International Human Rights Day 2025

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. We owe a big thank you to the hon. Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) for setting the scene incredibly well—well done him. I should declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, which speaks for those with Christian beliefs, those with other beliefs and those with no belief.

Across the world, millions of individuals face discrimination, intimidation, imprisonment and violence simply for practising their faith or holding their beliefs. From restrictions on worship to targeted attacks by state and non-state actors, their fundamental freedoms are violated daily. We live in a world where persecution in one place ripples into many others. The global community is interconnected, and so too are the consequences of neglect. Human dignity is not divisible. When any group is denied their right to believe, gather and live openly, every part of society is diminished.

The United Kingdom has a long tradition of defending freedom of religion or belief worldwide. The Bishop of Truro’s review in 2018 laid bare the scale of global Christian persecution. I acknowledge that the Government have made progress, but without sustained political will from the Minister and the Government, who are, I believe, committed to this, those abuses will continue unchecked.

What can we do? We can strengthen our diplomatic pressure on states where persecution is widespread.

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, as the UN penholder for Sudan, the UK has the moral responsibility to ensure the ongoing human rights travesty there does not continue, most importantly by ending all arms trade to the United Arab Emirates?

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Gentleman is right to bring up that issue, which has figured in every question about the subject. The Government must take action on that. If there is an evidential base, we need to act on it.

Levels of oppression across the world have reached near-genocidal intensity in some regions, so the UK and this Government need a more robust and strategic response. We must put diplomatic pressure on states and ensure that aid programmes prioritise vulnerable minorities. We should expand training for our diplomats and work with international partners to collect evidence, monitor abuses and pursue accountability. We can step up to advocate for those who are marginalised, silenced and oppressed around the world—those who are not only left behind but actively suppressed by the very nations that should protect them. We must uphold the principle that no person should ever fear violence, exclusion or imprisonment because of their faith. That is a daily reality for Christians in countries such as Nigeria, Pakistan, North Korea, Eritrea and others that seldom make the headlines. That is why this work is so urgent.

On this International Human Rights Day, let us renew our resolve. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland must continue to lead, advocate and act. Our words carry weight and our actions will determine whether persecuted communities feel the protection that this Parliament pledges. I urge the Government and all colleagues to press forward more boldly, more consistently and with clear purpose to defend the rights of Christians worldwide and uphold the universal freedoms that safeguard us all.

Kashmir: Self-determination

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank the hon. Member for Bradford East (Imran Hussain) for securing this debate, and I thank all Members who have spoken so far with such eloquence, passion and knowledge.

The Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir. This is not a new conflict, but a particularly long and devastating one that affects many in the UK, particularly those in communities with strong personal ties to the region. We have all learned from other long-running conflicts, such as in the middle east, that unresolved disputes can lead to immense suffering. Now, in the season of good will, the UK Government must play an active role in advocating for peace and reconciliation between India and Pakistan by hosting a peace conference that includes the representatives of the area’s population, including AJK. We urge both Governments to engage in a peace process that delivers a sustainable solution. The UK should work with the international community to provide diplomatic support for a just and lasting settlement.

The region remains one of the most militarised in the world, with widespread allegations of suppression and discrimination. With the UN reporting serious human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 and 2019, and the revocation of article 370 in 2019, the subsequent restrictions on Kashmiri rights are deeply disturbing. When the world is on the brink of so many disasters, let us see peace in Jammu and Kashmir, a peace conference held, and a referendum organised. The UK must use its influence to support UN inspections and engagements in Kashmir so the people of the area can prosper in peace.

The Liberal Democrats believe in defending human rights and equality globally; we think that UK foreign policy should promote those values internationally. The UK must reverse its cuts to official development assistance and ensure that aid focuses on poverty and human rights, and indeed on ending wars. Where better to do that than in Jammu and Kashmir by utilising the soft power of our aid programme?

The Kashmir crisis is a long-standing issue that cannot be ignored. The UK must use its diplomatic channels to promote peace, hold human rights violators accountable and support those affected by the conflict. More importantly, it must see that those who stand with guns on both sides of this long-standing conflict do the same. We stand for a peaceful, just and humanitarian approach to resolving conflict. We also say, in all humility, humanity and love: let us put this conflict in the bin of history and remind both sides that, in the words of the late Jo Cox, there is so much more that unites us than divides us.

Happy Christmas, everyone. Let’s hope it’s a good one without any tears.

Conflict in Sudan

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

That is a very important point. It is absolutely vital that the IPC has the access it requires to make its classifications. I note with alarm and dismay how often this House relies on IPC classifications, not just in Sudan but in Gaza. It is vital that the IPC can do its work properly, so that its classifications, which are the world standard, can be relied on.

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

In last night’s Adjournment debate, I called for a Lancaster House-style conference for all the parties to the Sudan conflict, so that a way to peace can be found. Government Members also called for a peacemaking force. Given the urgency of the situation, can the Minister please see to it that both of those suggestions are investigated, and that discussions are opened with our partners in the region, including Nigeria, so that the suggestions can be acted on?

[Mr Falconer]

I take note of the hon. Gentleman’s suggestions. I am sure that he will be aware that six months ago, we did host a conference—I think it was in Lancaster House—for the whole world, in order to try to make progress on this question. We did so mostly privately, given the sensitivities for all involved. We will continue to do all we can diplomatically, both publicly at the UN and behind closed doors, as part of a concerted effort to bring this violence to an end.

Official Development Assistance Reductions

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for securing this important debate.

Getting UK aid spending to 0.7% of GNI was undoubtedly one of the Liberal Democrats’ proudest moments. It fulfilled a promise and it put us ahead of the game in the race to reach the Brandt target, but more importantly it meant that the UK was doing its bit to make poverty history around the world. The cut to 0.3% is a tragedy for the poorest on the planet, and it diminishes our reputation and influence.

I want to focus on my own area of expertise: water, sanitation and hygiene, or WASH. Sustainable development goal 6 is clean water and sanitation, but WASH also underpins most of the other SDGs. We know that the world could face a 40% shortfall of fresh water by 2030, and that progress on the sustainable development goals is way off track for meeting that 2030 deadline. More seriously, the UK’s annual budget for WASH has been cut by approximately 82% since 2018—from £206.5 million to a critical low of just £37 million in 2022. Two thirds of healthcare facilities in the 46 least developed countries do not have access to basic handwashing facilities, and without access to WASH, infections are more likely to spread. That increases the risk of antibiotic-resistant infections, which cause 5 million deaths annually.

There are also economic costs. Research by WaterAid has shown that infections developed in healthcare facilities cost seven countries across sub-Saharan Africa $8.4 billion each year. In Malawi, those infections are consuming almost 3% of the country’s GDP, and a staggering 10.9% of its annual healthcare budget is being absorbed in treating them. Many antibiotic-resistant infections treated by the NHS originate elsewhere in the world. Healthcare-acquired infections already cost the NHS at least £2.1 billion a year—a cost that will increase as those infections become increasingly resistant to antibiotics. To protect the NHS, we need to ensure global health security, and that requires investment in WASH.

Women’s health is disproportionately affected by inadequate access to WASH, because they are the primary household managers of water and sanitation, and because of their specific needs in childbirth and menstruation. Every year, more than 16 million women give birth in healthcare facilities that lack WASH, and infections associated with unclean birth environments account for 11% of maternal mortality. Some 1.7 billion people do not have a toilet, which makes managing periods much more challenging. With no facilities at school, at work or in public places, many women and girls stay at home every month. Many girls opt out of school altogether when they start their periods. I could go on at great length, but I will say this: let us do the right thing and restore the 0.7% aid spend.

Sudan: Government Support

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

We are in Remembrance Week, when we remember the dead of past wars. Right now in Sudan, a war as murderous and horrible as anything the world has faced is shattering the lives of civilians, of children, of women and of men, in ways we can scarcely countenance.

I have secured this debate because what is going on in Sudan cannot continue. The fall of the city of El Fasher, after a brutal 18-month siege, is the latest disaster in what the Foreign Secretary accurately described at the weekend as

“the largest humanitarian crisis in the 21st century.”

Over the past week, reports have been coming in of executions, forced expulsions and organised massacres—the evidence of which is literally visible from space, with images of carnage and bodies strewn in the streets. Conditions in El Fasher have been described as “apocalyptic”. However, this was not unexpected. Tragically, it was very much predicted, with warnings from numerous sources. Descriptions of El Fasher as another Srebrenica are not misplaced, although they are in many ways worse.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate and for all his work across Africa before coming to this place. I respect him greatly for his desire for human betterment.

As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, I have spoken and asked questions about Sudan some 14 times in the past year—as have others—because I am acutely aware of the precarious situation for Christians in the region. Christians have been murdered in the beastliness and wickedness that is happening. Patients and staff have been murdered in hospital. I have consistently asked the Government to step up support for those who are being targeted because of their faith. It grieves me greatly, it grieves the hon. Gentleman greatly, it grieves us all greatly. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that we must use any and all methods at our disposal to help those desperately needy and innocent people as a matter of urgency?

[Brian Mathew]

I thank the hon. Member for his kind comments. I agree with him, and I hope to put forward some ideas that may prove useful.

There are no United Nations peacekeepers on hand even to witness the killings. Current events are a continuation of a calculated political strategy to destroy and ethnically cleanse a province that gives its name to one of the tribes —namely the Fur. The Zaghawa, Berti and Masalit tribes have been similarly targeted in a strategy that began, arguably, well over 20 years ago. Despite the commendable efforts to improve international accountability—including through support for the International Criminal Court and UN fact-finding missions—as well as the efforts of many Members here and our UK aid programme to raise awareness and support the Sudanese people, what has been done so far is clearly not enough.

[Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)]

Over 30 million people now need humanitarian aid in Sudan, and millions more have been displaced, with countless others living in fear, hunger and deprivation. Does the hon. Member agree that this crisis has been overlooked for far too long and that, for the sake of humanity, we need to turn our attention to Sudan and do what we can to provide aid and support to those who so desperately need it?

[Brian Mathew]

I heartily agree with the hon. Member.

Humanitarian workers are also under threat, and I commend the work being done as we speak by groups like Doctors without Borders—MSF—and the International Committee of the Red Cross. MSF has been treating hundreds fleeing El Fasher over the last week, including men, women and children suffering from severe malnutrition, gunshot wounds and other injuries linked to beatings and torture. As a former aid worker who has lived and worked in Sudan, although many years ago, I want to express my deep sadness over the killing of five Sudanese Red Crescent Society volunteers in Bara, North Kordofan. Humanitarian workers are often the first and sometimes only responders for people in desperate situations around the world, and they selflessly give their time and skills, as well as their courage and compassion. My heart goes out to their families.

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. Does he agree that part of the great tragedy of Sudan has been the way it is unfairly overshadowed by conflicts happening elsewhere in the world, and we should be less squeamish about pointing that out to the public here in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world?

[Brian Mathew]

I totally agree; we need to be far more outspoken on this issue.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Ind)]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for securing this debate. When I read the transcript from the International Development Committee, I was struck by the contribution from Liz Ditchburn, who said that the Government’s approach to this was not sufficiently structured and that there needed to be focus and strategy. Does he agree that we need to convene such focus and strategy in this place in order to have a comprehensive response?

[Brian Mathew]

I very much agree with the hon. Lady, and I hope that my speech will bring some ideas to the floor.

The Government need to be bolder, more direct and proactive in their work to support Sudan and the Sudanese people. As UN Security Council penholder on Sudan and lead in the core group on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council for the protection of civilians, it is our duty to try every possible avenue to push for peace and change. I am sure we are all glad to see the recent announcement from the Foreign Secretary that £5 million in aid will be going to Sudan, in addition to the £120 million already allocated this financial year, with £2 million specifically going to support survivors of sexual violence. This conflict has been particularly devasting for the women and girls subjected to that violence. They often have no potential recourse, justice or even access to the most basic health services after being attacked.

We need to look to the future and to recommendations from the sources that predicted the ongoing violence. Protection Approaches, an organisation that repeatedly predicted the potential for extreme violence in El Fasher, has pointed to the city of Tawila as a next step in the trajectory of the Rapid Support Forces’ strategy.

[Navendu Mishra (Stockport) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate, and I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) and my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) for doing so much on this issue. In January 2025, the Biden Administration said they judged that the RSF and associated militias had committed genocide in Sudan. I have had a number of constituents from the Sudanese community in Stockport and across Greater Manchester contact me about the horrors taking place in Sudan. Does the hon. Member agree that our own Government should make a similar assessment?

[Brian Mathew]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, and I agree with him. Will the Government do for Tawila what was not done for El Geneina, Zamzam, or El Fasher, and recognise its precariousness before it is too late? Will the Government use every diplomatic pressure and avenue available to secure guarantees that humanitarian assistance and aid can be delivered unimpeded?

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am very grateful to the hon. Member for securing this important debate, and to everyone who has participated. He mentioned impediments to aid, and he will be aware that the most recent, very disturbing IPC assessment showed that famine is taking place in El Fasher and Kadugli. That came out after the quad statement from the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE. On the subject of diplomatic pressure, does the hon. Member agree it is important that the UK uses its influence with those quad members, to say that they must pressure the belligerents to stop blocking that much needed aid in this famine situation?

[Brian Mathew]

I completely agree with the right hon. Lady and thank her for raising that point. A third of children under five in El Fasher are suffering from acute malnutrition, and some are resorting to eating animal feed and plant waste to survive. I would hope that everything possible will be done to allow humanitarian corridors to open for civilians to leave besieged areas, and to be assured they are not going from the frying pan into the fire. The supply of weaponry and military equipment is the oxygen keeping this conflict alive, and we as penholder should lead efforts to impose a binding, enforceable arms embargo across all of Sudan.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

My hon. Friend urges an arms embargo, and for the UK to use its role as penholder at the UN Security Council, but Martin Griffiths has said that peace is likely to come out of the region through powers such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Does my hon. Friend think that the UK should be using its bilateral relations with those countries to bring peace?

--- Later in debate ---

[Brian Mathew]

I know my hon. Friend has military expertise so I thank him for his points. Crucially, we must also suspend arms sales to the United Arab Emirates. The fact that British-made weapons, tools and equipment could be flowing into the hands of those perpetrating these actions is terrible beyond words, and I echo the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding), who said that equipment made on our soil must never end up in the hands of those committing such atrocities.

[Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)]

My hon. Friend raises an important point in his powerful speech, and I would like to take it further. Even if British-made weaponry is not being diverted and ending up on the battlefield in Sudan, the UK is still breaching sections 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 of its own arms export licensing criteria. Those rules not only prohibit the export of weapons that are proven to be misused, but they also restrict their sale to any country that may use arms to violate international humanitarian law. Does my hon. Friend agree that in exporting arms to the UAE, the Government have been acting contrary to international humanitarian law, and that we must stop selling arms to the UAE?

[Brian Mathew]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We must ensure that this business with arms is stopped. The atrocities that we are witnessing through the news, with the work of Barbara Plett Usher at the BBC, others at The Guardian and Al Jazeera, and through social media trickling through the media blackout, will be remembered for generations. El Fasher, like Srebrenica before it, will sadly likely stand as a symbol of what happens when the world turns a blind eye.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this very important debate. He has mentioned Srebrenica and the Bosnian conflict twice. Does he agree that in years gone by, conflicts causing immense humanitarian suffering, death and carnage resulted in international, UN-mandated military forces protecting civilians and humanitarian corridors? Is it not a reflection on the sorry state of international affairs that that does not even seem to be on the table as an option, despite this being the greatest humanitarian crisis that the world faces right now?

[Brian Mathew]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman; the world needs to wake up. As the penholder, we have the means and the moral responsibility to act and ensure that we and the rest of the world do not turn our backs on Sudan once more.

[Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing this important debate. I have been to Srebrenica, and I was in Sudan in 2002. As I travelled with my research team to the northern Nubian desert, our path was blocked by the presence of the Wagner Group, which was training the RSF militia and extracting vast quantities of gold. This is an internationalised civil war. Does my hon. Friend agree that an internationalised civil war requires an internationalised solution? Britain is morally bound to play a leading role in assembling a coalition of the willing.

[Brian Mathew]

I agree with my hon. Friend.

I call on the Government to follow on from the London Sudan conference held in April and hold a Lancaster House-style peace conference for all the parties to the conflict. They must hold it in a place of safety, on neutral ground, where peace in Sudan and the means to achieve it can be fully debated and a way forward can be found for peace, reconciliation and rebuilding. Some may say that such a journey is impossible, but if we do not try, we will not succeed. If a journey begins with a single step, let this be such a step. We cannot and must not allow the killing, torture and rape to continue.

[Martin Wrigley (Newton Abbot) (LD)]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this really important topic. I suggest one additional thing he might feel that he needs to add: a sense of urgency to get this solution in place. Does he agree?

[Brian Mathew]

I totally agree. I thank my hon. Friend for that point. With that, I will conclude my remarks.

Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Access

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

It is an honour to speak under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for bringing this vital debate to Westminster Hall.

Before I try to address some of the many important points made in today’s debate, I would like to say that this matter is very close to my heart. As a student in the early 1980s, I spent a year researching in Israel and Egypt, based for much of the time on Kibbutz Re’im, which would be attacked by Hamas militants on 7 October 2023. In those now far-off days, I remember going into Gaza with my Israeli friends to visit their Palestinian friends, to drink coffee and to trade. Those were happy times, and they show that another way is possible.

I should also add that, as a member of the International Development Committee, I have not only travelled to the west bank and witnessed at first hand the effect of IDF teargassing of UNRWA schools, but heard testimony from humanitarian workers, doctors, ambulance drivers and paramedics, sometimes in tears over the utterly appalling targeting of humanitarian staff and children by Israeli drones—shooting children at bomb sites in Gaza, some days in the groin, other days in the legs, and other days in the head. This behaviour is most foul, and has even been acknowledged to be ethnic cleansing by none other than former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. It must stop or be stopped by all means possible.

I will shoot through some of the points that have been made, because they are all valuable: the 28,000 women and girls killed; the fabric of life destroyed; the latest attack on Qatar; the disinformation campaign; the provision of rotten food; the US President’s visit and the chance to lobby him; access for aid workers, not just aid; 98% of aid workers killed are Palestinians; 2,000 people killed in orchestrated killing; aid workers killed in Gaza; the trauma and the fear; the Israeli denials, obfuscation and confusion; the attacks on the Palestine Red Crescent; the attacks on hospitals; deaths of civilians; starvation, hunger and famine—it goes on and on and on.

I go to the Lib Dem position: obviously, we say that the situation in Gaza is unconscionable. The Liberal Democrats firmly support human rights, international law and the peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Above all, we believe that all humans should be treated with dignity and have their basic rights respected. Like many millions around the world, we have been deeply devastated by the scenes in Gaza, and increasingly now in the west bank. That is not to take away the trauma experienced by the Israeli people following the heinous attack that Hamas undertook on 7 October. There is no overestimating the grief, anger and trauma that they are still feeling.

We have been deeply concerned by the violence between Israel and Hamas, which has led to mass displacement, immense suffering and loss of life. No Israeli or Palestinian should be killed simply because of where they were born. The UK must play a proactive role in achieving a peaceful and lasting solution that ensures dignity, security and self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians. The Government must finally recognise that they need to do more to ensure that Britain is not complicit in human rights violations, starting by immediately halting all arms sales to Israel.

The Government have still failed to release their legal advice surrounding the ICJ rulings on the occupation. Why? Will they now make clear what advice they have received regarding the legality of actions undertaken by Israel in Gaza? In the light of the confusion caused by the letter from the former Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy), is genocide taking place?

We call for a multilateral push to secure a renewed ceasefire to end the humanitarian catastrophe, as well as unhindered humanitarian access into Gaza. We need that ceasefire to hold to ensure that the remaining hostages are released and that the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza is alleviated. Hamas terrorists have shown despicable cruelty even in the release of Israeli hostages and also in the return of the bodies of hostages killed in captivity. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has left countless people in danger and in a state of famine, and many thousands dead.

The UN estimates that women and children have accounted for 70% of fatalities in Gaza since October 2023. It has stated that more than 1.9 million people have been displaced, including more than 1 million women and girls, as estimated by UN Women. The entire population of Gaza—approximately 2.2 million people—is experiencing acute food insecurity, and a famine has been declared in the Gaza strip.

The UN has noted that an estimated 63 women, including 37 mothers, are being killed daily, and 17,000 Palestinian children are believed to have been orphaned since the war on Gaza began. More than 183 women per day are giving birth without pain relief, while hundreds of babies have died because of a lack of electricity to power incubators, and 95% of pregnant and breastfeeding women face severe food poverty.

Reports of sexual and gender-based violence in this conflict, including allegations against Israeli forces and about Hamas’s actions on 7 October 2023, are deeply concerning. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has uncovered that nearly 70% of those killed in Gaza over a six-month period were women and children. That is a disproportionately high level, compared with usual conflicts.

Many Israelis are disgusted by the behaviour of their Government. They have been openly demonstrating and even bravely burning their draft cards, which will result in their imprisonment. We need to stand and act in solidarity with them and with Palestinians, who just want to have a peaceful future.

Sudan

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 16th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Catherine West]

My hon. Friend is quite right to say that the longer the war lasts, the greater its ripple effect. We should give credit to countries like Egypt, Chad and South Sudan, alongside others nearby, for managing this crisis and for taking so many people in. There has also been aid from countries like the UK, but the impact within the region is devastating. I will certainly take back to the Minister for Africa my hon. Friend’s point about the impact on South Sudan and reply in writing with what we are going to do this month—not waiting until September, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran) said.

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

As a former aid worker and resident of Darfur, I feel deeply for the people of Sudan. Will the Minister say whether there are plans to increase the amount of spend for the emergency response rooms? They are clearly doing very valuable work at the moment.

West Bank: Forced Displacement

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd July 2025 Westminster Hall

[Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) for securing this important debate.

For the almost six decades that the west bank has been occupied by Israel, the UN Security Council has been calling for Israel to withdraw, but instead it has expanded, with now more than 500,000 settlers living in the west bank and a further 200,000 in East Jerusalem—a physical barrier obstructing the realisation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

Palestinians are often required to seek permits to travel through the west bank; they are subjected to a combination of bureaucratic and physical barriers that consume their time and attack their dignity. Indeed, those movement restrictions constitute just one element of a patchwork of policies and laws that, taken together, have been described by the ICJ as “systemic discrimination” against Palestinians.

Liberal Democrats are profoundly concerned that the deteriorating situation in the west bank, in particular during the last two years, poses a fundamental threat to a two-state solution that could finally deliver the dignity and security that both Palestinians and Israelis deserve. The UK must recognise a Palestinian state now—immediately. Will the Minister update the House on UK plans to recognise Palestine? What discussions are taking place with Canadian and French leaders regarding a possible joint recognition?

There is an urgency here: from the beginning of 2024 to April 2025, more than 41,000 Palestinians were displaced in the west bank and 616 were killed. On almost 2,000 separate occasions, attacks by violent Israeli settlers resulted in Palestinian casualties or property damage. There has long been a culture of impunity around settler violence; few crimes result in indictments, and fewer still in convictions.

The most recent activity has been fuelled by the far-right extremists in Netanyahu’s Cabinet, who have emboldened the most brutal settlers. It is right that two such inciters, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, have been sanctioned, but, frankly, that took far too long. The Government have not moved quickly or strongly enough to disrupt settler violence in the west bank, so will they now clamp down on settler violence and will the Minister listen to the Liberal Democrat calls for an import ban on goods from illegal settlements?

The Israeli Government have also mounted a systematic campaign against the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the west bank. Since its banning, UNRWA has been unable to co-ordinate aid deliveries, and its delivery of health and education has been disrupted. Palestinian education has come under attack.

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

My hon. Friend will remember that on our trip to the west bank late last year, some of us witnessed a girls’ school that had been tear-gassed just the day before; in fact, it still had smouldering shells in the roof. Does she agree that UNRWA schools and their children must be protected?

[Monica Harding]

Palestinian children have a right to education and to the chance of a decent future, as all children do. A total of 84 west bank schools are under threat from pending demolition orders. Will the Minister update us on steps being taken to support UNRWA and ensure education provision in the west bank?

Israel’s actions in the west bank are illegal under international law. That was made clear in the ICJ’s advisory opinion published last July. The Court held that Israel is in breach of its obligations under international law with respect to failing to prevent or punish settler violence against Palestinians, confiscating or requisitioning areas of land for settlement expansion, and the forcible displacement of the Palestinian people and the transfer and maintenance of Israeli settlers, both of which violate the fourth Geneva convention.

Almost one year after that 2024 ICJ ruling was issued, the Government still have not provided a formal response. Can the Minister tell us when, finally, we can expect it? In the interim, what steps have the Government taken to meet their obligations to support Palestinian self-determination as outlined in the ICJ advisory ruling? The Liberal Democrats’ position is iron-clad: we want the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state and a halt to the settlement activity in the west bank. The Government must affirm their commitment to that path.

BBC World Service Funding

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Thursday 26th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to speak under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I thank the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) for securing this important debate.

I thought I would offer some of my experiences of listening to the BBC World Service over the years: from winning a T-shirt from David Lee Travis’s BBC Wild Service, a radio show on which I requested The Stranglers’ “Golden Brown” for my friends, including Kase the Dog, in Kibbutz Re’im in the early 1980s, to sitting in the back of a Land Rover with “UNHCR” painted on the side and listening to Live Aid while I filed my first report from rural Zambia on the Angolan border in 1985, and to countless other times on aid missions across the globe where the Beeb kept me and my colleagues connected with what was going on in the world. BBC World Service: I thank you.

Of course, it is not just about the Brits abroad; it is about the people of the world having a news service they can trust in their own languages. This is so much more important now with the Russians and the Chinese spending huge amounts to get their propaganda broadcast across the world. The BBC World Service is soft power personified, and I salute it.

In a world in which it is all too easy to block websites, shortwave broadcasting is still a thing, and we should continue to keep the Beeb on the air in as many formats as possible. It is our connection with the world, and the world’s connection with us. Long live Aunty!

Oral Answers to Questions

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

The hon. Gentleman will understand why I will not comment on those issues from the Dispatch Box.

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

8. What assessment he has made of the contribution of water, sanitation and hygiene projects to achieving the Government’s international development objectives.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

Our work on water, sanitation and hygiene helps deliver development objectives on global health, climate and growth. We support eight countries in Africa and Asia to develop climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene services and prevent the spread of diseases, including cholera. We are working through the World Bank and the global challenge programme on water to reach 300 million with water services by 2030.

[Brian Mathew]

Recent polling by WaterAid and YouGov shows that access to water, sanitation and hygiene is the No. 1 priority that the UK public want to see funded through UK aid. That makes sense, given that water underpins global health, keeps girls in school and builds climate-resilient communities. Does the Minister agree that it is one of the smartest and most cost-effective ways to deliver the UK’s development goals? Without access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, there can be no meaningful progress in any of those areas.

[Stephen Doughty]

The hon. Gentleman makes important points. I had the pleasure of seeing many important water and sanitation projects in my previous career. We are concentrating on maintaining our impact by focusing on partnerships with Governments and multilaterals, and establishing the conditions that can secure additional domestic funding and private investment in those areas. He rightly makes the link between water and sanitation and health, and that will be considered as we approach future funding allocations.