This page contains details on the latest UN-related parliamentary business. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of the many items debated in Parliament that touch upon the work of the United Nations. For a full record of proceedings in Parliament, please visit the official Parliament homepage. You can keep up to date with all the latest debates in Parliament by visiting Hansard, the edited verbatim report of proceedings in both Houses.

HOUSE OF LORDS

The section below highlights the contribution of UNA-UK's Chair, Lord Hannay of Chiswick, to debates in the House of Lords about issues of relevance to the UN.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BILL ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS

The Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill 2006/7 was tabled by Lord Dubs on 23 Novemebr 2007. The bill makes provision for the control of cluster munitions; making it an offence to use, develop, store or transfer cluster munitions. To read the text of the bill, click here.

The bill successfully completed its passage through the House of Lords and received a first reading in the House of Commons on 27 February 2007. To follow the bill's progress through Parliament, click here.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BILL ON MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL 8

A bill aiming to increase the government’s accountability to its international development commitments overcame another parliamentary hurdle on 16 June when it passed a third reading in the House of Commons. This bill had its first reading on 22 June 2005, and its second on 20 January 2006. It passed through a detailed examination in Sub-Committee B on 15 February 2006. The bill, which has considerable cross-party support, will now have to be approved by the House of Lords but stands an excellent chance of becoming law (click here to find out more about Parliamentary Bill procedure).

Tabled by Tom Clarke MP, the bill writes into law the target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on aid, along with a commitment to give an assessment of how close the government has come to reaching this target.

UNA-UK would like to thank its members who wrote to their MPs urging them to attend the readings of this bill. Click here to read the full PDF text of the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill.

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HOUSE OF COMMONS

UNA-UK is encouraging its members to write to their MPs, asking them, if they have not already done so, to support one or more of the following Early Day Motions (EDM) regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. Details on how to contact MPs can be found in the section on lobbying.

EARLY DAY MOTION 1338 ON SUDAN DIVESTMENT

TEXT OF EDM 1338 That this House deplores the continuing atrocities in Darfur; notes that the government of Sudan is financially and strategically supporting these atrocities through its oil revenues; further notes that according to the World Bank and sources within Sudan, between 60 to 80 per cent. of the government of Sudan's revenue is spent on the military; supports the work of Sudan Divestment UK (SDUK), which campaigns to end global financial support for the government of Sudan and its military actions through targeted divestment; welcomes the withdrawal of Rolls Royce from the region because of `humanitarian concerns'; further welcomes the joint stance of leaders of the Political Youth Wings in a recent letter published in The Times, who have collectively endorsed SDUK's model of targeted divestment; calls on companies with a commercial relationship with government or government sponsored projects which impart minimal benefit to the country's people and have demonstrated no substantial corporate governance policy regarding the Darfur situation to cease their financial support for the Sudanese government; and further calls on the Government to look into ways of changing national and international business behaviour in the face of the manifest gross violations of human rights.

This Early Day Motion calls on the government to look into ways of changing national and international business behaviour in the face of the manifest gross violations of human rights in Sudan. The primary sponsor of the EDM is Andrew Mitchell MP and, as of 10 May 2007, had been singed by 57 MPs from the three major parties. To view the EDM and the list of MPs who have signed it, click here.

EARLY DAY MOTION 1280 ON DARFUR NO-FLY ZONE

TEXT OF EDM 1280 That this House believes that four years into the crisis in Darfur the time is now right to implement a United Nations backed no-fly zone to protect the civilian population from further aerial bombardment by the Sudanese airforce; notes that bombings of towns and villages in Darfur have often been co-ordinated with Janjaweed militia ground attacks; further notes that the bombings utilised in these attacks have been indiscriminate in their targeting of civilians and that thousands of villages have been destroyed in this manner; and urges the Government to back these proposals so that an effective and urgent case can be made to the international community. [EDM 1280A1 proposes to leave out `now right' and insert `long overdue' in the first line]

This Early Day Motion calls on the government to back the proposals to implement a UN-backed no-fly zone to protect the civilian population from further aerial bombardment by the Sudanese airforce so that an effective and urgent case can be made to the international community. The primary sponsor of the EDM is John Bercow MP and, as of 10 May 2007, had been singed by 72 MPs from the three major parties. To view the EDM and the list of MPs who have signed it, click here.

EARLY DAY MOTION 948 ON DARFUR

TEXT OF EDM 948 That this House notes with concern that the Minister for Trade and Asia responded to oral questions on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur on 20th February 2007; deplores the situation in which the government of Sudan is able in effect to veto any decision by the United Nations; understands that the joint African Union-United Nations force is still under-manned and under-resourced; further notes that since United Nations' sanctions were imposed in April 2006, and since the files on Sudanese Ministers perpetrating genocide were passed to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, and since the last peace deal was signed between North and South Sudan, the United Nations humanitarian programme believes the violence in Darfur has increased significantly; further notes with alarm that the Sudanese government's genocide policy has now spread to Chad and the Central African Republic, which are witnessing the continued slaughter of black Africans; and calls on the Government to act on the Prime Minister's statement at the 2006 Labour Party Conference that the UK has a responsibility to protect by pushing for immediate sanctions from the European Union on the Sudanese government.

This Early Day Motion calls on the government to act on its stated responsibility to protect, by pushing for immediate sanctions from the European Union on the Sudanese government. The primary sponsor of the EDM is Tony Baldry MP and, as of 10 May 2007, had been signed by 33 MPs from the three major parties. To view the EDM and the list of MPs who have signed it, click here.

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UNA-UK also encourages its members to write to their MPs, asking them, if they have not already done so, to support the Early Day Motions (EDM) below, covering a range of other important international issues. Details on how to contact MPs can be found in the section on lobbying.

EARLY DAY MOTION 2073 PROMOTING PUBLIC SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL WATER SHORTAGES

TEXT OF EDM 2073 That this House recognises that 1.1 billion people globally do not have access to clean water; notes the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015; welcomes the evidence of the 2006 UN World Water Development Report which demonstrates the key role of the public sector in achieving the MDG target; recognises that there are many examples of successful public water supply systems in the developing world which have transparency, accountability, efficiency and community participation as core features; and calls on the Government to increase overall aid to the water and sanitation sector in developing countries, alongside targeted political and financial support to extend good practice within and amongst public water utilities.

This Early Day Motion calls on the government to increase overall aid to the water and sanitation sector in developing countries. The six cross-party sponsors of the EDM are: Ann Mckechin, Drew David, John Battle, Mark Lazarowicz (Labour), George Andrew (Liberal Democrats) and Peter Bottomley (Conservative). As of 10 May 2007, 196 MPs were signatories to EDM 2073. You can find the list of MPs who have signed the EDM by clicking here.