I thank the Conservatives for bringing this motion today for us to have an opportunity to debate and discuss this very important matter.

When we mark the centenary of the battles of the Somme, Mametz Wood and the battle of Jutland, we are remembering the loss of the lives of thousands of men. It is easy to forget, given the sheer numbers involved, that each number in the count of the dead represents an individual who left behind his family, his community, to fight and die in unimaginable circumstances.

For those who fought in the first world war, and those who have fought in every war since, we entered into a covenant with them that society would provide the support they need if and when they return. That means ensuring that there is adequate mental health care available and that there is support for them to find housing and employment. It means ensuring that their families and children are supported, that those who have been injured—and particularly those who have suffered life-changing injuries—receive the highest possible standard of healthcare.

Our remembrance should also include Wales’s proud legacy of striving for conflict resolution and seeking alternatives to war. Figures like Lord Llandinam, Liberal Member of Parliament and, later, Member of the House of Lords, whose writing on the use of force and international law and order was foundational to the United Nations charter. He was key in the establishment of Cardiff’s Temple of Peace and Health, which he wanted to be a memorial to those gallant men from all nations who gave their lives in the war that was to end all wars. We should keep that Welsh tradition in mind as we mark the centenaries this year. It has even more resonance and importance when we consider the nature of modern war. We are having this debate today in the shadow of the publication of the Chilcot report last week. One of the key findings of that report was that the armed forces were sent into Iraq without proper planning and without necessary equipment being made available to them. Many within the armed forces and the families of those who died see this, rightly, as a betrayal. The report also found that all avenues had not been exhausted in the pursuit of avoiding war in the first place.

The nature of war has changed, of course, since the first world war. The UN have claimed that modern armed conflict kills and maims more children than it does soldiers. While the exact statistics are disputed, it is roughly the case that civilian fatalities in wartime climbed from 5 per cent at the turn of the twentieth century to 15 per cent during world war one, to 65 per cent by the end of the second world war, and to more than 90 per cent in wars of the 1990s. When we choose to fight, we choose to engage in war that will hurt those who are not involved, and we displace many, many more.

Remembrance, of course, should not be a celebration but, rather, a meditation on those who have lost their lives and on how we can work to prevent conflict and the loss of life in the future. For those who return from conflict, the very least society should do is to ensure that they are properly cared for. Diolch yn fawr iawn.