Sir (Twickenham) (LD):
What is the point of the G7? Since the most important member does
not believe in a rules-based system and crucial countries such as
China and India are not even members of it, why does the Prime
Minister not recommend closing it down?
The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman
asks what the point of the G7 is. He should look at the
communiqué to see the agreed actions that we will be putting in
place, which will be of benefit across areas relating not just to
trade and foreign policy but the empowerment of women and girls.
Graham P. Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab): The Prime
Minister has referred to the empowerment of women and of girls in
particular. Did she have an opportunity at the G7 to raise two
specific issues: the hundreds of thousands of child prostitutes
in India and the use of rape as a method of violence in places
such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
The Prime Minister: The specific examples given
by the hon. Gentleman were not raised, but the overall issue of
the prevention of sexual violence in conflict was referred to in
the meeting between the G7 leaders and the Gender Equality
Advisory Council, which was set up by Prime Minister Trudeau. I
was also able, within that, to talk about the issues of human
trafficking and modern slavery, particularly modern slavery for
the purpose of sexual exploitation.
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