Lord Polak (Con):...I am, however, sure that my noble friend the
Minister will be hearing from the co-chairman of the newly
established all-party war crimes group, led by the noble Lord, Lord
Mendelsohn, and the right honourable Andrew Mitchell MP, which was
set up specifically to remove this stain on Rwanda-UK relations.
The review rightly confirms that our interests and values are
closely aligned, talking of “a world in which democratic societies
flourish and fundamental human rights...Request free trial
(Con):...I am, however, sure that my noble friend the
Minister will be hearing from the co-chairman of the newly
established all-party war crimes group, led by the noble Lord,
, and the right honourable MP, which was
set up specifically to remove this stain on Rwanda-UK
relations.
The review rightly confirms that our interests and values are
closely aligned, talking of
“a world in which democratic societies flourish and fundamental
human rights are protected”.
In the light of these fine words, will my noble friend the Minister
confirm that the UK will not attend Durban IV? As the right
honourable Member for Chipping Barnet, , said in the
other place, it is the anniversary of the 2001 UN conference
against racism, which degenerated into hatred, anti-semitism and
disproportionate criticism of Israel.
The review rightly argues that poor governance and disorder are
likely to increase the space for terrorists and extremist groups to
operate in the Middle East. The report, however, says little about
the intentional and malign efforts of the Iranian Government to sow
disorder, enrich uranium, destabilise Governments and sponsor
extremists and terrorists throughout the region. The Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps’ terrorist proxy Hezbollah continues to
hold the people of Lebanon hostage as their country faces economic
collapse. The IRGC is menacing the Kingdom of Bahrain through arms
exports to pro-Iranian militias and is prolonging the tragic war in
Yemen through support for the Houthi rebels, who are directly
attacking Saudi Arabia.
Does my noble friend the Minister agree with me, therefore, that
the UK has an opportunity to play a significant role: to take a
lead and bring about a more resilient Middle East by proscribing
and therefore marginalising the Iranian revolutionary guard
corps?
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