All articles written by Baroness Helic on PoliticsHome.com

03 Oct Foreign affairs

By granting Ratko Mladić a state funeral, Serbia has turned a grave into a shrine

There is a reason some of history’s most notorious criminals have no grave.

02 Jul Communities

Bosnia is going home – but it's a home this young team has made much better

Early this morning, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup journey ended with defeat to the United States. Today, its players begin the journey home.

20 May Environment

A closed season to protect pregnant hares was promised – where is the legislation?

In the King’s Speech last week, the government quietly dropped a bill that would have finally given legal protection to hares after centuries of persecution.

29 Apr Foreign affairs

The fall of Orbán is an opportunity – we must ensure it is seized

The fall of Viktor Orbán is good news not only for the EU but for the western Balkans, and for Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular.

01 Dec 2025 Books & culture

'Hares In UK Culture, Ecology And History': Baroness Helic On A Show Highlighting The Plight Of These 'Magical' Creatures

Featuring photography from leading wildlife photographers across Britain, take a moment out from the stresses of parliamentary life to be enchanted by this week-long exhibition

27 Jan 2025 Environment

We must establish a close season on hare shooting in England and Wales to halt the species’ decline

Brown hares are the only ‘game’ species in England and Wales that can be shot year-round

21 Nov 2024 Books & culture

'Stark and poignant': Baroness Helic reviews Kate Bush's 'Little Shrew'

Kate Bush’s anti-war animation highlights the plight of children affected by conflict – and the need for empathy and action

30 Nov 2023 Foreign affairs

We have helped open the door to terrible suffering in Gaza by being an uncritical friend to Israel

Britain’s security and prosperity are founded on an open, rules-based international order – a world in which we can trade with confidence, where competition and conflict are managed, and we can co-operate to find solutions to global challenges such as climate change, AI and international terrorism.

06 Oct 2023 Culture

The BBC World Service is vital in an increasingly dangerous world

Elections are rarely fought on foreign policy; if they are, it is usually a sign of crisis.

17 May 2023 Books & culture

A book of beautiful ambition: Baroness Helic reviews 'The Book of Wilding'

If The Book of Wilding’s commendable aims are to be realised Parliament must recognise the value of biodiversity and put in the necessary economic framework to support it

02 May 2022 Foreign affairs

Atrocities by Russian forces in Ukraine show a new approach is needed to tackle sexual violence in conflict

Reports of Russian war crimes in Ukraine have become grimly familiar, revealing – if the invasion itself had not – the full barbarity of Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

08 Nov 2021 Foreign affairs

We must not allow the western Balkans to slide back into conflict

Next October it will be 30 years since I came to live in the UK. I didn’t come out of choice, but because I had nowhere else to go. I was seeking refuge from one of the bloodiest conflicts in Europe since the Second World War: a three-year war that displaced my family, killed my friends, saw rape camps set up on European soil, and culminated in the Srebrenica genocide.

18 Aug 2021 Foreign affairs

We must work urgently to support the Afghans we have abandoned

For the vast majority of Afghans, the Taliban conquest will be a cause for grief, pain, and suffering. We must do everything we can to mitigate the damage, with asylum, humanitarian aid, and every bit of diplomatic pressure we can muster.

26 May 2021 Home affairs

Flaws in the family courts system have not been fixed. Until they are, victims will continue to be failed

British courts are renowned around the world, for the quality of the lawyers, for the impartiality of the judges, for their fairness and rigour. But speak to people involved in the family courts in England and Wales, and it quickly becomes apparent there are some serious problems.

26 Feb 2021 Home affairs

Parental alienation should have no place in our law or legal system

Parental alienation is already being misused in our family courts to the extent that victims of domestic abuse are afraid to disclose abuse for fear of being accused of alienation.

10 Feb 2021 Books & culture

'Quo Vadis, Aida?' – how the Srebrenica atrocity still weighs on the conscience of the west

Shortlisted for this year's Academy Awards, Jasmila Žbanić’s extraordinary depiction of the unfolding horror of the Srebrenica massacre may succeed in proving that art can reveal the truth when politics fails

07 Oct 2020 Culture

The Book that Changed My Life: Sophie’s Choice

In the latest in our series on the books that have influenced or inspired Parliamentarians, Baroness Helic describes how William Styron’s novel drove her to seek answers to history’s darkest chapters.

NATO conference is a chance to reaffirm the Alliance’s values

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04 Dec 2019 Foreign affairs

NATO conference is a chance to reaffirm the Alliance’s values

With the UN Security Council increasingly gridlocked, and international institutions under increasing strain, there is an opportunity for Britain to step up and lead the way – delivering domestic and global change to protect children in conflict whilst defending and promoting Britain’s values, says Baroness Helic.