Royal Navy: Caribbean
Debate between Lord Lemos and Lord Stirrup
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I do not know the exact answer regarding presence, and I am very happy to find out more and come back to the noble Baroness, but what I do know is that we work closely with the JIATF. We maintain close co-operation through a UK liaison officer embedded with the US Joint Interagency Task Force in Florida, ensuring effective co-ordination with allies in counternarcotics activity. I cannot overstress the importance of this activity and the joint work that we do. It has direct relevance and benefits for the streets of all our towns and cities.
Lord Stirrup (CB)
On a slightly wider point, the Joint Interagency Task Force South is acknowledged in America as the gold standard of interagency co-operation—something that is not necessarily all that common there. Have the Government conducted any analysis of whether there are any lessons to be drawn for the United Kingdom in cross-government working in the context of international security? If they have not done so, will they undertake to do so?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble and gallant Lord for that question. As he knows, we have published the national security strategy, which goes much wider than national security strategies have in the past. On his specific question, I am very happy to find out whether that analysis has been undertaken and come back to him, but he knows of our wider commitment to national security and increasing defence capacity.
El Fasher
Debate between Lord Lemos and Lord Stirrup
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank my friend the noble Lord for that question and for his constant advocacy of this important subject. He has brought it to our notice before, and I agree entirely with his view that we have not spent enough time on it in the past. Let me set out where we are now. As he rightly says, we are the penholder at the UN Security Council and we have consistently advocated for a ceasefire, the protection of civilians and unhindered humanitarian access. Those have been our strategic commitments throughout. There will be an urgent UN Security Council meeting today, Thursday 30 October, called by the UK as penholder, and this was only agreed overnight. That is, as it were, breaking news, and I am pleased to report it to your Lordships’ House.
In November 2024, the UK and Sierra Leone prepared a UN Security Council resolution addressing the protection and humanitarian crisis in Darfur. This was vetoed by Russia, despite support from every other Security Council member. The UK welcomes the efforts of the Quad—the USA, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE—in seeking a resolution to the conflict in Sudan. The Quad statement issued on 12 September is a significant development. We stand ready to support the Quad’s effort.
Lord Stirrup (CB)
My Lords, the UAE is probably the only country able to exert significant leverage on the RSF, given the level of its support for them and the fact that it is the repository for most of the wealth of many of the RSF’s leaders. The UAE does not seem inclined to pursue an end to the fighting in Sudan, but would it be possible at least to get it to pressure the RSF to allow sufficient humanitarian aid and medical care into Darfur to the people who need it? Otherwise, the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there will only worsen.
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble and gallant Lord for that important question. The Government’s view is clear: external support to the SAF and the RSF only fuels the conflict. We continue to emphasise to all parties the importance of refraining from actions that prolong the conflict. We ask all those with influence over the warring parties—including the members of the Quad, of which the UAE is one—to bring them to the negotiating table to seek a political resolution. I may say more about this if noble Lords ask me about it, but the most important thing is humanitarian access.