Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that response. Does he support the view that the Government should put pressure on President Rajapaksa to address the plight of Tamils in internment camps as a matter of urgency and arrange for the displaced persons to return to their homes? Secondly, what steps will Her Majesty's Government take to ensure that President Rajapaksa makes reconciliation...
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord King for initiating this timely debate. The main threats to our national security in the 21st century come from an array of challenges such as nuclear proliferation and energy security. However, terrorism stands out as a tangible threat, as we sadly experienced in July 2005. On our military involvement in Afghanistan, Members in the other place paid...
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Cox, for initiating this debate. Achieving peace and stability in any region that has been ravaged by war and has a wealth of cultural differences is always a challenge. In this region of Africa, the task is that much greater as these variations are coupled with intense poverty and tribal intolerance. Since independence from Britain in 1956...
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I support many aspects of the Bill as a means of addressing the injustice of child poverty in our communities. We have a moral duty to bring the issue of child poverty to the fore while ensuring that the remedies to this endemic problem are implemented by both central and local governments. In the United Kingdom at present, 4 million children are living in poverty, after housing...
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, as a Muslim I totally condemn any form of terrorist activity. We must appreciate that nearly all Muslims are law-abiding citizens, but I accept that we have a problem with a tiny minority. With regard to profiling, I would like to hear from the Secretary of State that Muslims are not going to be targeted with regard to profiling, about which there has been some talk recently in the...
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I should like to express my gratitude to the Minister for the comprehensive route she has taken in responding to this debate. I also thank all noble Lords who have taken part and made this such an interesting and informative debate. While in my submission I portrayed an overall picture of the Commonwealth and tried to encompass salient topics, I am pleased that noble Lords have...
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I begin by saying that 54 countries and 2 billion people spanning all the continents, amounting to 30 per cent of the world's population and one-quarter of the global economy, make up the Commonwealth today. It is truly a unique international organisation, which has growing relevance in strengthening democracy, freedom, peace, the rule of law, human rights and sustainable...
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many memorials have been built in the United Kingdom for servicemen from the Indian Army who died during World War 1 or World War 2.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce waiting lists for rehabilitation programmes for the perpetrators of domestic violence. To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that all perpetrators of domestic violence engage in mandatory rehabilitation programmes irrespective of the length of time they spend in prison. To ask Her Majesty's...
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address domestic violence, in light of its correlation with alcohol consumption.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to increase the amount of community services for victims of domestic violence.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will assist other local authorities to introduce domestic violence schemes similar to the Living without Violence programme provided by Brighton & Hove City Council.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that more people who are responsible for inflicting domestic abuse are dealt with by the criminal justice system.
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, it must be appreciated that not every householder or owner of a business will be insured. The Minister referred to the point made by the ABI. Are we giving any consideration to providing financial help to householders and owners of businesses who are not insured? That result would be long-lasting.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they ensure that the "pursue" and "prevent" strands of their counterterrorist strategy stay separate in order not to collect unnecessarily data and personal information on Muslim citizens.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to recent comments by the Quilliam Foundation, which receives funding from the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, on collecting data on members of the Muslim community.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider developing a single fund to counter all forms of extremism.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support services are in place for victims of child trafficking.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase educational provision for victims of child trafficking.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the level of domestic violence nationwide.