Oral Answers to Questions

David Hanson Excerpts

Tuesday 4th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

6. What discussions he has had with the Government of Ukraine on the political situation in that country.

[Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe) (Con)]

7. What assessment he has made of the latest political developments in Ukraine.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hague]

I hope that when I present my statement to the House later we will see strong unity on many aspects of this crisis. It is of course the Government’s responsibility to frame this country’s policy and the Opposition’s job to hold us to account for that, as the shadow Foreign Secretary often reminds me. I hope that there will be very strong unity on the key aspects and key principles involved in this crisis. We must debate coolly and calmly, across all parties, the measures we should take in response to it.

[Mr Hanson]

What assessment has the Foreign Secretary made of reports of continuing violence in Kharkiv and Donetsk over the weekend? Does he have any view on ousted President Yanukovych’s claims of legitimacy from any particular point of view?

Oral Answers to Questions

David Hanson Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Swire]

The hon. Lady raises a good point. There is a genuine question about control over the Burmese military; and until the Burmese military is brought under control, the peace process in Burma and the journey on which the President has embarked will be under serious question. We are anxious to help with what is going on in Kachin: we have increased our humanitarian aid, which now totals £3.5 million—as far as I am aware, the biggest donation in that area from any country. We are also one of the three bilateral members of the peace donor support group, which represents most of the major donors in Burma and is working closely with the Government to move from the ceasefire arrangements to political dialogue with all Burma’s ethnic groups.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

2. What assistance he is providing to ensure access to education and health for women in Afghanistan.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alistair Burt)]

Supporting access to welfare, including education and health for women and girls in Pakistan, remains a key priority for the UK Government. Despite some fragility, we believe real progress has been made in these areas in these states over recent years. I expect to be able to give more details in answer to questions in the next few minutes.

[Mr Hanson]

I am grateful for the Minister’s response. Does he accept that one of the real benefits of intervention by international countries in Afghanistan has been the progress made for women? What steps will he take to ensure that, for neighbouring countries as well as areas in Afghanistan, such progress is not reversed?

[Alistair Burt]

The right hon. Gentleman is right to point to specific progress. In 2002, fewer than 9% of women in Afghanistan had access to any health care, whereas some 57% now have access to it within an hour, whether they walk or use other means of travel. It is important for that progress to continue. To that extent, the Tokyo mutual accountability framework agreed by a number of nations sets some indicators for Afghanistan in return for future financial support post-2015. Support for women, including measures such as the Act on the elimination of violence against women, is a key part of that and we would like to see it implemented as part of that agreement.

Syria

David Hanson Excerpts

Thursday 10th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing us to go a little wide of the situation in Syria—thousands of miles away. Of course we are deeply concerned about continuing conflicts in Burma, which are at the top of the list of what we raise with the Burmese Government; the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), who is sitting next to me, was there recently having those discussions. I will look at the report that my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes) brings up and we will continue to communicate our views very clearly to the Burmese Government.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

There is a strong Syrian diaspora in the United Kingdom, including in my constituency. What assessment has the Foreign Secretary made of the number of refugees who may want to see Britain as their ultimate destination, and what discussions is he having with his right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to ensure a sympathetic response to any requests?

[Mr Hague]

The emphasis is very much on helping to look after refugees where they have arrived, as they clearly have in vast numbers on the borders of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, and some of them are now in Egypt. I cannot give the right hon. Gentleman any guarantee about any individuals or any particular number that would be able to come to the United Kingdom, but of course as the situation continues to deteriorate and the numbers continue to mount we will have to keep that under review.

Oral Answers to Questions

David Hanson Excerpts

Tuesday 4th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Bellingham]

I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to those non-governmental organisations. I entirely agree with him that the situation is very fraught, but the good news is that President Traore has come back from Paris, and there is now a Government of national unity which is truly inclusive. The most important consideration is that ECOWAS must help to secure the state institutions in Bamako and then rebuild the capacity of the Malian army before even thinking about taking any action against the rebel groups in the north of the country.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

As the Minister says, the situation is extremely serious: more than half the country is now occupied by al-Qaeda-backed rebels. What steps can he take with his international counterparts to ensure that sanctions are imposed on sources of supply for those rebels, particularly in relation to arms and ammunition?

[Mr Bellingham]

I share the right hon. Gentleman’s concerns, especially in view of the number of former mercenaries from Libya who have found their way into the region. Obviously the region is extremely unstable. A number of different rebel groups are plying their evil trade. What is most important is for the Government of national unity to secure Bamako, to work with ECOWAS and other international organisations to build capacity, and then to think about what action can be taken against those groups in the north. In the meantime, I agree with the right hon. Gentleman. There has been a United Nations Security Council resolution, and we will consider, as best we can, sanctions and other measures against individuals.

Oral Answers to Questions

David Hanson Excerpts

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

1. When he next expects to discuss the situation in Syria with his US counterpart.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)]

I am in regular contact with Secretary Clinton and I last discussed Syria with her on Friday.

[Mr Hanson]

I thank the Foreign Secretary for that answer. Given the recent violence, including the reported shooting of unarmed protesters, does he agree with Secretary of State Clinton that the Syrian Government have lost legitimacy? Given the level of violence, particularly the attacks on the US embassy and the French embassy, what steps is he taking to ensure the security of British citizens who work for the United Kingdom and are operating in Syria now?

[Mr Hague]

The right hon. Gentleman raises some important issues in relation to recent events in Syria. We absolutely deplore the continuing violence against protesters. Reports overnight from the city of Homs suggest that between 10 and 14 people were killed, including a 12-year-old child. We have condemned the attacks on the American and French embassies and we called in the Syrian ambassador last Wednesday to deliver our protests and to demand that Syria observes the requirements of the Vienna convention. The US and British Governments are united in saying that President Assad is losing legitimacy and should reform or step aside, and that continues to be our message.

Kabul Conference

David Hanson Excerpts

Wednesday 21st July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I would not want my hon. Friend to be under the impression that the Prime Minister is not absolutely clear about what he and other Ministers have said about 2015—that we will not be there with combat troops, and will not be there in significant numbers, in five years’ time. I do not want to leave my hon. Friend with any impression that there is any doubt about that. However, that is on the basis of what has been said over the past year, and what we were all committed to at President Karzai’s inauguration, the London conference and the Kabul conference—the Afghan national security forces being able to lead their own operations by 2014. They are on track to do that. There is, of course, a little bit of leeway in what we have said, given that the target is for 2014, and we want to stick to that.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Will the Foreign Secretary say what discussions he has had with Cabinet Ministers other than the International Development Secretary about offering expertise in kind to Afghanistan, such as police, court and prison support, and justice support generally? In passing, would he like to comment on what the Deputy Prime Minister said at Prime Minister’s questions about Iraq being an illegal war?

[Mr Hague]

The Deputy Prime Minister has a different history from mine on that subject; that is certainly true. It is, of course, for the Ministers who were in power at the time to account for their actions, but that, I know, Mr Speaker, is a separate subject from today’s. There is work on, and involvement in, the issue across Whitehall, as there was under the previous Government, with different agencies and Departments taking part—through provincial reconstruction teams, for instance—in the development of the capacity of the Afghan state. Of course we will continue that.

Oral Answers to Questions

David Hanson Excerpts

Tuesday 6th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

We can put diplomatic pressure on those organisations—that is the leverage we have. The hon. Lady may think that that is not substantial enough, but that is what such pressure amounts to—working with those countries, particularly South Africa, and of course with reformers in Zimbabwe, to try to ensure that the global political agreement is properly respected. The UK will remain a strong voice for that, but we cannot guarantee it on our own.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

The noble Baroness Ashton, as the EU foreign affairs chief, recently met Zimbabwean Ministers to discuss what she termed human rights abuses and political development. I understand that a €20 million grant is currently being made available to the Zimbabwean authorities as Baroness Ashton seeks to make concrete progress on those political objectives. Does the Secretary of State have any idea what concrete progress means in reality?

[Mr Hague]

I think we can fairly say that concrete progress would be a great deal more than anything that is happening at the moment. There have been no noticeable improvements in the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, and we are deeply concerned about harassment and politically inspired detentions, which continue in that country. Concrete progress means a lot more than anything we have seen so far.