European Political Community Summit
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Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, Russia and Belarus will not be participating, which is right, because a thread within the three EPCs has been human rights and the consistent message to support the European Court of Human Rights and re-embolden the Convention on Human Rights. The Minister will recall that the first topic in the first EPC was immigration. Will the Foreign Office be advising our European friends that, in response to immigration challenges, they should bring forward legislation on whose front page the Minister responsible cannot certify that it is consistent with the obligations that we have to the convention?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I am sure the noble Lord will be watching the debate in the other place with great attention and, of course, immigration is very much the remit of my colleagues in the Home Office. The United Kingdom has stood steadfast on the issue of human rights, and it is important that we continue to do so and that the legislation brought forward rightly gets tested by our own legal system. I think the Government’s record has also shown that even where we disagree with decisions taken by our courts, we adhere to them. That adherence to the rule of law is an important strength of our United Kingdom.
Latin America
Lord Purvis of Tweed Excerpts(5 months, 1 week ago)
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Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, it is always a pleasure to follow the noble Viscount. When I was in the Chamber, the noble Lord, Lord Collins, highlighted to me the slight mix-up in the speaking order on the list. There was a degree of disappointment, because I had a frisson of excitement that I was finally going to be speaking on behalf of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition —I might have to wait a few months for that.
This has been a really good debate, because there has been a mix of the professional, with real depth of experience, and personal too, especially from the noble Earl, Lord Effingham—he may have just missed out the variety of potatoes, but other than that he offered the whole sweep of Peru, which left me thinking that, when we end this debate, it might be a perfect time for a pisco sour, so perhaps His Excellency might be able to provide some refreshments at the end. I hope that the excellent ambassador for Peru and his colleagues took heart from this debate and from the strength of feeling about ensuring that the UK’s relationships get even stronger.
As the noble Viscount and others have said, there is no stronger advocate for that than the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper. I have had the privilege of accompanying the noble Baroness on a visit to the region and it was akin to a royal visit, where we minor members of the delegation were slightly shunted aside when the Foreign Minister wanted to kiss Gloria. That is testament not only to her passion for the region but also to the long-standing nature of that.
The noble Baroness’s summary at the start of the debate was exactly right: this is a time for the UK to have more friends around the world. The challenges on climate and sustainability are shared concerns. The UK has a long-standing cross-party consensus on topical issues such as human rights, civil and political rights and support for indigenous communities, and the combination of all three highlights the value that the UK can provide in this relationship.
In that regard, I commend the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, who rightly raised the sometimes complex issues of human rights. Before our visit to Peru, for example, she briefed me and others on the difficult subject of forced sterilisation and the complexities concerning the indigenous communities and mining, which has been raised as an element of one of our key economic partnerships. We also have a role to play there. As the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, indicated, often the mining concessions and their financing not only are located in the UK but go through the City of London, so we have not only economic value but, to some extent, a social and moral responsibility when it comes to the associated community impacts of that extraction industry. I have met indigenous representatives in Parliament who have been elected in Colombia, and in dialogue with them it has been fascinating for me to see the transition.
Another thread in the debate highlighted the economic relationship. Reference has been made to the House of Lords Library briefing, and, although we often put Covid out of our minds, one element in the Library briefing showed how heavy a toll Covid has taken on the populations in Peru and, indeed, elsewhere in Latin America. It has had an ongoing impact on the recovery of those economies, which then has a direct link to UK trading relationships.
I looked at the level of those trading relationships, which is relatively low and could of course be stronger. For the Andean relationship—that is, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru—the figure is just short of £6 billion; for the six countries in Central America, it is £2.5 billion; and for Chile and Mexico combined, it is nearly another £7 billion. In total, that is just over £16 billion. As has been indicated, that should be a floor, and we should be building on that.
On the deeper relationships relating to the challenges we face going forward, I met the Brazilian ambassador last week and we had a fascinating dialogue about the role that Brazil can play. It will host the next COP but one, and it has brought forward innovative solutions for this COP with which the UK can partner. We have seen that we can be partners with other countries in addressing many of the challenges of the time, especially those relating to climate and transition.
In that regard, I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify one point. I am currently uncertain when it comes to one of our investment arms, British International Investment. Is Latin America now covered by BII or not? It went from not being covered to then being covered under Liz Truss, but now I understand it is once again not covered as far as emerging and middle-ranking economies are concerned. I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify that point.
On the latest Argentinian elections, I think we are all fascinated to find out whether President Milei will be able to deliver on some of the rather ambitious promises that he made in his election campaign. I understand that, following the rhetoric of campaigning, some of the reality of his being in presidential office will be slightly different.
We also have opportunities, when we see so much conflict in the world, to look on our partners in Latin America as partners in peacebuilding as well as in dialogue and facilitation, especially when it comes to transitional justice and security sector reform. I do not think we as a partner consider them enough.
I also believe strongly that we can do a lot more with our parliamentary dialogue and relationships. The noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, has been such a stalwart of the inter-parliamentary union, and we have the ParlAmericas network. I would love the UK to be playing a stronger role with the ParlAmericas network, and for there to be UK and ParlAmericas initiatives in many of the areas where parliamentarians can take things forward. There have been sensitivities and difficulties—for example, in Ecuador, where the Parliament was suspended for political purposes. As the noble Baroness rightly highlighted, we now see a centrist president there, and some stability.
Political instability was raised. To take just one country: five Prime Ministers in seven years, seven Foreign Secretaries in seven years—but enough of the United Kingdom. More importantly, we have had a change every year in the Minister responsible for Latin America. I am delighted that we have the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, the resilient soul that he is, to speak for us. We have now discovered the only region of the world he is not responsible for—I think. To be a predictable and reliable partner at a ministerial level is really important. If only the others could be as dependable as the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, in that regard.
I have some closing remarks. Mercosur has been mentioned, and I have been keeping a watching brief with regard to both President Macron and the EU position. I find myself in agreement with the noble Viscount, Lord Waverley, on that. I have come here from moving amendments in the CPTPP Committee to be in this debate this afternoon. The opportunities that presents are very important, but in order for that to be operationalised, our businesses need support to understand the markets and trade freely.
In my last minute, I will pick up on a point that the noble Lord, Lord Naseby, referenced. Two weeks ago, I was in the Falkland Islands. It was made clear to me that China is operating very assertively in that area. As of today, there are 500 Chinese vessels fishing on the very boundary of British territorial waters in the Falkland Islands, for the squid market. That is a market to the European Union, and in order for Falklands Islands’ fishing vessels to access the European market—because of our Brexit agreement—they have to be Spanish flagged. The UK’s relationship with South America and the direct interest we have touches on geopolitics—especially with China. That is why these relationships are so very important.
In my last seconds, I will close by quoting the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, when she closed her speech in the last full debate we had, in 2010:
“This debate underlines the importance of Latin America and Latin American countries. We have got to get our act together … Let us start that today, not mañana”.—[Official Report, 24/6/10; col. 1456.]
That was 13 years ago. We have to do this, because we cannot now afford not to listen to the noble Baroness. I hope the Minister will have some reassuring words when he responds.
Gaza: Humanitarian Situation
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The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)
My Lords, first, I assure the noble Lord that I think we all agree with him that we want to see conditions prevailing that allow humanitarian aid, which is continuing, notwithstanding the continuation of the conflict, but at levels that ensure at least some sense of hope and sustenance for the people in Gaza. The number of Palestinian civilians who have suffered as a result of this conflict is immense. Although we have supported and recognised the right of Israel in light of the terror attacks, it is clear that the humanitarian suffering is immense. Too many children and vulnerable people have died—some of the figures are eye-watering.
On the humanitarian crisis, I agree with the noble Lord, and we are working very closely with UN agencies, including the World Health Organization, which is very seized of this issue. Hospitals’ ability to sustain their operational capacity is extremely limited; I think the World Health Organization said today that it is working in the south at about 300% in terms of its capacity limits. We are not only focusing on ensuring that the support gets through the Rafah border; as the noble Lord knows, through both private and public briefings I have given to him, we are also working to ensure that the Kerem Shalom operation can be restored. In that regard, the Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday and my noble friend the Foreign Secretary is currently in Washington and will be engaging on all aspects of this crisis.
On the issue of the hostages, I am travelling to Qatar again this weekend, because that provides the first important cornerstone in bringing a resolution to this conflict.
The noble Lord referred to the West Bank violence. The Foreign Secretary made clear when he travelled to Israel—noble Lords will have noticed this in public statements as well—the importance of not just stopping settler violence but holding those responsible to account. We note the action taken by the US, and I am sure that will be part of the conversations my noble friend has with the Secretary of State in Washington.
Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza now has 15,250 civilian casualties, 70% of whom are women and children, and the news today is that 600,000 people have been told to move. However, where is the Government’s assessment of where it is safe for them to move to? Turning to the appeal from the World Food Programme, it says that only one-third of stocks have been replenished. Why have His Majesty’s Government not increased humanitarian support to the Occupied Palestinian Territories from two weeks ago, which currently stands at less than a quarter compared with pre-ODA cut levels?
With regard to the West Bank, we now know that 244 civilians have been killed, 65 of them children. What is the cause of the delay in the UK moving now to ensure that there is no impunity? We want to make sure that there are no extremists in Gaza at the end of this conflict but equally, there should be no impunity for those who are conducting extremist activities in the West Bank against civilians. Why is there a delay in removing visa waiver access for them?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
On the noble Lord’s last question, I think I have answered that. Of course, I will not speculate on what actions we may or may not take but my noble friend the Foreign Secretary’s statements on the issue of accountability have been very clear. On humanitarian support, the noble Lord will also recognise that we have increased our support, particularly through UNRWA, and we are working directly with those on the ground, including international agencies. Our current support is now up to £60 million, and we will continue to review what further support is needed. We are working directly not just with other UN agencies but with those on the ground, including key partners such as Egypt—Qatar also has an active operation—to ensure that we get the right support through to the right people.
On the issue of people within Gaza being displaced, I of course note what the noble Lord said. I agree with him, and that is why we have made it very clear that safe zones and protected areas is a key question for Israel to answer. We have seen in history that safe zones are not something that the UK has supported, nor continues to. We need a sustainable sense of these hostilities coming to an end—the creation of those conditions —and we are working to that end.
Belarus
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Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)
I completely admire what the noble Lord has done to keep the spotlight on Belarus and the work that he and others on the all-party group have done; it is hugely to his and the House’s credit. We have sanctioned 182 individuals and entities. We keep looking at what more can be done. We never announce potential names or sanctions before we do them, for obvious reasons, but we keep it under review. I am looking at it very carefully. The noble Lord is right, and we should be clear: this is Europe’s totalitarian regime. They randomly confiscate people’s mobile phones to see who they have been contacting and what social media they are following. Trade unions have been dissolved and their leaders imprisoned. Waving a Ukrainian flag is against the law and can result in a jail sentence, and there are 1,500 political prisoners, so we absolutely agree with the aim of the noble Lord’s Question and we will keep using the sanctions and other tools as appropriate.
Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, I also welcome the Foreign Secretary to his position and I agree with him as regards the Belarus regime. I remind him of what he said in his famous immigration speech. He said that by introducing a new visa,
“we are rolling out the red carpet to those”
who offer serious investment to the UK. We now know that a number of Belarus businesspeople bought a large proportion of London property as a result of this golden visa route. I have supported every Belarus sanction that we have debated in this House, but there is nothing in the Government’s new development White Paper that offers any new support for human rights defenders or democracy activists within this conflict. Why is that? Can the Foreign Secretary reassure me that of those 182 individuals he mentioned not a single one continues to enjoy UK preferential visa access?
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)
I make the point to the noble Lord, who asks an important question, that yes, of course, we introduced entrepreneur visas to try to attract bright talent to the UK to help to grow the economy, but that does not mean that we should give visas to people who have come by that money wrongly. One of the things I did as Prime Minister was to announce the London property register which is now coming in and will make a huge difference by confiscating people’s ill-gotten gains and returning them to the countries and the people from which they came so they can benefit. On the noble Lord’s specific question, I am very happy to take that away and look at it more, but it is important to recognise that we use the sanctions, we will keep using the sanctions, and we are watching closely what Belarus is doing.
UK-EU Relationship
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Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)
Well, I had a feeling that some of my past words might be served up for me and I am sure that, as another former Prime Minister said, they will make a very fulfilling and satisfying diet as I eat them.
Yes, we did talk about security issues—specifically, we talked about security in the western Balkans—when I met Commissioner Šefčovič. Ukraine is perhaps one of the greatest elements of proof that the UK can make this relationship with the EU—of friend, neighbour and partner, rather than member—work. We co-ordinate with it very closely on how we support Ukraine, how we sanction Russians and all the rest of it. Of course, that is part of the relationship. Frankly, the other thing that has changed is that NATO has had an enormous boost from Putin’s actions. It is now bigger and stronger, with new members joining, and that is the ultimate guarantee of our security.
Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, I am certain that the Foreign Secretary has some sympathy and understanding that the agreement has been a fairly harsh blow to the British Overseas Territories. I apologise that I missed his maiden speech in this House because I was in the Falkland Islands, where people told me that for their fishing industry, the largest part of the economy of the Falkland Islands, they are now spending more than £15 million a year to be Spanish-flagged vessels as a result of the lack of access to the EU market, which is their largest. I understand that the Foreign Secretary will be visiting the Falkland Islands, so will he take to them the good news that he will now negotiate an agreement that means that British fishermen on British vessels fishing in British waters will not have to do so under a Spanish flag?
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)
I thank the noble Lord for his question. I can tell him that Minister Rutley from my department was in the Falklands just a couple of days ago. I will certainly take the noble Lord’s point away. I am very committed to working with all our overseas territories. We had them all in the Foreign Office just a couple of weeks ago to discuss a whole range of issues, and I am happy to add that to the list.
Child Labour and Artisanal Cobalt Mining in the DRC
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Lord Benyon (Con)
I am grateful to my noble friend. He will understand that my relative newness in this role means that my learning curve is steep. I will do some research and discuss it with him when we next meet.
Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, when I was in Lubumbashi in September, I saw for myself the extent of the Chinese concessions for cobalt mining. With regard to east DRC, in June I raised in the Chamber a report from the US State Department that singled out Rwanda’s human rights record with its support of the M23 group, which, as it said, has committed multiple violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses. There is concern that the FCDO has been silent while it is discussing a migration agreement with Rwanda. Can the Minister allay those concerns at the Dispatch Box today and condemn Rwanda’s human rights record in this regard?
Lord Benyon (Con)
I can absolutely reassure the noble Lord. We regularly raise the conflict in eastern DRC with the Governments of DRC, Rwanda and elsewhere in the region. We judge doing this privately to have more impact. In these conversations, we urge all parties to deliver on their commitments agreed through the Nairobi and Luanda processes. This includes the withdrawal of armed groups, including M23, and the ceasing of all external support to armed groups operating in the DRC.
Israel and Hamas: Humanitarian Pause
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Lord Benyon (Con)
I take the point that the noble Lord asked about the hostages. We are working very closely with the Qataris, and my noble friend Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon has been in regular discussions with the negotiator and has made the point that we want a release. I am very happy, as is he and is the Foreign Secretary, to meet families with British connections from both sides of the conflict. Indeed, I am meeting families of the hostages after this session so I will be very happy to continue that dialogue.
Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, the release of the hostages is a blessed relief for the families involved, but the humanitarian catastrophe continues. I heard the Minister say that His Majesty’s Government now favour a ceasefire rather than just a pause. These Benches would support that but I understand that it is not government policy. If he could clarify that, I would be grateful. More than 10,000 women and children have now been killed in Gaza, so does the Minister agree that the UK needs to fully replenish our humanitarian support to levels pre the ODA cut? He did not respond to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Collins, on the West Bank. The Israeli Government passed a budget this week which included over $100 million for expanded West Bank settlement and the weaponisation of some of those settlers. Surely the position of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, who oppose this in the Knesset, should be supported by the Government.
Lord Benyon (Con)
The Government have been very clear about the settlements on the West Bank and I apologise if I did not answer the noble Lord, Lord Collins. The noble Lord, Lord Purvis, is absolutely right that this is an emerging humanitarian crisis. We entirely support Israel’s right to defend itself and to perpetrate efforts to ensure that Hamas never commits such an appalling atrocity again. We want aid to get to people who are in a really dire state. As for language, we want the conflict to end and if that is a ceasefire or a pause I am not going to be semantic; we want to make sure that we get aid to people in the meantime. We do not want to limit the opportunity for Israel to defend itself and fight a legitimate conflict against Hamas, but we want to protect civilians and get aid in there, and we will do all we can to make sure that is happening.
Nutrition for Growth Summit 2024
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Lord Benyon (Con)
We are reviewing the £1.5 billion next year and we may see increases as a result of that review. Funding for child wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, is insufficient across the whole world, and unsustainable. Only a quarter of wasted children receive treatment and, while 75% of cases are outside of emergencies, 60% of funding is through unpredictable, short-term humanitarian channels. We have focused a lot of our spending on recent crises and want to make sure that we are also integrating it right across our donor funding streams.
Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, the Minister will know that nutrition-sensitive funding is extremely broad. The noble Lord, Lord Collins, asked what proportion was nutrition-specific funding, which is the most impactful element that will have the most meaningful effect. What proportion of the funding that the Minister outlined is actually nutrition-specific funding on nutrition programmes, rather than the very general funding that is nutrition-sensitive?
Lord Benyon (Con)
I tried to address the point when I responded to the noble Lord who asked the Question. I can give the noble Lord more specific details if he wishes. From 2020 to 2021, the proportion of health programmes that were nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific rose respectively from 20% to 23% and from 23% to 24%. Other areas, for example water, sanitation and hygiene, are crucial, because if children are suffering from other ailments, they cannot possibly start to recover the body weight that they need. That proportion has increased from 17% to 37%, and I am very happy to give the noble Lord more details if he wishes.
Sudan and South Sudan
Lord Purvis of Tweed Excerpts(5 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, I welcome the Minister to his place. He mentioned the democratic civilian forces meeting in Addis Ababa at the end of October. I declare an interest, in that I was there with them and I have been supporting them since the outbreak of the conflict in April. That meeting was a major move forward, and they are now working on a programme called Takadum, which means “progress”. Does the Minister agree with me that, if there is to be space for those civilians to take part in any meaningful peace negotiations to end this terrible conflict, the conflict cannot be prolonged? Armaments for the RSF and the SAF forces are being replenished, so will the Government consider having sanctions ready for any neighbouring countries—the whole sweep of Libya and Egypt, as well as the UAE, Turkey and Iran—participating in that replenishment during this dreadful conflict?
Lord Benyon (Con)
I thank the noble Lord for his involvement in this process. On 12 July, the Minster for Africa and Development announced a package of six UK sanctions, putting in place an asset freeze on the three commercial entities linked to each party involved in the conflict—the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. We do not speculate on future sanctions, but we will certainly look at anything that would limit the illegal activities that bring arms and cause this massive problem to continue, and we will certainly work with the noble Lord and others to ensure we are achieving that.
UK Sanctions Regime: Russia and Belarus
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I shall carry on with the Answer. The noble Lord is totally right, and I appreciate him confirming again the importance of standing in solidarity against Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine. As an aside, I have literally just come over from a Ukrainian survivor event that we were hosting at the Foreign Office—some of them very young survivors who have been through the most horrendous ordeals. It is important we send a message of unity.
On the specifics, I followed last week’s reports from City A.M. about 130 companies. There is a positive here, because this was voluntarily admitted, although there is of course inadvertent non-compliance. I assure noble Lords that we are working with our colleagues across government, particularly in the Treasury as well as other departments. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation is looking specifically at how we can further tighten some of the procedures. While we have fined companies that have acted inappropriately, and called others out, other methods are being put in place, including warning letters and mitigations. We are working particularly closely with the Treasury team to ensure, as I have always said, that loopholes are identified. Other loopholes identified as the sanctions are applied will also be closed.
The noble Lord rightly asked about some of the other specific industries and the sanctions we have imposed recently, including on areas such as oil and other contraventions. I assure noble Lords that, as we apply further sanctions, we will continue to identify such areas and loopholes. Only last week, on 8 November, we announced a further targeting of 29 individuals and entities operating in and supporting Russia’s gold, oil and strategic sectors, which are critical sources of revenue.
Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, I too admire the Minister’s reshuffle resilience and welcome him to the continuation of his post. I commend the Government on the latest sanctions on gold. The Minister knows that I have been warning about the UAE gold trade in Africa for a number of months now, and the measures in Zimbabwe are extremely welcome. Can he ensure that this will now be expanded to Sudan and other areas where that trade is so pernicious?
On implementation, I looked at the updates on enforcement on the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation website just before coming into the Chamber. The Minister referred to enforcement. The OFSI has said that, since 2019, there has been £21 million of enforcement against UK businesses. But, since the Russian invasion in 2022, there has been only £45,000-worth of enforcement against UK companies. Is the Minister satisfied that there is nearly 100% adherence to sanctions, or could we be doing more on enforcement actions against those who are circumventing them?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I record my thanks to the noble Lord for his kind remarks. I recognise, as he has, that this is about cross-party working and identifying what further steps we can take. I would not be bold enough to suggest that we have 100% compliance or that we are closing every loophole that has been identified; as I said, there will be further action in these areas. I also take on board some of the countries he mentioned where we can do further work. I will work with colleagues across government to ensure that, when we identify particular areas, I will notify the Front Benches in the usual way about action we are considering taking.