actions towards Taiwan and the attempts to intimidate its democratic leaders. We need to be clear about our support for that beacon of democracy. We also need to understand—I have said this about the global challenges—that we are not challenging the recognition issues that we addressed, but it is important that the globe does not miss out on the expertise that Taiwan has developed, particularly on global health. We should ensure that it is included in our discussions wherever possible.

I conclude by addressing the discussion this afternoon in the other place on the Urgent Question on the events in the Chinese consulate in Manchester. We had the Urgent Question repeat here, and I made the point to the noble Lord that it was absolutely essential that Ministers and the Foreign Secretary took responsibility and communicated the Government’s concern about these actions. The fact that it was left to officials and the ambassador was not summoned was a disgrace. It is time for the government to be very clear. Jesse Norman said in the other place that the ambassador is not in this country. We have seen clear evidence of what has happened in Manchester, and we cannot tolerate that those sorts of people who conduct themselves in that manner should be allowed to stay in this country for a day longer.

Chinese Consulate: Attack on Hong Kong Protesters

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 18th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for repeating that Statement. I share the Government and the Minister’s concerns at the violence at the consulate. While I welcome the fact that the chargé d’affaires has been summoned and that a meeting apparently took place this afternoon, we must show that such behaviour will not be tolerated on our streets. Therefore, I was disappointed that Jesse Norman was today unable to confirm that the Foreign Secretary would immediately summon the Chinese ambassador to demand an explanation for the incident. I hope that the Minister will urge him to do so without delay.

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord for his remarks. As was said in the Statement, the police in Manchester have launched their investigation, and a police patrol plan is in place in the area. The use of police powers and management of demonstrations are obviously operational matters for the police—but, in relation to what happened on the ground, at this stage it would be inappropriate to comment further until that investigation is completed, at which point the noble Lord’s remarks may well become more pertinent.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

The noble Lord makes a useful observation on the turning of the tables. The answer is that I do not know. I suspect that there have been peaceful protests. The fact that we have not debated incidents in that venue suggests that the answer to his question is yes, but I will need to get back to him to confirm that.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I want to come back to my original question. I totally understand that it is not the Government’s position to interfere with the operations of the police or their investigations. However, the Government felt it right to summon the chargé d’affaires to make clear our view about this incident. Why is it not right for the Foreign Secretary to summon the ambassador to make this position clear? Surely that must be done immediately.

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, that depends on what is discovered. It may well be, as noble Lords are implying, that this was an egregious act of wrongdoing. If that is the case, the Government will respond accordingly and, at that point, our conversation and interaction with China and Chinese representatives would change. However, at this point, it would be premature for me to map out a course of action.