To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is the Government's policy to support the introduction of targeted measures against the political and military leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as recommended by the UN Secretary General in his report on children and...

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is the Government's policy to support the introduction of targeted measures against the political and military leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as recommended by the UN Secretary General in his report on children and...

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the effectiveness of the new package of EU sanctions announced in the EU Council Conclusions on Burma/Myanmar on 15 October will be (a) monitored, (b) assessed and (c) reviewed; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the effectiveness of the new package of EU sanctions announced in the EU Council Conclusions on Burma/Myanmar on 15 October will be (a) monitored, (b) assessed and (c) reviewed; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on a UN arms embargo against Burma; and when this subject will next be raised at the UN Security Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on a UN arms embargo against Burma; and when this subject will next be raised at the UN Security Council.

My honourable friend the Minister for Europe (Jim Murphy) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary (David Miliband), Kim Darroch (UK permanent representative to the EU) and I represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Luxembourg. Before...

My honourable friend the Minister for Europe (Jim Murphy) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary (David Miliband), Kim Darroch (UK permanent representative to the EU) and I represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Luxembourg. Before...

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, Kim Darroch (UK Permanent Representative to the EU) and I represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Luxembourg. Before the Presidency opened the Council, it briefed Partners on the Intergovernmental Conference on the draft EU Reform Treaty,...

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, Kim Darroch (UK Permanent Representative to the EU) and I represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Luxembourg. Before the Presidency opened the Council, it briefed Partners on the Intergovernmental Conference on the draft EU Reform Treaty,...

Lords debate on motion to take note of the Economic Affairs Committee on The Impact of Economic Sanctions (HL 96 2006-07). Agreed to on question.

Lords debate on motion to take note of the Economic Affairs Committee on The Impact of Economic Sanctions (HL 96 2006-07). Agreed to on question.

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to what has been a very interesting debate. I have listened to many debates over the years, and it is not often that I am able to say at the end that every single speech was itself well worth listening...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to what has been a very interesting debate. I have listened to many debates over the years, and it is not often that I am able to say at the end that every single speech was itself well worth listening...

My Lords, we are very fortunate in our committee in having in my noble friend Lord Wakeham and Robert Graham-Harrison a chairman and a Clerk who could not be bettered. I thank them both for their help to the committee as a whole in what has proved to be a...

My Lords, we are very fortunate in our committee in having in my noble friend Lord Wakeham and Robert Graham-Harrison a chairman and a Clerk who could not be bettered. I thank them both for their help to the committee as a whole in what has proved to be a...

My Lords, will the noble Lord address the successful case of targeted sanctions against Libya, which he did not mention in all the cases to which he referred where things had not worked?

My Lords, will the noble Lord address the successful case of targeted sanctions against Libya, which he did not mention in all the cases to which he referred where things had not worked?

My Lords, my noble friend is probably right and many factors such as that support our complaint that the sanctions regime is not working. That is evident from any examination of the situation. I beg to move. Moved, That this House takes note of the report of the Economic Affairs...

My Lords, my noble friend is probably right and many factors such as that support our complaint that the sanctions regime is not working. That is evident from any examination of the situation. I beg to move. Moved, That this House takes note of the report of the Economic Affairs...

My Lords, this report and debate are very welcome. The impact of economic sanctions is an important and highly topical subject. As the report points out, since the end of the Cold War, the international community as a whole, acting under the charter of the United Nations, has had increasing...

My Lords, this report and debate are very welcome. The impact of economic sanctions is an important and highly topical subject. As the report points out, since the end of the Cold War, the international community as a whole, acting under the charter of the United Nations, has had increasing...

My Lords, would my noble friend agree that one of the problems in Burma is the thriving drugs industry in the north of the country from which the military regime benefits? Therefore, it has no shortage of money, while everyone else in the country does.

My Lords, would my noble friend agree that one of the problems in Burma is the thriving drugs industry in the north of the country from which the military regime benefits? Therefore, it has no shortage of money, while everyone else in the country does.

My Lords, I am glad the noble Lord reminded me of that because I wished to make that point. It is interesting that the only case that we found unequivocally where sanctions had worked were the sanctions against Libya to cause it to release the suspects for the Lockerbie air...

My Lords, I am glad the noble Lord reminded me of that because I wished to make that point. It is interesting that the only case that we found unequivocally where sanctions had worked were the sanctions against Libya to cause it to release the suspects for the Lockerbie air...

My Lords, I, too, welcome this report. Sometimes, when one opts to speak on a committee’s report, it feels a bit like intruding on a family party. I shall make a double intrusion because I shall follow the re-engagement, as I would call it, of the noble Lord, Lord Skidelsky,...

My Lords, I, too, welcome this report. Sometimes, when one opts to speak on a committee’s report, it feels a bit like intruding on a family party. I shall make a double intrusion because I shall follow the re-engagement, as I would call it, of the noble Lord, Lord Skidelsky,...

My Lords, I, too, express my appreciation to the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham, for the invariably good-tempered way in which he conducted the inquiry, and to the Clerk of the Committee, Robert Graham-Harrison for his expert support. I concur with what previous speakers have said about the Government’s limp response....

My Lords, I, too, express my appreciation to the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham, for the invariably good-tempered way in which he conducted the inquiry, and to the Clerk of the Committee, Robert Graham-Harrison for his expert support. I concur with what previous speakers have said about the Government’s limp response....

My Lords, I, too, thank the committee for this excellent report. I regret that, probably due to their other commitments, only three members of the committee felt able to contribute to this debate, because the topic deserves broad review. The essential feature of sanctions and international politics these days, following...

My Lords, I, too, thank the committee for this excellent report. I regret that, probably due to their other commitments, only three members of the committee felt able to contribute to this debate, because the topic deserves broad review. The essential feature of sanctions and international politics these days, following...

My Lords, I have to admit that my only qualification for contributing to this debate is that at the beginning of this year I was a tourist in Burma. I am extremely glad that I was because without having been there—and I acknowledge all the limitations of being tourist who...

My Lords, I have to admit that my only qualification for contributing to this debate is that at the beginning of this year I was a tourist in Burma. I am extremely glad that I was because without having been there—and I acknowledge all the limitations of being tourist who...

My Lords, if the noble Lord will forgive me, there is clearly a good case for grabbing the deposits of leaders of despotic regimes, but does he not appreciate that that is not likely to get us very far, because leaders of despotic regimes will in future—to the extent that...

My Lords, if the noble Lord will forgive me, there is clearly a good case for grabbing the deposits of leaders of despotic regimes, but does he not appreciate that that is not likely to get us very far, because leaders of despotic regimes will in future—to the extent that...

My Lords, I note what is said, but I do not agree. The ability of not just individuals but non-state or even state entities from a target country to operate internationally depends on the capacity to engage in international financial transactions. The case I mentioned—before I turn to my second...

My Lords, I note what is said, but I do not agree. The ability of not just individuals but non-state or even state entities from a target country to operate internationally depends on the capacity to engage in international financial transactions. The case I mentioned—before I turn to my second...