Good evening,

Rest assured that I am indeed alive and that I am still in politics, just that certain political… administrations has required me to remain mostly politically neutral for the past month or so. I am comfortable in passing on the contents of this speech from a party perspective however, and thus in my role as foreign and defence policy Spokesperson would like to welcome you again to Lib Dem conference.

We have seen an explosive few months on the foreign policy stage, and whilst the world in the past few weeks has undoubtedly, perhaps unfortunately been drawn to the United States, we perhaps should remember that our foreign policy should not have dialogue with our US allies over their internal situation take precedence over our activism and diplomacy on a global stage. I trust with LPUK’s motion passing that this is the sort of attitude that the Foreign Secretary takes, and I should not dwell on it in that respect.

Indeed, we should look to authoritarian crackdowns on rights. Yes, we have made great progress on citizenship accessibility with the Conservatives on visa reform, but there is a matter of more when we look to the crackdown on autonomy in Hong Kong by the PRC. We can certainly provide a pathway to citizenship and a Right to Abode for those from Hong Kong who would be eligible for BN(o) status alongside their dependents and I would hope in any policy that is proposed would further enhance the aid we can stretch towards people of Hong Kong, that could hopefully extend to all those who want to. Whilst there is the unilateral component for the change in immigration, there is a need for us to work with our allies to address China in the long term.

The topic of Myanmar as liberals remains fresh on our minds, in ever growing pressure due to the liability of Genocidal actions, but the discrimination of Rohinga and other ethnic minorities goes far deeper than recent years. Ever since the nation’s independence, the government has sought to prioritise its culture and its way of life of that of its majority Bamar people, with little regards to recognition or provision for civil society for the vast numbers of smaller ethnic groups, including the Rohinga. It is well noted that Rohinga are not recognised as citizens and are simply seem as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and that their fundamental rights to movement are restricted only to permits, while camps even within Myanmar enshrine the segregated nature that has been thrust onto communities.

The question of course remains: how should we tackle it? It is up to the international community to uphold basic rights as human beings of those living without representation or citizenship recognition in Myanmar and work on a multilateral basis to continue pressure on Myanmar so that basic civilian rights are granted to those living without. Responsibility to Protect has been fairly limited over the years because of Chinese cooperation with Myanmar over infrastructure, and military intervention under international terms to protect at this stage would be infeasible due to perceptions of equating such humanitarian demand with neo-imperialist paternalism. As someone who could have seen suggestions for humanitarian intervention, the political will globally and balance of power means we must stick to maximising our economic pressure against these crimes of persistent ethnic cleansing, unless there is a tide of change that means this is no longer the most effective stance we can take.

I shall leave it here since you will hear from me again during conference, and thank you.

By /u/CountBrandenburg