Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:37 pm on 23 April 2024.
Vaughan Gething
Labour
1:37,
23 April 2024
It's been the position of the Welsh Government for some time that there should be an immediate ceasefire. There needs to be a significant increase in routes for aid, as well as the amount of aid provided, because there is a very real humanitarian crisis taking place before us, in addition to resolving the issues around the atrocities that did take place on 7 October, which includes the release of all the hostages. Now, I don't think that, across this Chamber, people will disagree with that position. Our challenge is the level of influence we have on decision makers within the region, the talks that are taking place between different actors to try to generate a ceasefire, and the ability to stop the killing.
Now, when that comes to what we can do practically in Wales—you mentioned the family of Lianne Sharabi—we continue to provide practical support, in terms of the emotional well-being of people who live in Wales. I recognise that there are people on all sides of this conflict who are directly affected in constituencies and regions here in Wales. If the Member is able to provide me with more direct contact details for where the family are at present, and how they have or haven't accessed services, I'll happily make sure that the support that is available is provided to them. But we're really talking about practical and emotional support for families. This is an area where we don't have responsibility for dealing with both refugee and returns policies and family reunion. The Welsh Government has been clear, though, that we want a more generous approach to people seeking asylum, people fleeing war zones, and for a proper family reunion service. We actually provided funding towards the service provided by the Red Cross. As I say, I recognise that there's concern on all sides of this Chamber. We'll continue to play as constructive a role as we can do here in the Welsh Government, and with, as I say, the clarity in our call for a ceasefire, for an increase in aid and for the hostages to be released.
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