title: Foreign Policy
layout: policy published: true
What policies should we adopt in our relations with other countries?
We believe that a clear view of the role that the UN, EU, NATO and other international bodies play in reducing the likelihood of war should be clearly and unambiguosly communicated to the electorate.
The UK should also use it's membership of such bodies to influence them to reinforce this role and use this peaceful approach whenever possible to avoid conflict.
The UK should also use its membership of such bodies to influence them to reinforce this role and use this peaceful approach whenever possible to avoid conflict.
We will maintain the UK's committment to the UN Millennium Project agreement of allocating 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) to Overseas Development Assistance. These funds will be kept separate from military spending; any required security, demobilisation, or peacekeeping expenses will be seperately funded, from Defence budgets.
We will remain a part of the EU, and we will campaign for:
Resist the adoption of international treaties that could allow unelected institutions to have a chilling effect on government policy that is in the public interest of UK voters. A current example is the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) process in the TTIP treaty currently under negotiation[^1], which undermines democratic processes and could prevent the government taking action which benefits the UK if it causes potential losses for foreign investors.
The UK should join many other countries around the world, as well as the UN, and officially recognise Palestine as a sovereign state. This is in line with our existing national preference for a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict in accordance with international law.
We should use our significant financial position within the global economy to help us achieve our ethical foreign policy goals. We should impose financial and trade restrictions against states who pursue aggressive or expansionist policies against their neighbours, or anti-democratic or oppressive policies against their own citizens.
The UK should repatriate fully the natives of the Chagos Archipelagos that were evicted illegally by the British government between 1967 and 1973. All descendants of those originally evicted should be given the option to return. A referendum should then be held from those that choose to return to decide what to do with Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia which is currently based on the islands.
The UK should revoke the Chagos Marine Protected Area as it was founded under the auspices of a legitimate environmental project, when it was later revealed to be a plot by the Americans to keep the Chagossians off the islands, and it was also declared illegal on 18 March 2015 by the UN's Permanent Court of Arbitration.
We recognise that the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) has attempted to turn to peaceful means to secure rights for the Kurdish people[^2]. We also note the PKK's leadership in resisting the brutality of the ISIS forces in the Middle East. We therefore wish to delist the PKK as a terrorist organisation should it commit itself to disarming in Turkey and re-engaging in the peace process.
[^2]: Why delist the PKK?
Makes a lot of sense, but this PR suffers from being based off an old version due to my dodgy editor code. 👍 for the sentence added: "We therefore wish to delist the PKK as a terrorist organisation should it commit itself to disarming in Turkey and re-engaging in the peace process."
The OpenPolitics Manifesto
@digitalWestie - over 8 years ago
The peace process has failed and the PKK have returned to bombings meanwhile the Turkish authorities have imposed curfews on Kurdish cities, refuse medical aid, and are becoming violent with the population. The govt. and govt. supporting media now wilfully conflate PKK with HDP (elected pro-Kurdish party). 50 HDP offices around Turkey have come under attack. I ask that the policy be changed as the situation (regrettably) has changed.