Barry Gardiner: I supported the war in Afghanistan; I supported the war in Iraq. In politics, it is important to learn from your mistakes, but it is often other people who pay for them. Today, this Chamber should debate what has happened in Afghanistan with genuine humility. There is no point in criticising the Government’s strategy; there has not been one. When President Trump announced his decision to...
Barry Gardiner: ...the efficient use of military resources—I accept that—but the Government cannot also try to argue that by voting against today’s motion, we are voting to do nothing. We are still engaged in Iraq, where the Kurdish peshmerga and the Iraqi army can provide a limited but credible ground force. The Government have also argued—it is a powerful argument—that in the face of a request...
Barry Gardiner: The motion is the result of our failure to develop a sustained, coherent and strategic policy in the middle east. ISIL has a 10-year track record both in Iraq and in Syria, but the question we should ask is how has it become so strong. Jane’s World Insurgency and Terrorism assessed that ISIL was funded from the very countries with which we now propose to ally ourselves—Saudi Arabia, Qatar...
Barry Gardiner: ...of the UNHCR scheme. She has manifestly failed to do that. For every refugee that we take into the UK for resettlement, it will be life changing. To give one case from my constituency, an Iraqi woman sought the assistance of my office in bringing her sister’s family to the UK. They fled Iraq and went to Syria in 2008 when the husband was killed. Before they could be safely transferred to...
Barry Gardiner: ...recall the words of resolution 1441, which includes the words: "Determined to secure full compliance with its decisions, Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations...Decides that Iraq has been and remains in material breach of its obligations under relevant resolutions, including resolution 687"? Chapter VII, of course, is the only chapter of the UN charter that...
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what efforts are being made by the Iraqi Survey Group to use the serial numbers on weapons found in Iraq to trace (a) where and (b) when the weapons were made.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if his Department will undertake an assessment of (a) the benefits of establishing credit unions in Iraq and (b) changing existing banking legislation to that end.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what part his Department played in discussions within the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq leading to changes to Iraq's banking legislation; and for what reasons no provision was made for credit unions.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what work (a) his Department, (b) the Coalition Provisional Authority and (c) non-governmental organisations are undertaking in Iraq to (i) build confidence in the banking system and (ii) ensure that women have equal access to (a) banks and (b) other financial services.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what efforts (a) his Department and (b) the Coalition Provisional Authority are taking to ensure that the judicial system in Iraq offers equal justice for women.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 13 January 2004, Official Report, column 703W, on Iraq, what support the (a) UK, (b) US and (c) EU are giving to facilitate Iraq's ability to take responsibility for the necessary administration.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made since September on negotiations with the European Commission to reinstate the Generalised System of Preferences in Iraq.
Barry Gardiner: ...Authority to ensure that efforts are made in the forthcoming school year to ensure gender equality for (a) the number of children attending school and (b) the number of children taking exams in Iraq.
Barry Gardiner: My right hon. Friend is widely respected in the House for his knowledge of development matters. Does he agree that the Paris Club consideration of the sovereign debt of Iraq, which is deemed to amount to more than $200 billion, is vital? Does he also agree that it is important to press for the more beneficial Evian principles on debt forgiveness if that country is to pull itself out of its...
Barry Gardiner: The right hon. Gentleman has quoted two key sentences. Will he address the questions posed by two other phrases, the first found at the beginning of resolution 1441, which states that "Iraq has been and remains in material breach of its obligations"; and the second at the end of resolution 1441, in which Iraq is afforded "a final opportunity to comply"? What does he understand by the word "final"?
Barry Gardiner: ...Barrett), Official Report, column 809W, if he will make a statement on the work of the task force set up to remove radioactive material removed from the civil nuclear facility at al-Tuwaitha in Iraq.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps coalition forces in Iraq are taking to set up a humanitarian traffic lane on the Iraqi side of the Iraqi-Jordanian border.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many children in Iraq have taken part in the Theatre Mine Risk education programme.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when refugee repatriation to Iraq will recommence; and what assistance he is offering the UNHCR to return to Iraq.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the Baiji oil refinery complex in Iraq will undergo its maintenance phase; and what impact this will have on oil supplies in Iraq.