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Howell of Guildford, Lord
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Lords debate on motion to take note of recent developments in the Middle East and north Africa. Agreed to on question.
Lords debate on motion to take note of recent developments in the Middle East and north Africa. Agreed to on question.
Lead member
Lord Howell of Guildford
Answering member
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Debates
Subjects
Demonstrations; Commonwealth; Corruption; Development aid; China; Finance; Human rights; Foreign relations; Oil; Protest; Natural gas; Politics and government; Piracy; Overseas students; Overseas trade; Visas; Israel; Sudan; Palestine; BBC World Service; Syria; Middle East; Yemen; Peace negotiations; EU external relations; Travel information; Egypt; Lebanon; Gaza; Tunisia; Somalia; Self-determination of states; Jordan; Algeria; Westminster Foundation for Democracy; North Africa; Muslim Brotherhood
Date
11 February 2011
Reference
725 c439-96
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
House
House of Lords
My Lords, perhaps I may add to the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey. As this is positively the last appearance of the Minister at the Dispatch Box, unless he gets caught by a topical next week, we on this side, too, are sad at his departure. He has dealt with your Lordships’ House with efficiency, charm and candour—and I say "candour" for both sides, not just for us. We admire that. This is the fourth time that I have had to say farewell to a Foreign Office Minister in the past seven years and I think that the regret is the greatest in this case, although possibly that is shared with the noble Baroness, Lady Symons of Vernham Dean. He has done a very good job and we appreciate that. We thank him very much indeed.
The Prime Minister of Somalia has just announced that he fears that there is a large flow of al-Qaeda-backed foreign fighters coming into Somalia. There have also been intelligence rumours—I do not ask the Minister to comment on them in detail—that some of these are being trained up as terrorists and are coming to the United Kingdom. We are worried about what is happening in Somalia; it is not only a remote fight and none of our business. Would the noble Lord like to comment on these concerns about al-Qaeda’s involvement in Somalia?
My Lords, perhaps I may add to the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey. As this is positively the last appearance of the Minister at the Dispatch Box, unless he gets caught by a topical next week, we on this side, too, are sad at his departure. He has dealt with your Lordships’ House with efficiency, charm and candour—and I say "candour" for both sides, not just for us. We admire that. This is the fourth time that I have had to say farewell to a Foreign Office Minister in the past seven years and I think that the regret is the greatest in this case, although possibly that is shared with the noble Baroness, Lady Symons of Vernham Dean. He has done a very good job and we appreciate that. We thank him very much indeed.
The Prime Minister of Somalia has just announced that he fears that there is a large flow of al-Qaeda-backed foreign fighters coming into Somalia. There have also been intelligence rumours—I do not ask the Minister to comment on them in detail—that some of these are being trained up as terrorists and are coming to the United Kingdom. We are worried about what is happening in Somalia; it is not only a remote fight and none of our business. Would the noble Lord like to comment on these concerns about al-Qaeda’s involvement in Somalia?
Asked by
Lord Howell of Guildford
(Conservative)
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
16 July 2009
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his kind remarks and observe to the Benches opposite that, if in the area of foreign policy in this House we cannot find a spirit of bipartisanship, then on what issue where? It has been a great privilege to be faced by such supportive, if occasionally critical, questioning from the Benches opposite. It is parliamentary business at its best and I thank all noble Lords for that.
In the context of foreign fighters in the country, I have no doubt that they are there. President Sharif’s allegations are, in broad outline, correct. We have to take steps to end this. We must make it clear that the internationalisation of the conflict in Somalia is utterly unacceptable and will be robustly addressed. The United States, France and others have already taken action in this regard and we will, too, through the Security Council and other means. The noble Lord is right: there is a worrying increase in the number of UK terrorist cases that have a Somali root.
Subjects
Armed conflict; Ethiopia; Somalia; Eritrea
Date
16 July 2009
Reference
712 c1262
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
House
House of Lords
My Lords, is it true that the Eritrean army is yet again invading Somalia and helping the Al-Shabaab rebels? I do not know whether the Minister has any news on that. One area where we in this country have a direct interest is the offshore piracy. Is it correct that the Iranians now want to contribute through their naval resources to the anti-piracy movement? Might this not be at least one area where, despite all our disagreements with Iran on everything else, we could co-operate with it?
My Lords, is it true that the Eritrean army is yet again invading Somalia and helping the Al-Shabaab rebels? I do not know whether the Minister has any news on that. One area where we in this country have a direct interest is the offshore piracy. Is it correct that the Iranians now want to contribute through their naval resources to the anti-piracy movement? Might this not be at least one area where, despite all our disagreements with Iran on everything else, we could co-operate with it?
Asked by
Lord Howell of Guildford
(Conservative)
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
21 May 2009
My Lords, on the noble Lord’s first point, there is pretty strong evidence of Eritrean collusion in the upsurge of violence against the Government and of possible arms resupply to the rebels by the Eritreans. They were condemned in a Security Council presidential statement at the end of last week and have furiously denied the charges, but frankly that does not give me much confidence—it does not mean that the charges are not true. There is also a real risk of this situation escalating; there have been reports, again denied, of Ethiopian troops returning into Somalia. This is an enormously serious challenge to the Government and we all have reason to be very concerned to support and reinforce them over the coming weeks. I will have to get back to the noble Lord on his second point about Iran and piracy.
Subjects
Armed conflict; Politics and government; Somalia
Date
21 May 2009
Reference
710 c1433
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
House
House of Lords
My Lords, as the Ethiopian troops began withdrawing only the day before yesterday—on Tuesday—does the Minister agree that it is possibly a little early to judge the security situation and the power vacuum that they leave? However, is it not clear that the al-Shabab Islamic extremists will have a much freer run for the moment, and that action internationally is required? Are we, the British, supporting the American draft resolution for a UN force to be in place by 1 June, if that is not too late?
My Lords, as the Ethiopian troops began withdrawing only the day before yesterday—on Tuesday—does the Minister agree that it is possibly a little early to judge the security situation and the power vacuum that they leave? However, is it not clear that the al-Shabab Islamic extremists will have a much freer run for the moment, and that action internationally is required? Are we, the British, supporting the American draft resolution for a UN force to be in place by 1 June, if that is not too late?
Asked by
Lord Howell of Guildford
(Conservative)
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
14 January 2009
My Lords, I take a very important correction from the noble Lord; it is too soon to say with any confidence that the security situation has improved. There has been a fundamental debate about the Ethiopian forces, whose intervention into the country we certainly understood the reasons for, and whether they have become more of a source of the conflict than a solution to it. Certainly, al-Shabab and the other hard-line Muslim elements in the country have essentially mobilised themselves against the Ethiopian presence, and if you read the language in which they have cast the Ethiopians as a proxy of the United States in Somalia, you can see that they have in some ways become part of the problem, not just part of the solution. We have to wait and see what impact the Ethiopian withdrawal will have on the security situation.
On the second point, we are working very closely with the Americans to secure a resolution. We are, however, taking care to make sure that there is no open-ended commitment of a UN peacekeeping force without political progress and sufficient conditions of security to ensure that that force could be effective.
Subjects
Armed conflict; Politics and government; Peace negotiations; Somalia; UN Security Council
Date
14 January 2009
Reference
706 c1223-4
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
House
House of Lords
My Lords, the Minister is right that the situation is very complex. The noble Lord’s Question rightly refers to international conflict. That is not the position now, and I value the Minister’s comments that both Ethiopia and Eritrea are being rapidly sucked into this disastrous conflict, that there is a huge Somalian minority in Ethiopia and clearly the country feels threatened, and that enormous dangers portend, as the Minister has indicated, of turning the whole of the Horn of Africa into yet another area of turbulence equal to the Middle East. Can she say what information we have on active terrorist involvement in all these areas at the moment? Are there signs that the al-Qaeda franchise or other terrorists groups are operating, and how can she most clearly define Britain’s own interest in seeking to co-operate with other countries through the UN and elsewhere to prevent yet another major conflagration?
My Lords, the Minister is right that the situation is very complex. The noble Lord’s Question rightly refers to international conflict. That is not the position now, and I value the Minister’s comments that both Ethiopia and Eritrea are being rapidly sucked into this disastrous conflict, that there is a huge Somalian minority in Ethiopia and clearly the country feels threatened, and that enormous dangers portend, as the Minister has indicated, of turning the whole of the Horn of Africa into yet another area of turbulence equal to the Middle East. Can she say what information we have on active terrorist involvement in all these areas at the moment? Are there signs that the al-Qaeda franchise or other terrorists groups are operating, and how can she most clearly define Britain’s own interest in seeking to co-operate with other countries through the UN and elsewhere to prevent yet another major conflagration?
Asked by
Lord Howell of Guildford
(Conservative)
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
30 November 2006
My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned the important issue of Ethiopia. We are aware of reports of Ethiopian and other foreign troops in Somalia. UK officials have delivered very strong messages to the Ethiopians to hold back from war. In respect of the wider issues of global terrorism, we monitor all the reports that are coming forward. We speak to our partners, the US, and our partners in the European Union very often on this issue. We are watching and we are ready to act when necessary; but we monitor the situation very closely.
Subjects
Armed conflict; Somalia; UN Security Council
Date
30 November 2006
Reference
687 c846-7
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
House
House of Lords
My Lords, what is the Minister’s assessment of the Islamic Courts Union and its medium-term aims? It has been suggested that it wants to create an Islamic state, and that it has links with various fundamentalist extremist groups, including al-Qaeda. Is that a danger? Are we seeing the emergence of yet another failed state and source of terrorism, or could the Islamic Courts Union provide the stability that my noble friends have suggested?
My Lords, what is the Minister’s assessment of the Islamic Courts Union and its medium-term aims? It has been suggested that it wants to create an Islamic state, and that it has links with various fundamentalist extremist groups, including al-Qaeda. Is that a danger? Are we seeing the emergence of yet another failed state and source of terrorism, or could the Islamic Courts Union provide the stability that my noble friends have suggested?
Asked by
Lord Howell of Guildford
(Conservative)
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
11 October 2006
My Lords, I do not think that the Islamic Courts Union is a homogenous body in any sense. It contains some elements which are moderate and plainly disposed towards the peace negotiations that I have described. It contains some elements—they may be in the ascendancy at the moment—which I would describe as being on the end of the politics of al-Qaeda and very dangerous. The reality is that we must make sure that moderate parties on both sides—the transitional government and the Islamic Courts Union—engage in discussions and try to get to a new balance between the different forces. It would be of no benefit to this country to see the kind of takeover of Somalia which would create a further serious international security problem.
Subjects
Peacekeeping operations; African Union; Somalia
Date
11 October 2006
Reference
685 c255
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
House
House of Lords
My Lords, is it correct that the Islamic Courts Union, which is the party that has taken over Mogadishu, has stated repeatedly that it does not wish to be regarded as an enemy of Somalia’s future and that it wishes to have friendly talks? If that is correct, will it be included in or consulted by the contact group?
My Lords, is it correct that the Islamic Courts Union, which is the party that has taken over Mogadishu, has stated repeatedly that it does not wish to be regarded as an enemy of Somalia’s future and that it wishes to have friendly talks? If that is correct, will it be included in or consulted by the contact group?
Asked by
Lord Howell of Guildford
(Conservative)
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
14 June 2006
My Lords, it has made those statements, which has encouraged the interim president, President Yusuf, to try to make contact with it. I believe that, as we meet, the efforts to make that contact and open a dialogue have started. My own view is that the international community through the contact group and through the United Nations Special Representative must try to speak to all those parties, not least to try to prevent fighting from continuing.
Subjects
Politics and government; Peace negotiations; Somalia
Date
14 June 2006
Reference
683 c211
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
House
House of Lords
My Lords, I have two related questions for the Minister. I believe that the World Food Programme has so far about a quarter of what it needs for the starving people in southern Somalia. What contribution are HMG making to that? Have they moved beyond the 25 per cent volume needed, up to the full 64,000 tonnes of food required, for the starving in southern Somalia? Can the Minister also say something about the apparent smuggling of weapons through Ethiopia into Somalia, possibly at the instigation of Italian operators, which is prolonging the fighting and ensuring that, despite 13 attempts to get governance in the past 14 years, the next attempt is going to be difficult as well?
My Lords, I have two related questions for the Minister. I believe that the World Food Programme has so far about a quarter of what it needs for the starving people in southern Somalia. What contribution are HMG making to that? Have they moved beyond the 25 per cent volume needed, up to the full 64,000 tonnes of food required, for the starving in southern Somalia? Can the Minister also say something about the apparent smuggling of weapons through Ethiopia into Somalia, possibly at the instigation of Italian operators, which is prolonging the fighting and ensuring that, despite 13 attempts to get governance in the past 14 years, the next attempt is going to be difficult as well?
Asked by
Lord Howell of Guildford
(Conservative)
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
16 January 2006
My Lords, I am aware of no direct evidence of Italian weapons being smuggled in that way. However, during the course of our presidency, we urged the Italians to take seriously their responsibilities to work together with all other European Union nations in achieving peace. They have had somewhat different policies in one or two key respects. On assistance, we intend to provide up to £13 million to Somalia in the financial year 2005–06. We contributed £420,000 to the reconciliation process and we are also providing assistance to the UN development programme to support the government’s relocation to Somalia and the humanitarian relief operations. We shall provide more, if it is credible to do so, to a government who are properly established.
Subjects
Politics and government; Peace negotiations; Somalia; UN Security Council
Date
16 January 2006
Reference
677 c417-8
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
House
House of Lords