Frank Judd

Frank Ashcroft Judd was made a life Peer in 1991 and is a consulatant on social and political affairs. The director of Oxfam 1985-91 he was a Labour MP (Portsmouth West, (1966-74), and Portsmouth North, (1974-79)) and PPS to Harold Wilson when leader of the Opposition (1970-72). From that he moved to the front bench as part of the Defence Team, becoming Parliamentary undersecretary of state for Defence at the MOD (1974-76), the minister for Overseas Development (1976-77) at the FCO.

Once enobled he was opposition spokesman of Foreign Affairs and overseas development (1991-92). Judd was also an independent adviser to the UK delegation in a UN session on disarmament in 1982. He was the associate director of an International Defence Aid Fund for Southern Africa (1979-80); the chairman of the Centre for World Development (1980-85); the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (1985-90) and the World Economic Forum Conference in Geneva on the future of South Africa (1990-91).

He was a member of the World Bank's steering committee on NGOs (1989-91); the international Commission on Global Governance (1992). He is a past chairman of the Fabian Society; the Oxford Diocaesan Board for Social Responsibility (1992-), a member of the Council for Overseas Development Institute [1] , the Association of Scientific, Technical and managerial Staffs (Union for Manufacturing, Science and Finance); the governing body of Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University (1989-); the council for Charitable Support (1991-); an adminisatrator for the World Humanitarian Action Trust; a governor of the London School of Economics (1982-), Westminster College Oxford (1991-), and an honary fellow of the university of Portsmouth.

Conflict Resolution

The role of non-governmental organisations and other third-party mediators in what is termed 'conflict resolution' has increased since the end of the Cold War and Judd has an advisory role with Saferworld which works closely with a range of international bodies such as International Alert. Arguably organisations such as Saferworld follow government money too closely and are bound as such from really challenging the foreign policy of their governments in an effective way.

Judd concluded a 21 October 1998 speech at the Overseas Development Institute, which he chairs:

"...with the words of Tony Blair last month at the UN: "... above all we need political will and a sense of urgency. The problems of our modern world are too pressing, their consequences are too immediate, their impact too far-reaching for us to hesitate or to look away any longer. We are being given a warning to act: to give purpose and direction in resolving these challenges we face together, or pay the price. The time to do it, to respond to the warning, is now." [2]

Chechnya

Judd was part of the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) looking into 'alleged' human rights abuses in Chechnya, by this time it was Blair's actions which drew his attention:

"What I saw horrified me. Here was the systematic destruction of a city in Europe in a country which claimed membership of the Council of Europe. I was appalled. He added: "I was very disappointed because I was trying to start this as a serious business and there was Tony at the Opera in St Petersburg. It was not a good moment." [3]

After the first Chechen war, his delegation called for an immediate cease-fire to be respected by both sides, and called on the Russian government to begin negotiations with the elected Chechen representatives concerning a political resolution to the conflict. He seemed to have pleased neither side or the Russian Press:

"One can understand Beslan Gantamirov, the flamboyant mayor of Grozny, who refused to meet with Lord Judd during the recent visit.

"I'm just outraged," Gantamirov told journalists. "Tell me, where was PACE with its human rights charter when Maskhadov's regime was carrying out public executions in Chechnya? Why did PACE keep silent when slavery and hostage-taking were big business here?" These are rhetorical questions which Lord Judd would be hard pushed to answer." [4] [5] [6]