Oral Answers to Questions
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(4 days, 18 hours ago)
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Yvette Cooper
My hon. Friend is right to raise that important matter. When we see the really flimsy shelters that families are in, despite the terrible flooding and the winter conditions, we know the impact this is having, including in contributing to disease and further displacement. So we are continuing to urge the Israeli Government to change their restrictions to allow better-quality provisions and construction materials into Gaza, and to make sure we meet those basic humanitarian needs. That commitment was made in the 20-point plan not just by Israel, but by all countries, and we need action to support that.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
Given the utterly extraordinary news yesterday that Donald Trump has invited Putin and Netanyahu to sit on the board of peace, does the Foreign Secretary recognise that the board of peace is unfit to contribute to the task of peacebuilding? Additionally, it includes no Palestinians and almost no women. Does she recognise that it would be inappropriate for Britain, or indeed Brits, to participate in it, and what does she suggest as an alternative?
Arctic Security
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(5 days, 18 hours ago)
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Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
Donald Trump rides roughshod over international law and international alliances. The PM has said that a trade war is in no one’s interests, but we all know that if you give ground to a bully, you get bullied even more. Does the Foreign Secretary recognise that after a full year of attempting to appease Donald Trump, the strategy has comprehensively failed; that it is time to replace submission to the US with strength and solidarity with our European partners; and that the UK needs to make it clear to Donald Trump that there are red lines, and that if he engages in hostile activity towards the UK, it will have practical consequences, not least in trade?
Yvette Cooper
The UK’s security is strengthened by the NATO alliance—the transatlantic alliance. I know that some want to reject Europe, and some want to reject the US and North America. We know that the transatlantic partnership keeps us safe and is crucial, which is why we believe in continuing with NATO. I know that some parties want to ditch it.
Iran: Protests
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(5 days, 18 hours ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Mr Falconer
When it comes to events across the middle east, I am reluctant to focus on a particular incident in the long and, I am afraid, fraught history of interventions and the violence that follows them, but we are of course considering the broader history of the wider region as we consider our response.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
I share the horror expressed by colleagues on both sides of the House at the brutal, repressive crackdown on protesters in Iran, and pay particular tribute to the bravery of women protesters who are fighting for their rights. Among the many concerning stories that are now emerging is testimony on the use of sexual assault as a weapon of repression. Did the Minister and the Foreign Secretary raise that specifically during their recent interactions with representatives of the Iranian regime, and can the Minister set out in more detail the timetable for next steps, including implementation of the additional sanctions to which the Foreign Secretary referred last week?
Mr Falconer
I can confirm to the House that the Iranian representatives were left in no doubt about the strength of our views, but because these were not terribly long conversations, we were not able to get into the full detail of our concerns, and there is not much more that I can add on the timing of further sanctions.
Iran
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(1 week, 4 days ago)
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Yvette Cooper
Responsibility for what we have seen, and for potentially thousands of deaths and the killings that we have seen, lies squarely with the Iranian regime.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement. Like her, I condemn absolutely the repressive, violent, vicious crackdown on protesters by the Iranian regime, and pay tribute to the bravery of so many Iranian citizens who, over so many years, have protested, advocated, campaigned and been on the streets calling for fundamental rights and freedoms for all citizens. I welcome the new sanctions against the regime that she has announced today. She also talked about sending a message to other countries that seek to break those UN sanctions. Is she considering other concrete measures against such countries that engage in sanctions busting, such as sanctions against them?
Yvette Cooper
The action that we saw with the vessel that was interdicted by the US was an example of enforcement of sanctions that was supported by the UK, and as we saw, that vessel had links not just to Iran but to Russia. The hon. Member is right to say that we need to call on all countries around the world to respect the UN sanctions process and to realise that this is not a time to be supporting this Iranian regime.
Middle East and North Africa
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(2 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Mr Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for his kind opening remarks. It is easy, with so much going on, to lose sight of the individual cases in these conflicts, and meeting some of the children that we have medically evacuated is a truly humbling reminder not only of the horror of war and what is happening in Gaza, but of the power of the UK to really make a difference to people’s lives. I am grateful to him for bringing that to the House’s attention.
We are not only committed to a Palestinian state; we have recognised one. We have set out clearly where that Palestinian state is, and that clearly has implications under international law—points we have made both in relation to the most recent set of settlements announced by the Israeli Government and, indeed, some of the other very significant settlements, including the E1 settlement that has been announced. We are also taking steps on the correspondent banking questions, which are also vital. I can assure my hon. Friend, and indeed the House, that we will continue to work on these issues through the new year.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
I thank the Minister for his statement. He rightly condemns the outrageous blocking of the delivery of humanitarian aid, which is desperately needed in Gaza. His statement did not mention the west bank but, as colleagues have highlighted, another development over the Christmas period was the decision by the Israeli security council to permit the establishment of 19 new settlements. He rightly condemned that, but repeated condemnation that is repeatedly ignored by an Israeli Government that repeatedly break international law is simply not enough. Will the Minister finally take the straightforward and concrete step that is open to him by banning all trade with illegal settlements? They are illegal; their proceeds are the proceeds of crime. Why will he not take that step?
Mr Falconer
I remind the House that I have announced three waves of sanctions in relation to settlements in the west bank. I have announced sanctions on both Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir—the two politicians in the Israeli Government that colleagues from across the House have most often referred to in their understandable concerns about the expansion of settlements. I will respond to the letter in relation to goods. As I said to the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse), there are very different arrangements in place for trade with those settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Venezuela
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(2 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Yvette Cooper
The reason we stand up for the UN charter and international law is partly because it reflects our values and partly because it reflects our interests, and because that UN charter and international law framework underpin peace and security across the globe. Of course, throughout decades of history, international law and the UN charter have been tested and strained with the reality of different kinds of international affairs all over the world, and they will continue to be, but we still believe in the importance of advocating for international law and doing so with our closest allies.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
The US attack on Venezuela is clearly a breach of international law. Of course Maduro’s violent, repressive regime must be held accountable, but the Venezuelan people need and deserve international support that upholds international law, not the unilateral, unlawful US oil imperialism that we have seen. Does the Foreign Secretary recognise that a key function of any Foreign Secretary is to defend and uphold international law? Does she recognise that a year of pandering to and pussyfooting around Donald Trump has had no restraining effect and has instead emboldened him? Will she condemn the illegal US action?
Yvette Cooper
Let me just say what is in the interests of the people of Venezuela, because that was where the hon. Member started her question. What I think is in the interests of the people of Venezuela is not the Maduro regime, but a transition to democracy. We have worked for many years for a peaceful transition to democracy in line with international law, and that continues to be our policy, but we will work with the reality on the ground. We will work with all those involved and will use the particular assets we have with our experienced embassy to promote the transition to democracy in as safe and stable a way as possible. That is exactly why we are in touch with the Venezuelan opposition.
International Human Rights Day 2025
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I thank the hon. Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) for securing the debate. I declare an interest as an officer of the all-party parliamentary human rights group.
I will start by highlighting the work of environmental human rights defenders and indigenous rights defenders, who are in need of our continued support. Their vital work protecting the land, health and livelihoods of their communities can be extremely dangerous. The 2025 Global Witness report documented the killing of 146 such defenders, the majority in Latin America, including 48 in Colombia, which has had the most killings globally for the past three years in a row, followed by Guatemala, where 20 defenders were killed last year. That is shocking.
Two thirds of the cases are linked to land or land reform, and indigenous people are disproportionately targeted. To mention two emblematic cases, Berta Cáceres from Honduras, a celebrated indigenous Lenca leader and Goldman environmental prize winner, was murdered in 2016 for her resistance to the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam. Her case became a major international warning about the risks faced by activists. Fikile Ntshangase, a South African activist, was shot dead in her home in 2020 for her leading role in a campaign against a coalmine. These women were incredibly brave—absolute icons and leading lights of international human rights work.
There are so many other unsung heroes doing the same. Claudia Ignacio Álvarez, from Mexico, whom the all-party group recently hosted, has faced threats and forced displacement for her work defending rural and indigenous communities. In Indonesia, Dewi Anakoda, an indigenous Tobelo woman, has received death threats and been violently attacked for helping journalists to expose the destruction of the neighbouring uncontacted Hongana Manyawa people’s territory resulting from the mining of nickel for electric vehicles.
It is vital that the renewable energy transition does not come at the expense of communities whose rights and environments are often very negatively affected by the mining of critical minerals. Co-ordinated global action is necessary to avoid replicating the terrible errors of the fossil fuel age in critical mineral mining.
In that connection, I note concerns expressed by some non-governmental organisations about the UK’s recently published critical minerals strategy. The Government still have a window of opportunity, through the Department for Business and Trade’s review of responsible business conduct, to ensure that we stop environmental devastation and human rights abuse in critical mineral supply chains. I hope that that will recommend the adoption of mandatory supply chain due diligence to protect human rights and the environment, and I would welcome the Minister’s comments on that.
There are many other human rights issues to mention. It is vital that we all work together to resist the push-back against women’s rights globally, as well as the horrific ongoing human rights abuses in Gaza and Sudan. It is so important that the UK Government step up to the plate and do their duty.
I finish by asking the Minister the question that I did not manage to ask the PM today. Given that it is Human Rights Day, and given that the UN has made absolutely clear that the global cuts in foreign aid are having a severely detrimental effect on the protection of human rights around the world, will the Government restore the UK’s global aid budget to defend human rights?
Oral Answers to Questions
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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Mr Falconer
The advisory opinion is an important piece of international legal opinion, so we are taking our time and ensuring that we have an adequate response. But I remind my hon. Friend that it is not like nothing has happened over the course of those 17 months: we have recognised the Palestinian state. That is absolutely central in the deliberations of the advisory opinion, and we have done many other things, too, as have been discussed over the course of this session.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
What action will the UK Government take as a consequence of Israel’s flagrant violation of international law in establishing and expanding settlements? The lack of action creates a culture of impunity in which Israel feels able to green light the expansion of the E1 settlement, creating division between the west bank and east Jerusalem and putting a nail in the coffin of the two-state solution. Will the Foreign Secretary ban trade with illegal settlements to show that violating international law has consequences?
Mr Falconer
We have, from this Dispatch Box, announced three waves of sanctions, including on Mr Ben-Gvir and Mr Smotrich. I have discussed the questions around trade on a number of occasions with the hon. Lady. Any trade with settlements does not benefit from the trade arrangements in place with green line Israel. We continue to take steps to ensure that that regime is enforced in full, and we continue to look at these issues very carefully.
Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Dr Chowns
I thank the Minister; I appreciate that. We have been talking about the desperate need for unfettered aid access into Gaza for desperate, starving civilians. At the same time, this country continues to provide completely unfettered trade access for settlement goods into the UK—proceeds of crime, literally. Is it not time for the British Government to ban trade in settlement goods? Might that not help to put a little pressure on the Israeli Government to allow aid into Gaza?
Mr Falconer
As the hon. Lady knows, there is not unfettered trade with the occupied territories. They are not subject to the same trade arrangements as Israel, and where there are breaches, we will investigate those thoroughly. We have discussed many times some of the challenges around ensuring that goods produced in the occupied territories do not find their way into the mainstream Israeli trading system, but I do not have the time, I am afraid, to rehearse some of those arguments again this afternoon.
I will close by saying that the Government understand the urgency of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, on both sides of the yellow line. His Majesty’s Opposition ask whether we want to see the international system enter what some are calling the red zone, west of the yellow line, and indeed we do. That is absolutely vital. That is where 90% of Gaza’s population remains to this day. Humanitarian provision east of the yellow line cannot make a dent in the very significant humanitarian suffering that so many have described so eloquently.
The most recent figures that we have show famine levels reducing, and severe malnutrition has decreased since the ceasefire, but it is still far too high. I give this House my solemn commitment, and that of the Government, that we will not rest until humanitarian aid is entering Gaza in the volumes required to try to meet the staggering level of human suffering that so many have talked about with such power this afternoon.
Gaza and Sudan
Ellie Chowns Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Yvette Cooper
I welcome the points that my hon. Friend makes about aid and the restrictions on weapons. On the approach we have been taking, let me say that earlier this year we secured the renewal of the UN fact-finding mission, because the first stage is to ensure that there is evidence. Most recently, there is a Human Rights Council resolution on enabling a full UN investigation into the atrocities. It is crucial that we have those investigations so that the international courts can hold people to account.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement. What further concrete steps will she take to increase pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian access for the more than 30 humanitarian NGOs that have been blocked from delivering urgently needed relief and to stop Israel supporting settlement expansion and settler violence? On Gaza, what new concrete actions will the Government take to press those who support the warring parties to stop the slaughter? Specifically, how will she persuade the UAE to put more pressure on the RSF to stop the slaughter?
Yvette Cooper
In terms of the steps we are taking to get Israel to allow the aid agencies in, we have raised that directly with the Israeli Government and through the CMCC as part of the peace process. Bear in mind that the flooding of Gaza with humanitarian aid was a crucial part of the 20-point plan and the ceasefire agreement that the Israeli Government and Hamas signed up to, so we need to ensure the implementation of that as well as having direct pressure. We continue to raise issues around the settlements.
On Sudan, we continue to engage with all the nations that can have any possible influence on the warring parties in order to seek the peace we desperately need.