Mrs. Chalker: We receive regular reports from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on its activities in the middle east region, and we are in very close touch over the Current Iraq Crisis.
The emergency aid department incorporates the relief work of the disaster unit and the refugee unit and now has an additional section to deal with the new disaster relief initiative, disaster preparedness and the continuing humanitarian Crisis in Iraq.
Naturally, wetook the opportunity to exchange views on the Crisis in Iraq.
What lessons has the Prime Minister learnt from the Iraq Crisis about the prospect of a genuine European foreign policy being created?
It is coincidental that the debate has been selected this week, against the background of the Iraq Crisis.
The Prime Minister: During the Recent Iraq Crisis we maintained close contact with all members of the Security Council, including the Chinese.
A small but, to my mind, significant event during the Recent Iraq Crisis was that, for the first time, we had a meeting in the Foreign Office with leaders of the Muslim community in the United Kingdom.
The group ensures that the Government's media response to the Iraq Crisis is properly co-ordinated.
On Wednesday, we discussed in detail in this Chamber the response of the United States and the United Kingdom Governments to the latest Crisis in Iraq.
As one would expect, many hon. Members have mentioned the Iraq Crisis.
The House has debated the Crisis in Iraq on many previous occasions.
At the moment, every few months there is yet another Crisis in Iraq; yet more bombs are dropped in Iraq; and yet more Iraqi people are killed.
Through no fault of yours, we did not get to any question that related to the on-going bombing and humanitarian Crisis in Iraq.
My Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lords the Lord Chancellor and the Leader of the House for arranging this recall to enable the House to express its views on the Crisis in Iraq.
Javier Solana has been trying to do noble work speaking for Europe on the Iraq Crisis, but he cannot do so because there is no common basis.
However, for that reason I want to focus on only one aspect of the Iraq Crisis, namely, this country's relationship with the United States.
At the moment, in the events leading up to the Crisis in Iraq, the response of the Arab states to our concern about Iraq's failure to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions is to point to Israel's failure to comply with resolutions that affect it.
At the Labour party conference, I spoke in support of the Government and their stewardship of the Iraq Crisis.
If the Iraq Crisis is in any way to be prolonged I would hope that the proposal, which is very strong, has a part to play and enables NATO to fulfil its commitment.
I hope as surely as my hon. Friend does that it is possible to resolve the Iraq Crisis peacefully.
At that time, the House massively endorsed our approach to ensure that we conduct the management of the Crisis in Iraq through the United Nations, to which it also gave its full support.
As the Prime Minister is rightly exercised in the fight against international terrorism and the Crisis in Iraq, may I urge him not to take his eye off Zimbabwe, where the situation is rapidly deteriorating?
The United Nations has voted the means for solving the Iraq Crisis peacefully, and that is the humanitarian response which I believe the House should make.
Sadness over the tragedy temporarily drew the focus away from our worries over the impending Crisis in Iraq.
Indeed, it is partly as a result of the Prime Minister's energy and activity that we have kept the Iraq Crisis firmly anchored in the UN, and that the next stage of developments on Iraq will be for UN inspectors to report to the Security Council.
Will not that seriously undermine the prospects for getting a second resolution in the UN, and a peaceful resolution of the Iraq Crisis?
Perhaps I can help the House by saying that Wednesday's motion will confirm the commitment of the Government and the House to our strategy of handling the Iraq Crisis through the United Nations.
Can the Minister say on behalf of Her Majesty's Government that we have no quarrel of that kind with Iran and would not see any issue as justifying a further military attack on any country, following the Iraq Crisis, whatever its outcome?
It has been suggested that one solution to the Iraq Crisis would be for Saddam and his clique to go into exile.
My Lords, as a lawyer, I shall speak about the Iraq Crisis in the context of international law.
The Iraq Crisis is a watershed for those of us who believe in an international order of law.
I want to concentrate on two basic issues which are less controversial but which have come very much alive as a result of the Iraq Crisis.
Working within the UN, the Government have rightly sustained an internationalist approach to the Crisis in Iraq.
My Lords, no one doubts that Saddam Hussein has caused the current Crisis in Iraq by ignoring the UN resolution of 1991 and again ignoring Resolution 1441 in November 2002.
For the convenience of the House, this contains in one document the reports of Dr. Blix and Dr. el-Baradei, statements on the Iraq Crisis by the European Union and by NATO, my statements at three recent Security Council meetings, and, above all, the full texts of 13 of the principal Security Council resolutions on Iraq passed since August 1990.
I hope that after the Iraq Crisis is resolved substantial priority will be given to making progress in the middle east, based on the two important requirements mentioned by President Bush yesterday - the creation of a viable and independent Palestinian state, and an end to all settlement construction.
One of the reasons why we in Britain should take particular interest in what he says is that Britain, more than any other nation, was successful in taking the Iraq Crisis on to the UN track, from which we secured the return of the weapons inspectors to Iraq.
Will the Minister ensure that her colleagues in the Ministry of Defence in their planning at interdepartmental level for a response to the present humanitarian Crisis in Iraq, but more particularly if there is conflict afterwards, take most careful note of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325?
Mr. Challen: To ask the Prime Minister if it is the policy of the Government that the second United Nations resolution on the Iraq Crisis will invoke Article 42 of the United Nations Charter.
My Department 172W maintains a contingency reserve of £88 million, which I would draw on in the event of any worsening humanitarian Crisis in Iraq.
The report by the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, however, ranged far more widely - hence there is a double fiction, as I anticipate that much of today's debate will focus on the Crisis in Iraq.
All those international networks are adversely affected by the Crisis in Iraq.
We consistently hear people referring to the Crisis in Iraq.
Many have referred to the current Crisis in Iraq, to what the United Nations, the USA and Great Britain are trying to do, and especially, of course, to the imminent threat of war in that country.
I am not necessarily persuaded that the best approach to having a strategic, long-term debate on the balance between renewables and fossil fuels would be in the context of the potential Crisis in Iraq.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Prime Minister how many Christian Aid postcards urging action on Middle East peace and a peaceful resolution to the Iraq Crisis he has received at Downing Street.
I take gentle issue with the hon. Member for Uxbridge, who seemed to be casting aspersions in the direction of 188WH Liberal Democrats about a difference between our approaches to the Balkans and the current Crisis in Iraq.
My Lords, there is much public confusion in reconciling the legal, moral and political aspects of the Iraq Crisis.
I do not give that as a reason for going to war, but I happen to believe it will be easier to make the reforms that are necessary once the Iraq Crisis has been resolved, than to do so with the crisis hanging over the United Nations indefinitely.
The Statement is as follows: "My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development has asked me to reply to the important Question about the way in which we tackle the Crisis in Iraq.
As you say, the matter is serious and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development has asked me to reply to this important question about the way in which we tackle the Crisis in Iraq.
Rightly and necessarily, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister will seek to heal the new wounds of the European Union tonight at the Council and as the Iraq Crisis passes its peak.
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role RAF Stanbridge, Leighton Buzzard is playing in the Iraq Crisis.
There is a sense of regret and dismay among the UN, the IMF and the World Bank about the divisions that were allowed to arise during the international community's handling of the Iraq Crisis.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the governments of (a) Commonwealth countries and (b) British Overseas Territories regarding the Crisis in Iraq.
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We regularly have discussions with Commonwealth Governments and those of the British Overseas Territories about a wide range of foreign policy issues, including the Crisis in Iraq.
Let us be clear: there has long been a humanitarian Crisis in Iraq caused by Saddam Hussein's misrule and plundering of that country's resources for military spending, including his programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Let us be clear: there has long been a humanitarian Crisis in Iraq - caused by Saddam Hussein's misrule and the plundering of that country's resources for military spending, including his programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Separately, we have let a contract to provide a weekly evaluation of the printed media's coverage of the Iraq Crisis.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what use is being made of the British military base on Gibraltar in connection with the Crisis in Iraq.
We have also provided additional support to specific agencies in preparation for the Iraq Crisis.
Mr. Cash: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement in relation to the Iraq Crisis on the basis of his policy on the firefighters' strike and the safety of the public.
Recently, BBC Monitoring provided coverage of the Crisis in Iraq from the foreign media, reporting developments and regional and international reaction to those developments, and providing the texts of speeches, statements and interviews, as well as press reviews and media round-ups.
Will Her Majesty's Government follow up that excellent initiative with an intensification of the already good relations with Ukraine, an expression of thanks for Ukraine's participation in the coalition of the willing in the Recent Iraq Crisis - a courageous initiative on its part - and a determination to help Ukrainian agriculture, which has always been the backbone of Ukraine's economy?
If he will make a statement on the role of Iraqi opposition leaders in the Iraq Crisis.
I am sure that the Minister shares my delight at seeing Iraqi opposition leaders elected to Mosul city council last weekend, but does he agree that the Iraq Crisis will not be over until the weapons of mass destruction, about which the war was fought, are found and secured?
Mr. Rammell: Our policy toward both Iran and Syria has most recently been discussed with the US Administration in the context of the current Crisis in Iraq.
The Iraq Crisis could not have occurred at a worse time for the European Union, just when the whole question of the future development of its common foreign and security policy is coming to the fore at the intergovernmental conference.
The first is our attempt to define Russia's policy towards the EU after the seminal events of 9/11, and, on the other hand, what the EU could and should be doing so far as concerns Russia in the immediate future, particularly given the change in Russia's direction brought about by the Iraq Crisis.
Those countries had a taste of post-Giscard Europe during the Iraq Crisis, when nearly all of them joined Great Britain and Spain in supporting the Us line against the stance being taken by Germany and France.
The Iraq Crisis has shown that foreign policies are ultimately determined by national interests.
That was a churlish remark because the FBU and the serving personnel who put out the fire in Finchley yesterday did not take industrial action during the Iraq Crisis.
In trying to heal the divisions in the world that have appeared with regard to the difference of view about how to handle the Crisis in Iraq, did the Prime Minister apologise to President Chirac for misleading all of us about the position of France on the second resolution?
DFID has provided £6 million to support WHO'S work in the Iraq Crisis.
DFID has provided £6 million to WHO for their work in the Current Iraq Crisis.
75 million to UNHCR for preparedness work in the Iraq Crisis, and will consider further funding requests as they arise.
While significant challenges remain, particularly in maintaining law and order, and restoring power, water and sanitation facilities, a major humanitarian Crisis in Iraq has been averted.
I believe that the MOD has performed the difficult task set by the Iraq Crisis admirably, but it must be governed by a clear and sustainable policy.
The reason was that an important event occurred in January when eight countries signed a letter in which they expressed their support for the United States in the Iraq Crisis.
The Foreign Secretary has argued that there is no majority at the UN in favour of action, but - as was demonstrated during the Iraq Crisis - this is surely not a Government who should be cowed by being in a minority.
Throughout the Iraq Crisis, the Prime Minister has displayed great fortitude, leadership and statesmanship and I commend him for that.
The UN, the European Union and NATO all suffered damage in the Iraq Crisis as their multilateral machinery showed itself to be unable to cope with the stresses and strains of national interest and disparate viewpoints.
The lessons were clearly not learned, as those divisions were present again in the Recent Iraq Crisis.
On the political front, if ever the importance of a clear aim, a fundamental military principle, was shown, it was during the Current Iraq Crisis.
A number of military lessons can also be learned directly from the Crisis in Iraq.
It too was damaged by the Iraq Crisis, which split it down the middle and cast doubt on the viability of attempts to rise to one of its next great challenges - the implementation of a common foreign and security policy.
I dealt with the events of 9/11, the war in Afghanistan, the events in Bali, the Iraq Crisis and now, of course, the most recent difficulties that we have experienced with our own staff in Istanbul.
However, although we sat earlier this year for two weeks in September while the Crisis in Iraq was pressing, we had a Statement and some Questions but the Government did not find time for us to debate Iraq because of the weight, and the late introduction, of government Bills.
As Romano Prodi said at the end of March: "It is evident that the Iraq Crisis has brought us to a new crossroads in transatlantic relations, we must choose a different path".
Was not the whole history of foreign policy development in the European Union, particularly over the Iraq Crisis, a demonstration of exactly the reverse of the scene put to us by the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde?
Page 12 states: "In practice, if an issue proves particularly divisive, as the Crisis in Iraq was, the common position is likely to have little substance, leaving Member States free to pursue their national interest.
Like the noble Lord, Lord Powell, my feeling is that, following the Iraq Crisis, US-EU relations are improving again.
I suspect that during the Iraq Crisis, he and I were both concerned about the unfinished business of Afghanistan.
The report and the allegations in it have led to the greatest Crisis in Iraq since the war ended, and have added immeasurably to the dangers and difficulties faced by coalition forces - including British troops - in carrying out their duties.
They are equipped with a suite of defensive systems that were vital in the Iraq Crisis, during which 95 per cent.
Let us see the Iraq Crisis through, and think about cutting afterwards.
The reason why the public are sceptical has something to do with the way in which we handled the Iraq Crisis.
The reason why the public is sceptical has something to do with the way in which we handled the Iraq Crisis.
The Iran crisis is more serious than the Iraq Crisis, for three reasons.
I fear that the Bill will encounter the criticism that, even had it been on the statute book at the outset of the Iraq Crisis, it would not have prevented the Government pursuing the course on which they were determined.
What was ignored for the moment was that Foreign Office travel advice for tourists was that it was perfectly acceptable to travel to Cyprus throughout the Iraq Crisis, at the same time as the MOD was telling us that we had to invade Iraq to prevent that from happening.
If there is a solution to the Crisis in Iraq - I very much hope that there is - it must largely come from within Iraq.
That is my worry about the Iraq Crisis.
My Lords, my noble friend will no doubt have seen the reports in some of today's newspapers that the Syrian foreign Minister said yesterday in Baghdad that Syria was prepared to help in trying to resolve the Crisis in Iraq.
There were all kinds of causes célèbres during the Iraq Crisis when proper equipment was not issued to our services: they did not have the right body armour, or the right kind of desertification for the tanks.
The burden of the Minister's reply was as follows: at the time the United Kingdom was deeply involved in diplomatic activity endeavouring to find a peaceful solution to the Crisis in Iraq, and no decision to commit a UK land forceto any potential operation had been taken.
Given the catastrophic failure at the heart of the Government, to which the enduring Crisis in Iraq surely testifies, the lack of a proper inquiry to date is an abdication of our responsibility in this House, which we must put right tonight.
It is not the case that there is mayhem and Crisis in Iraq just because we intervened - that would be a very naïve way of looking at the situation.
He deserves congratulation for the measured way in which he has dealt with the Crisis in Iraq since becoming Prime Minister.
If only it had been able to do so on the Iraq Crisis, for example, how much happier we would have been.
Such an account denies the truth that the slide towards Crisis in Iraq has been exacerbated by the civil war in Syria.
Given that the Foreign Secretary now finds himself dealing with a major Crisis in Iraq, does he share my regret that the Chilcot inquiry has not published its report?
Some people who fled the Syrian conflict into Iraq are, heartbreakingly, now fleeing the Iraq Crisis back into Syria.
A number of foreign fighters are involved in Syria and, as the Crisis in Iraq extends further, they may transfer there.
It will come as no surprise that in general Her Majesty's Opposition agree with the Government's policy as it has emerged as a result of the present Crisis in Iraq.
However, with no end in sight to the conflict in Syria and with the Crisis in Iraq growing bloodier by the day, as we discussed a moment ago, the pressure on neighbouring countries to cope with the constant influx of refugees continues to mount and the prospects for safe return to Syria continue to diminish.
Reference has already been made to the current Crisis in Iraq, the conflict in Rakhine State in Burma, and post-conflict situations such as Sri Lanka, to name only a few.
Two weeks later, I wrote asking what progress had been made on the recall and whether we could also debate the ongoing Crisis in Iraq.
My Department has also been focused on the UK's response to the humanitarian Crisis in Iraq, Gaza and Syria, and the spread of the Ebola virus in west Africa.
My Lords, I strongly support the actions that have been proposed by Her Majesty's Government to deal with the growing security Crisis in Iraq, and I am delighted that my Front Bench has today issued its unequivocal support for that policy.
5 million to the Crisis in Iraq.
It is true to say that the UN is leading in terms of the humanitarian Crisis in Iraq, and the small agencies are certainly a part of that.