Gaza: UN Human Rights Council Vote

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Monday 21st May 2018

(5 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Alistair Burt Portrait Alistair Burt
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The hon. Gentleman asks a good question. Before any of these resolutions come together, there is a great deal of contact between member states to try to find a way to broker an appropriate resolution. It normally works on the basis of someone putting forward a draft and other parties coming forward with suggestions, but if there cannot be an agreement, something then gets tabled on which people have to vote.

Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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Both America and Israel are our allies, yet we are powerless when the US moves its embassy and we are onlookers when the UN votes to hold an inquiry into the killings in Gaza. True friends offer advice and criticism, but are we now content just to hold hands rather than holding anyone to account?

Alistair Burt Portrait Alistair Burt
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No, I do not think that that is the case at all. As I said earlier, true friends take a position in which they try as best they can to learn all the facts of the circumstances before coming to any conclusions, particularly in an area as sensitive and difficult as this. That is what we have sought to do.