On 19 June 2019, the House of Lords is scheduled to debate a motion moved by Lord Loomba (Crossbench) that asks “Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to empower widows in developing countries and to mark International Widows Day 2019.”. This briefing provides background information on International Widows’ Day and the issues facing widowed women around the world.
International Widows’ Day (217 KB , PDF)
International Widows’ Day takes place on 23 June each year. A resolution to mark this day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010. The aim of International Widows’ Day is to address the issues faced by widowed women. These include the increased risk of poverty and violence and a lack of access to health care. The UN has stated:
The abuse of widows and their children constitutes one of the most serious violations of human rights and obstacles to development today. Millions of the world’s widows endure extreme poverty, ostracism, violence, homelessness, ill health and discrimination in law and custom.
The UN has also noted these issues are more widespread when there is an increase in the number of widows following armed conflict.
International Widows’ Day (217 KB , PDF)
In the autumn budget the chancellor announced changes to inheritance tax reliefs. From April 2026, taxes would apply to agricultural assets over £1mn (or up to £3mn in certain circumstances). The government has said this will just affect the wealthiest landowners and disincentivise buying agricultural land to avoid tax. Farming groups have argued the policy is a threat to the future of family farming.
In February 2024 the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published a report on large language models and generative AI. It highlighted the opportunities and risks this technology offers, and recommended actions the government should take to support the market while mitigating risks. The new government has said it will legislate to address safety risks arising from generative AI.
The House of Lords European Affairs Committee welcomed the EU and UK response to the war in Ukraine “in general terms”. In its January 2024 report, the committee said some areas of UK-EU cooperation had been broadly effective. The committee said the report’s aim was to consider a longer-term approach and make recommendations to strengthen the UK-EU response. It called for more formal arrangements in several security and foreign policy areas.
