Contributions
3,506 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDIran: Women’s RightsI totally agree with the noble Lord and I assure him that we are talking directly both with individuals and with organisations. Indeed, I have asked to meet with senior leaders of…21 Dec 2022HANSARDIran: Women’s RightsMy Lords, I agree with the noble Lord. While I am not a Muslim leader, I am a Minister who happens to be Muslim and I totally and utterly condemn the suppression of women, not…21 Dec 2022HANSARDIran: Women’s RightsMy Lords, the noble Lord raises a number of important points. Of course, on the key point of the safety and security of people who are in the United Kingdom, including…21 Dec 2022HANSARDIran: Women’s RightsMy Lords, I welcome both the noble Baroness’s question and her engagement directly with the FCDO. I look forward to further engagement on this and other issues. I assure her that…21 Dec 2022HANSARDChinese Consul General: Attack on Protesters in ManchesterMy Lords, if the noble Lord has not yet received the letter from that debate, I shall of course follow that up. On the specific issue of the planning application, he will be aware…20 Dec 2022HANSARDChinese Consul General: Attack on Protesters in ManchesterMy Lords, as we look at refreshing the integrated review, these aspects will of course be covered, but I agree with my noble friend that there are various elements of our policy…20 Dec 2022HANSARDChinese Consul General: Attack on Protesters in ManchesterMy Lords, I will have to follow up on the specifics, but on the noble Lord’s more general point about these so-called unofficial police stations, they have no basis in the United…20 Dec 2022HANSARDChinese Consul General: Attack on Protesters in ManchesterMy Lords, I do not wish to speak to the specifics of the National Security Bill, but I will follow that up; I was not part of that exchange. I am very clear that, as we have done…20 Dec 2022HANSARDChinese Consul General: Attack on Protesters in ManchesterMy Lords, on one of the points that the noble Lord raised, at no time in our conversations with the Chinese embassy did we ask them to remove their diplomats. It was right that…20 Dec 2022HANSARDChinese Consul General: Attack on Protesters in ManchesterMy Lords, the right reverend Prelate is of course right: such actions go totally against the traditions of our country and free debate within universities. Such situations have…20 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessMy Lords, we helped to negotiate and regain access to humanitarian corridors to various parts of the region, including parts of Tigray. However, the noble Baroness is correct: not…05 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessYes, we are. However, I do not want to deny for a moment that the challenges are immense. We have just seen a very fragile peace agreement being reached; we need to ensure that it…05 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessMy Lords, we are providing additional access. As my noble friend will be aware, in the last 18 months alone, we have allocated nearly £90 million to support efforts, including…05 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessMy Lords, of course I can assure the noble Baroness that we are working with key agencies, including the UN. This was a specific area that I also discussed with SRSG Patten, who…05 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessMy Lords, equally, I know that the noble Lord has detailed insight of this area and particularly this conflict. As he and I discussed only a couple of weeks ago in a very—as…05 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessMy Lords, it is good to hear the noble Baroness in such good voice. We welcome the peace agreement between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front to end…05 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessMy noble friend raises an important point, not just in the context of Ethiopia but everywhere where British taxpayers’ money is spent. It is important that the Government stand…05 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessMy Lords, we need to focus on practical solutions, which is why, even with the United Nations, we have focused on supporting the African Union’s efforts. There could be a…05 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessMy Lords, in any conflict resolution, what is required is reconciliation. We need to focus on that. This is a very vulnerable ceasefire at the moment. We have seen hard…05 Dec 2022HANSARDEthiopia: Peace ProcessMy Lords, the noble Lord will know that I cannot give any specifics or details of sanctions; however, sanctions are part and parcel of the tools we have at our disposal. As I said…05 Dec 2022