Defence

This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate in the House of Lords on the motion moved by Lord De Mauley (Conservative) on 21 June 2018 “that this House takes note of the contribution of the armed forces reserves to national security”.

This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate scheduled to take place in the House of Lords on 23 November 2017 on the case for maintaining United Kingdom defence forces at a sufficient level to contribute to global peace, stability and security.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading in the House of Lords of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill on 1 November 2017.

This Lords Library briefing provides information on the Battle of Passchendaele and events held to commemorate it ahead of a debate in the House of Lords on 19 October 2017.

This Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading in the House of Lords of the Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill on 11 July 2017.

This Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of the forthcoming Queen’s Speech, which is due to take place on 21 June 2017. The House of Lords is due to debate the Queen’s Speech over five days between 22 and 29 June 2017. This briefing is one of five prepared by the House of Lords Library to cover the themes of each day of debate.

This House of Lords Library briefing provides background on the government, economy and society of Gibraltar, its historical status, and information on recent debates concerning its sovereignty following the result of the 2016 EU referendum.

The Falklands War took place between April and June 1982, following an invasion of the Islands by the Argentine military junta. This briefing has been prepared to mark the 35th anniversary of the Falklands War. It provides background to the British and Argentine Governments' claim to sovereignty over the Islands; a summary of the events of the war; and an overview of recent political developments.

This House of Lords Library briefing outlines recent NATO policy, including the increase in the deployment of forces in Eastern Europe since 2014. It also summarises recent comment on NATO preparedness in the face of external threats and the risk of fragmentation within the alliance.

This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of a debate on 12 January about the future capability of the UK’s Armed Forces in the current international situation.

This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared ahead of the debate on the impact of the withdrawal from the European Union on the United Kingdom’s armed forces and diplomatic service, to be held in the House of Lords on 8 December. The briefing examines current defence capabilities and cooperation between the UK and the EU. It then explores the possible future prospects for UK defence, particularly the role of the armed forces. The latter part of this briefing examines the UK’s diplomatic service, highlighting some of the issues that have arisen about the UK’s diplomatic relationship with the EU and its global role following the UK’s withdrawal. For reasons of brevity, this briefing does not examine the implications of the UK’s withdrawal on wider external relations, such as the UK’s future trade relationships with other countries in and outside the EU, or the impact on overseas development policy. Further reading on these subjects is identified in section 3.

On 24 November 2016, the House of Lords will debate the case for limiting the number and nature of claims against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and UK armed services personnel arising out of future armed conflict abroad. On 4 October 2016, the Government announced that it would introduce a presumption to derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in future conflicts in order to protect the armed forces from “persistent legal claims”. This briefing will focus on the Government’s recent proposals to derogate from the ECHR. It provides an overview of the legal framework for military operations, summarises some of the key legal claims that have been made against the armed forces, and outlines the work of the Iraq Historic Investigations Team (IHAT).