Northern Syria: Turkish Incursion

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I acknowledge the insights and experience of the noble and learned Lord, but I have stated what our current policy is. I restate that we have a robust regime in place and no further export licences will be granted to Turkey for items that would be used in military operations.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, according to reports I have read, the German Chancellor spoke directly to President Erdoğan, urging him to declare a ceasefire, as others European nations have done, to avoid any more terrible bloodshed and displacement. Have the British Government done the same?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I assure the noble Baroness that, as I said in repeating the Statement, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has spoken to the President of Turkey. We have not only urged restraint but called out that its actions were unexpected and unwarranted. On ensuring that the emerging humanitarian crisis in the region is given priority, let me further reassure the noble Baroness that we will continue to engage directly with Turkey—which, as I have said on a number of occasions, is our ally—to ensure that our views, and the views of you Lordships’ House, are made clear.

Forced Marriages: Repatriation Charges

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Wednesday 9th January 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, let us be clear: forced marriage is a crime. We need to ensure that we stand up for the rights of any individual—it is mainly girls, but young boys also have to endure this crime—and provide dignity and a safe return home in instances where they need to do so. The noble Baroness asks about reputation. It is important to recognise, as I hope she does, that when this issue arose in the last few days, my colleagues in the Foreign Office, including my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary, acted decisively and promptly to address a wrong—which we have put right.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, I am also very grateful to the Minister for this good outcome today. However, there have been reports of women being sold into slavery, or who cannot come back because of the charges. Have any attempts been made to contact and repatriate those who have been unable to pay and found themselves destitute and trapped in those countries?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, the issue of data is an important one. As I said in an answer to an earlier question, the Foreign Office has been proactively reaching out to those for whom we do have a record to ensure that they are aware of the situation and the change that has been effected. The noble Baroness raises an important point about modern slavery and human trafficking. As she will know, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has made this a particular priority on the global stage, and we are working with international partners to ensure that anyone caught up in modern slavery or human trafficking can also be repatriated to the country to which they belong.

Turkey: Prisoners

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Wednesday 27th June 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

As with any bilateral relation, as the noble Lord is aware, we have strengthened co-operation over a range of areas. We co-operate with Turkey on aviation security and counterterrorism, and those important relationships are valued both by us and by Turkey. It is the nature and strength of that relationship that allows us to be very candid, open and honest in our exchanges on human rights issues, including the detentions the noble Lord has referred to. We continually raise those concerns generally and, as I said to my noble friend, specifically.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, I acknowledge the remarkable 87% turnout at the elections at the weekend and President Erdoğan’s victory, with 53% of the vote. However, will the Minister outline how Her Majesty’s Government can influence President Erdoğan—now that he has the extra executive powers, of course—on the question of returning to the principles of human rights and freedom of expression, which are the cornerstone of a mature democracy?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

First, we of course recognise that democracy is an important part of any continuing and sustaining Government. We congratulate the President on his re-election, but in his speech he also acknowledged that there was a strong showing for opposition parties in the parliamentary returns, including the Kurdish minority party. We were encouraged by his acknowledging that he has to work more extensively in the interests of all Turkish citizens. As a Human Rights Minister, I can give the noble Baroness the assurance that, through international fora but, most importantly, bilaterally, we continue to press for the lifting of the state of emergency and for the human rights of all citizens of all backgrounds in Turkey.

Turkey: Pride March

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Thursday 21st June 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

As the noble Lord will be aware—and I speak as a human rights Minister—30 countries are highlighted as part of our human rights report annually, which focuses not just on those countries with the worst types of human rights abuse across the piece, but also countries that have shown some degree of progress and where the United Kingdom exerts influence. The noble Lord will know that, irrespective of whether countries, including Turkey, are on that list, we constantly raise all matters relating to the suppression of human rights, be they on the LGBTI agenda or on press freedoms and other human rights defenders, and we will continue to do so. I assure him that we work very closely with Turkey on various other issues, but that co-operation does not mean that we do not candidly and forcefully raise the issue of human rights directly.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, whoever wins the elections in Turkey on 24 June will have sweeping new powers as an executive President. The very significant and dynamic Turkish community in this country is paying very close attention to what is going to happen, particularly in our relationship with Turkey. Can the Minister give an assurance that future UK-Turkey trade talks will ensure that respect for human rights will be at the heart of any discussions?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Baroness speaks very eloquently, and of course we take great pride in all our diasporas. We talked just now about the Caribbean diaspora, which is a pride of Britain—but all our diasporas are, including our Turkish diaspora here in the United Kingdom. That is an important part of how we deal with and strengthen our relationship with Turkey. We are a friend of Turkey and work with Turkey across issues of aviation security, counterterrorism and the importance of trade, and I assure the noble Baroness that the issue of human rights is central in all our discussions.

Northern Cyprus

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Monday 16th October 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, this month marks Cyprus’s independence from British colonial rule in 1960. Would it not have been a fitting tribute if these talks, which went on for years and years and seemed so positive, had come to fruition? As has been mentioned, the island has been divided since 1974 and the intervening years have been marked with much conflict and dispute. There have been many rounds of peace talks over the past 40 to 45 years and it is a tragedy that the two communities remain unevenly and unequally divided on such a small island.

There was a breakthrough a few years ago when the Turkish Cypriot President, Mustafa Akinci, was elected overwhelmingly on a pledge to do all that he could to bring peace and reunification to Cyprus. He was a strong advocate for reunification and for the past two years he has worked tirelessly and solely on this objective, deserving much recognition for his commitment. According to a recent poll, the vast majority of Turkish Cypriots—67%—want the divided island to be reunited. I declare an interest as I have many family members on the Turkish Cypriot side, whom I regularly visit, talk to and am in touch with. There is a large diaspora in this country and the vast majority want some sort of settlement. The Turkish Cypriots are tired of being a part of embargoes, of being isolated, of not having free trade, of their young people not being easily able to go overseas to be educated in universities and to be part of the wider global community.

In the 2004 referendum, the Turkish Cypriots voted overwhelmingly for the United Nations Annan plan for a settlement. As the noble Lord, Lord Balfe, has mentioned, the most recent special adviser, Barth Eide, has worked tirelessly. Following his resignation a few months ago, he said that the UN does not give up on Cyprus but it needs to know that there is a peace process which can only be owned by the Cypriots. That is an important statement because there are too many outside influences. Cyprus is in such a strategic position that it has always had too many outside influences who believe that it is not in their interests to have a settlement. It suits a lot of people for Cyprus to remain divided. I shall come on to particular communities which have that interest in a moment.

The sudden and depressing collapse of negotiations in Crans-Montana in July, and in particular, declarations by Turkey that there is no point in pursing the UN parameters, leaves Turkish Cypriots, who are also EU citizens, quite vulnerable. As my noble friend Lord Sharkey said, the sterling efforts made by the United Kingdom are to be commended. It is important to note that everything was thrown at this to make it a success.

There are already calls from some Greek Cypriot quarters to abandon all EU technical and financial support to the north as the Republic of Cyprus had only agreed to this on the basis of it being with a view to reunification. Can the Minister confirm that the United Kingdom, as a guarantor country, will continue to provide much-needed assistance, particularly technical and financial assistance, to the north to ensure that the institutions which they rely on do not face being set aside or programmes that are already in existence stopped? Can he also confirm that the United Kingdom, as a guarantor country, will look favourably at incremental ways of easing some of the isolation that results from the blocks and embargoes that Turkish Cypriots are facing through no fault of their own?

Regrettably, it looks like a settlement that involves power sharing is no longer on the cards. The Turkish Cypriots have again been left in limbo, with little hope of the embargoes coming to an end. Much was promised by the UK, the EU, the World Bank and the United Nations in the event of reunification. There would have been significant support and investment. What will happen to those commitments and some of those pledges? Are they all simply going to evaporate so that everything goes back to the way it was, to the status quo?

Can the Minister also say what steps will be taken to ensure that Turkish Cypriots are not left completely isolated diplomatically, internationally and financially? The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, was a strong supporter of the Annan plan and he came to the talks from a position of pro-solution. That is why many of us were so hopeful that President Mustafa Akinci had a partner in peace. They both wanted the same thing. It is therefore hugely disappointing that more efforts were not made to thrash out the positive deals that were on the table. President Mustafa Akinci said after the Crans-Montana talks that the Greek Cypriots—the people and the leadership—do not want to share power. This is not something I have heard him say before, but sadly it now seems to be a reality.

In the crucial referendum held in 2004, 75% of Greek Cypriots voted against a federal solution. It now seems that, in the run-up to the elections in the Republic of Cyprus, no deal is presumably a vote winner, so President Akinci’s observation that the Greek Cypriots do not want to share power looks increasingly accurate. It is also apparent that Turkish Cypriots want to share power because they want to share sovereignty. Turkish Cypriots are EU citizens. The European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights binds all institutions of the EU and provides that all EU citizens should be treated equally, along with protection from discrimination as set out in the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. Those institutions are under a duty to ensure that the Turkish Cypriot community has all the benefits of membership and is free from all forms of discrimination. Is this going to be looked at seriously and can the Foreign Office make inquiries into how it can be progressed?

The agreed troop presence has always been a stumbling block. The Greek Cypriot diaspora in this country has frequently taken to platforms and demonstrations asking for Turkish troops to get out of Cyprus. They all want that. It was reported that it had been agreed that, as my noble friend Lord Sharkey said, the Turkish troop presence would be reduced to 650 along with 950 Greek soldiers. However, what could not be agreed was either a review or a sunset clause. That was the only issue on the table and surely it could have been thrashed out rather than the talks and negotiations being abandoned. The Greek Cypriot leadership has unfortunately opted for the status quo and thousands of Turkish troops will remain. The island will remain divided and much-needed investment in an island where self-determination for all Cypriots could have been a reality is to be denied. Personally, I cannot see these talks being revived again after such a loss of confidence on all sides. I do not think that the Turkish Cypriots will ever want to come back to the negotiating table unless something dramatically changes.

The demographics in Cyprus are changing as well, and not just for Turkish nationals. In the past few weeks, it has been reported that Russians oligarchs have been acquiring Cypriot citizenship and are therefore now EU nationals. They have created a new political party in Cyprus which says that it supports UN talks on the future of the divided island and aims to take part in the European elections in 2019. Of course, Turkish Cypriots are denied the right to take part in European Union elections simply because they need to be registered in the Greek south in order to vote. All these anomalies are being thrown up in the absence of any comprehensive settlement. Surely Russia gaining a foothold in Cyprus is a worrying trend.

I believe that politics is the art of the possible. If Greek Cypriots are unwilling or unable to share power, there must be legal mechanisms in place which, with support from the UK and the EU, could enable the Turkish Cypriot community to benefit fully from Cyprus’s membership of the EU. It is unjust that the community should face further decades of isolation. Can the Minister say whether it would be possible for the United Kingdom to make at least incremental changes to relieve the isolation and the embargoes, and to look at investment that would allow Turkish Cypriots to enjoy a better quality of life? Can he comment on this, please?