Tony led the British Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe where he was Vice-President. He was a member of the Legal Affairs’ Committee’s sub-committee which appointed Judges to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Council of Europe was established at the end of the Second World War to set standards on human rights, Parliamentary democracy and the rule of law, and has been especially important for countries in Europe emerging from totalitarian systems of government. Tony was also the leader of the British Delegation to the Western European Union.
He also led the British Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The OSCE has member States from Europe, Central Asia and North America. It deals with a wide range of security related issues. Tony took part in various election monitoring team and led the monitoring team which oversaw and condemned the fraudulent Presidential election in Belarus in 2006. He was Chair of many Parliamentary Groups like Friends of Colombia, and Friends of Ukraine. He was also unfailing in his support for causes such as the campaign to free the Cuba Five and the people of Palestine — which saw him being one of a small number of MPs to visit Gaza in January 2009.
“Tony Lloyd’s wry humour and Lancastrian imperturbability helped immensely in our observer delegation to the 1999 referendum on East Timorese independence from Indonesia.
“The Labour politician agreed to lead this Catholic Institute for International Relations initiative, despite his characteristic self-deprecation that he was more of a Latin Americanist.
“While easy-going, he could also show his steely side. On being ordered out of our UN-flagged Land Rover by the army so that it could be searched for weapons, Tony stood his ground, asserting our neutral status and stating that we were not subject to Indonesian diktat. The army drove off.
“With his Latin American experience, Tony understood the strategies of informal state violence, but had a compassionate sympathy for those who suffered that violence.”
Memories of East Timor by Steve Kibble
Reference: Kibble, Steve (2024, 7 March). Letter: Sir Tony Lloyd obituary.
Tony Lloyd 