argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Afghanistan: Humanitarian Situation — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): I invite the hon. Gentleman to write to me about the case. My noble Friend Lord Ahmad speaks with countries in the region that border Afghanistan. The House will be unsurprised to hear that our relationship with Iran is more strained than the relationship we have with other countries in the region. Nevertheless, we recognise that land routes across to Iran are an exit route for some people who are in fear of their lives in Afghanistan. It is not possible for me to comment on individual cases without more details.
Afghanistan: Humanitarian Situation — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): I refer the hon. Lady to the answers I have already given on this issue. We have supported more than 3,400 people in leaving Afghanistan since the end of the Operation Pitting evacuation in August. That includes more than 2,200 Afghan citizens who either worked for the UK or worked in support of the UK’s objectives, or who are vulnerable—female judges, LGBT activists and injured children, for example. The UK is absolutely playing its part and we will continue to liaise with other countries, both in the region and those bordering Afghanistan, to help alleviate the terrible situation that Afghans find themselves in.
Afghanistan: Humanitarian Situation — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Mark Rory Logan (Conservative, Centre-right): The all-party parliamentary group on Afghanistan invite the Minister’s Department to give an update on what representations the Department has made to international counterparts about the force used by the Taliban against those protesting against deteriorating living standards, in line with the comments by the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell).
Afghanistan: Humanitarian Situation — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): I will pass my hon. Friend’s comments to our noble Friend Lord Ahmad, who I know takes these issues incredibly seriously. He visited New York in October to hold events with Afghan women and to speak in the UN’s annual debate on women, peace and security. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has visited a number of countries in the region and beyond to solicit their support in alleviating the situation in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Humanitarian Situation — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Anne Villiers (Conservative, Centre-right): The Open Doors world watch list identifies Afghanistan as the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian. Will the Government put the protection and support of Christians around the world and in Afghanistan at the heart of their foreign policy?
Afghanistan: Humanitarian Situation — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): Freedom of religion or belief remains an incredibly important strand of UK foreign policy. The plight of Christians in Afghanistan is dire, but indeed that reflects the plight of a number of other religious and ethnic minorities in Afghanistan. A cornerstone of our foreign policy is our pursuit of genuine freedom for all, and freedom of religion or belief is an important part of that—without it, is anyone really free at all?
Afghanistan: Humanitarian Situation — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): I remind the hon. Lady that the £286 million that we have allocated to Afghanistan was put in place in the autumn, and we are still ensuring that the money is distributed. She made the important point that doing so quickly can sometimes come at the cost of doing so carefully. We want to ensure that our money reaches the people who are in need and is not diverted to support the Taliban regime. The UK remains at the forefront of international efforts to support Afghanistan, and I am proud of the work that my Department and the whole UK Government have done.
Supporting Democracy — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): Democracy and freedom are at the heart of our Foreign Secretary’s vision for a network of liberty that will use partnerships in trade, security and technology to promote democratic values. We are committed to working with partners and allies across the world, including civil society, to support more open, inclusive and accountable societies.
Supporting Democracy — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Lia Nici-Townend (Conservative, Centre-right): After the fall of the Soviet Union, the people of Ukraine chose for it to become a free and independent country, which, rightly, was supported by the United Kingdom. At this time of Russian threat, can the Minister confirm that she will do all she can to ensure that it stays free, whether by diplomatic, economic or military means?
Supporting Democracy — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK and our allies are unwavering in our support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake and would come at a severe cost to Russia. We are working with our partners to develop a package of broad and high-impact sanctions that target the Russian financial sector and individuals. We are also providing a range of support to enhance Ukraine’s defensive capability.
Supporting Democracy — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): I saw in Sarajevo last week how well appreciated is the Government’s robust response to the secession threat from Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and how appreciated is the Westminster Foundation for Democracy’s five-year programme that works closely with missions there on more inclusive community and political leadership. That valuable programme comes to an end at the end of March and does not have certainty of further funding, so will the Minister do all she can to expedite budget decisions so that it can continue across the region?
Supporting Democracy — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his work as chair of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and for all the good that that organisation does globally, including in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are proud supporters of it and especially of its work to increase the participation of women and young people in politics. On funding decisions, the Foreign Secretary has been clear that we intend to restore funding to women and girls and to humanitarian programmes. We will finalise budget allocations shortly.
Supporting Democracy — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): We have made it clear that we have a clear role to promote freedom and democracy. That is a core mission of the FCDO. I did not know Jo Cox as, sadly, I arrived in the House after she had left us, but her legacy lives on. I am sure that the Foreign Secretary would be very happy to meet those who work to keep that legacy going.
Supporting Democracy — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: Technology
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): The integrated review made it very clear that the UK will be a responsible and democratic cyber-power. We intend to use our global network to strengthen the case for open, peaceful and secure digital space, pushing back against those who misuse technology or spread disinformation to undermine democracy.
Supporting Democracy — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: Government Operations
Graham Charles Stuart (Conservative, Centre-right): Could the Minister reassure the House that there are no other Members who have received hundreds of thousands of pounds of funding without question from hostile actors, and what confidence the public can therefore have in this Parliament?
Supporting Democracy — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Victoria Grace Ford (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure that all Members of the House have been watching these stories very closely. Let me just say that the UK does want to have a mature, positive relationship with China based on mutual respect, but we will not sacrifice our values or our security.
Northern Ireland Protocol: Dispute Resolution — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The fact is that the Northern Ireland protocol is not working. We need to make sure that the dispute resolution mechanism under the protocol is in line with that in the UK-EU trade and co-operation agreement and end the role of the European Court of Justice as the final arbiter.
Northern Ireland Protocol: Dispute Resolution — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I am taking a constructive approach to these negotiations. I was in Brussels yesterday meeting Maroš Šefčovič, and I do believe there is a deal to be done that helps protect peace and political stability in Northern Ireland and enables the free flow of goods between GB and Northern Ireland. Our officials are negotiating all this week, and I will be seeing Maroš Šefčovič again next week to make positive progress.
Northern Ireland Protocol: Dispute Resolution — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s constructive approach to the negotiations, but two years on from Brexit, can she confirm that disputes cannot go unresolved forever and that this situation has to be brought to an end sooner rather than later?
Northern Ireland Protocol: Dispute Resolution — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely agree with my hon. Friend on the urgency of this situation, which is why we have been holding intensive talks with the EU to resolve the very real issues there are for traders in GB and Northern Ireland. We do need to make sure that we maintain the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United Kingdom and that we fix this issue once and for all.
Northern Ireland Protocol: Dispute Resolution — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I assure the hon. Gentleman that I am working very hard with my EU counterparts to resolve the difficult situation in Northern Ireland. We need to sort this out as soon as possible, and that is why we are in intensive negotiations. I believe that there is a deal to be done and that that is in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland, the people of Great Britain and the people of the EU.
Northern Ireland Protocol: Dispute Resolution — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: Agriculture
Neil Peter Hammerton Hudson (Conservative, Centre-right): We have learned that viruses and many infectious agents do not stick to international or, indeed, domestic borders. That is all too true in the human setting, but also in the veterinary setting. With that in mind, what discussions has my right hon. Friend had with the EU about the possibility of a veterinary or sanitary and phytosanitary agreement?
Ukraine: Diplomatic Efforts — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I hosted Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in London in December. I speak to him regularly and I will be visiting Ukraine next week A further military incursion by Russia into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake and come with a severe cost to Russia’s economy, including co-ordinated sanctions.
Ukraine: Diplomatic Efforts — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I met the Prime Minister last night to discuss this very serious issue. He had a call with President Biden, President Macron and Chancellor Scholz to continue to co-ordinate our efforts. Yesterday, I met the Secretary-General of NATO to talk about the contribution that the United Kingdom is making. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the UK is at the forefront of putting pressure on Russia and supporting our friends in Ukraine.
Ukraine: Diplomatic Efforts — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady makes the very important point that, as well as the risk of an incursion into Ukraine, there are efforts by the Russian Government to destabilise and undermine democracy. That is why we released intelligence to expose Russian attempts to install a puppet regime in Kyiv. We will continue to expose their playbook, including false flag operations, disinformation and cyber-attacks.
Ukraine: Diplomatic Efforts — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Thomas Georg John Tugendhat (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s comments. She will know that the Foreign Affairs Committee was in Ukraine last week. I would like to place on record my thanks to Ambassador Simmons and her impressive team in Kyiv, who are serving our country extremely well. We are off to Sarajevo tomorrow. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we are seeing an arc of instability from Moscow, designed to put democracies on the back foot and make Putin’s regime look normal in a world of corrupt thieves? Will she reiterate her stance in the defence of freedom and promise to speak to our German friends about their decision not to support Ukraine with the sale of military weapons from Estonia, which was so recently denied?
Ukraine: Diplomatic Efforts — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the undermining that Russia is seeking to do of European democracy, including Ukraine, and Russia’s activities through Belarus and its activities in the Balkans. That is why we have appointed Sir Stuart Peach as our envoy to the Balkans and why I hosted a meeting of all the Balkans Ministers to discuss this issue. We need all our allies to step up. The UK is providing defensive weapons to Ukraine, we are supporting Ukraine economically and we are helping to train its armed forces. We need all our allies to get behind that, because ultimately, we do not want to see a Russian incursion into Ukraine, which would lead to huge loss of life and a huge quagmire, and we need to make Russia absolutely clear about that.
Ukraine: Diplomatic Efforts — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative, Centre-right): To build on my right hon. Friend’s answer, what assessment has her Department made of Russia’s other surrounding nations and their territorial and sovereign integrity? I am thinking especially of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Are the actions going on in Ukraine being assessed in respect of whether the west would take any intervention on Russian invasion in those areas?
Ukraine: Diplomatic Efforts — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes a very good point. We are working with allies and partners across the world because this is a threat not just to Europe, but to broader global stability. I was at a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in November where many of those countries were represented, and I saw very strong statements against further Russian action in the region.
Ukraine: Diplomatic Efforts — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman makes an extremely good point. In the 1994 Budapest memorandum, Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for the continued protection of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is absolutely right that this is about not just European security, which is incredibly important, but the response we will see from other authoritarian regimes around the world if Putin is allowed to get away with what he is seeking to do. That is why it is important that we work with allies, from Japan to India to Australia, as well as the United States and our NATO allies, to strengthen our resolve and our security and to make it absolutely clear that none of these regimes will succeed.
Ukraine: Diplomatic Efforts — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I strongly agree again with the right hon. Gentleman. We will make sure that we have the wherewithal to have a very severe package of sanctions in the case of any Russian incursion into Ukraine. We have been working with allies such as the United States, France and Germany to put that together. That is why we brought people together at the G7 in Liverpool, where we said that there would be severe economic consequences of an incursion into Ukraine. It is important, at this moment, that we see all our partners around the world step up. We are leading by example, but we want to see others follow that example.
Security Partnerships — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): We are building a network of security partnerships to protect our people, our partners and our freedoms. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has already outlined a number of interactions that she has had at multilateral and bilateral level, which echo conversations that the Prime Minister had last week. The Foreign Secretary was in Australia alongside the Defence Secretary for talks with our Australian counterparts, and on 12 January I was at the NATO headquarters alongside European and Atlantic allies for the NATO-Russia Council. As the Foreign Secretary has made clear, we are working through those partnerships to advance our interests from a position of strength.
Security Partnerships — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Dehenna Sheridan Fareham (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very proud of the firm support that the UK has shown for Ukraine as we see increasingly unstable and threatening behaviour from Russia. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that as Russia’s threatening behaviour towards Ukraine continues and intensifies, he and all Ministers are working with our global partners to encourage further support for Ukraine?
Security Partnerships — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): I can absolutely confirm that our support for Ukraine is discharged not only bilaterally, with training teams and defensive military equipment support, but with work at a multinational level through the Quad, which I attended recently, through NATO and through other international institutions such as the G7, to ensure that all countries support the principles of self-determination, territorial integrity, peace and freedom.
Security Partnerships — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): We have spoken at length in this House about the economic impact that the country and indeed the world have felt from covid, which has forced us temporarily to reduce our expenditure on official development assistance. We have had confirmation that we will return to 0.7%. With respect to the historical reductions in key areas such as humanitarian aid and women and girls, we will ensure that that money is returned to the budgets, as the Foreign Secretary has made clear. The process for future budget allocations has not concluded; until it has, any talk about figures can only be speculative on the hon. Lady’s part.
Security Partnerships — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Andrew Campbell Bowie (Conservative, Centre-right): While all eyes have been on Ukraine, my right hon. Friend will be aware that as a result of recent Russian naval activity, Sweden has taken the decision to send hundreds of troops and arms to the island of Gotland in the Baltic. What are the Government doing to support Baltic and Nordic countries, which feel very much in the frontline, against Russian aggression?
Iran: British Detainees — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): I can assure the right hon. Lady and the House that we remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of those British dual nationals unfairly detained in Iran. We continue to work together with our international partners. The Foreign Secretary pressed the Iranian Foreign Minister on 8 November for Anoosheh Ashoori, Morad Tahbaz and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be released and to return home to be with their families as soon as possible. I raised their cases with my Iranian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Bagheri Kani, on 11 November. We continue to call on Iran to do the right thing and allow the immediate release and return home of these British dual nationals.
Iran: British Detainees — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): I would remind the right hon. Lady of the point I made before. Our Department works tirelessly, daily, in our attempts to bring these people home and we do so not because questions are raised in the House or sent to us in correspondence but because it is the right thing to do and it is what we are committed to doing. We work tirelessly with international partners, both in the region and across the Atlantic, to bring about the release of these people, whose detention is completely illegitimate and completely wrong and is the sole responsibility of the Iranian Government. They are the ones who are in the position to release these people and we call on them to do so immediately.
Yemen — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): A negotiated political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen. On 10 January, I hosted the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, here in London and reiterated UK support for the UN-led peace process to drive forward the political process in Yemen. We urge the parties to engage constructively in negotiations to end this conflict, which is bringing death and suffering on an appalling scale.
Yemen — House of Commons, 2022-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): The money that the UK has allocated and distributed in Yemen has helped to protect lives and feed children, and I am incredibly proud of the work we have done. The fact of the matter, however, is that we cannot properly help the people of Yemen until this conflict has come to a conclusion. That is why we continue to work with the United Nations special envoy, Hans Grundberg. I remind the hon. Lady that aggression has been perpetrated by the Houthis in Yemen and across the borders in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. We call upon the Houthis to lay down their arms and engage with the peace process so that we can bring peace to Yemen and properly help the Yemeni people to lift themselves out of poverty.