Ukraine — House of Lords, 2022-03-30
Topic: International Affairs
Lindsay Granshaw (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I thank the Minister for bringing us this Statement The leadership in Ukraine and the courage of the Ukrainian people have been remarkable, and we pay tribute to them. I am very glad that we are standing with them, and we support the Government in this regard. Clearly, the suffering is terrible. As the noble Lord, Lord Collins, just said, it is surely right to say that war crimes have been committed here, and people must be held to account Can the Minister tell us what progress is being made in regard to humanitarian corridors? It is appalling that, as has happened elsewhere in conflict, such corridors can become opportunities for targeting the most vulnerable. It is vital that those responsible are brought to account Clearly, the political tectonic plates have shifted with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The increased focus and unity of NATO and the EU is striking, but that unity does not fully extend globally, as the Minister will know. I would like to ask him a few questions about that. Commissioner Borrell and others have described Mariupol as "our Aleppo", but at least two Middle Eastern Foreign Ministers have said that Aleppo is their Aleppo. Does the Minister pick up a sense that across some parts of the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, there is some concern that the response to Ukraine was not mirrored when other conflicts arose elsewhere? How are the Government tackling that How are we working internationally to make sure that this crisis is recognised as being of vital importance globally, and that the unprovoked invasion of one country by another is not accepted? Are we having useful dialogue with China and India in this regard? Does the Minister now recognise that it is vital that we have closer co-operation with the EU so that we can address our common interests, whether in foreign affairs or defence, more effectively? Will that now be taken forward? I have put this to the Minister many times, as he knows. Surely it is crystal clear that this must now happen Does the Minister also recognise that European countries have welcomed refugees with open arms but we have simply put up barriers in their way? Are the Government not ashamed of the paltry number of visas issued? Will they move to the same arrangement as the Irish, for example, and do the paperwork afterwards? I think of all those homes offered by the British people, yet few refugees are allowed through. The Statement mentions, I think, 150,000 homes offered. Will the noble Lord tell us exactly how many Ukrainian visas have now been granted? How could we ever have asked people to scan in documents that they might not have with them as they fled and that these were translated with a certified translation I welcome the action on sanctions but why did we allow time to slip before we put sanctions on individuals, some of whom have made it clear that they have offloaded their properties or passed them to their families in trusts? Will we pursue those family members? Will we increase the capacity in the sanctions unit? What are we doing to close loopholes that may be used in the overseas territories Are the Government working with others to try to get trusted information into Russia? Do the Government now recognise how important the BBC is, not only in the UK but worldwide? I hope they will not just praise the BBC World Service, as they did in the integrated review, while at the same time undermining it at home There are of course major consequences of this crisis. What is being done to address the potential food shortages across the Middle East and Africa? We already have famine in Yemen and Afghanistan. Do the Government recognise the potential for instability? Are the rumours right that, despite this, the Government are about to slash the ODA budget that goes towards tackling instability? Is it not now time to restore the aid budget to 0.7% of GNI I welcome that we are seeking to end reliance on Russian gas and oil. We are of course not in the position of the Germans and others in this regard. However, surely this is the time when we need to recognise the urgency of the climate crisis, and that this shows that developing our own renewables is not only the right thing to do but helps us to defend against reliance on countries such as Russia. Above all, we must continue to be strenuous in our efforts to support those in Ukraine who have been subject to such a terrible and unprovoked attack. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.