Asked by Baroness Anelay of St Johns To ask Her Majesty’s
Government what assessment they have made of the progress made
during their term as chair-in-office of the Commonwealth towards
building a Commonwealth that is fairer, prosperous, more
sustainable and more secure. The Minister of State, Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)
My Lords, over the last four years, the United Kingdom, as
chair-in-office, has worked...Request free trial
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
the progress made during their term as chair-in-office of the
Commonwealth towards building a Commonwealth that is fairer,
prosperous, more sustainable and more secure.
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office () (Con)
My Lords, over the last four years, the United Kingdom, as
chair-in-office, has worked closely with our Commonwealth
partners to pursue the shared priorities that leaders set out at
CHOGM 2018 in London, with an investment of over £500 million in
projects and programmes on girls’ education, trade, human rights
and women’s economic empowerment. The UK’s assessment of its
delivery of our chair-in-office priorities is outlined in two
chair-in-office reports, the second of which was laid in both
Houses in May this year.
(Con)
My Lords, nearly a million girls in 11 Commonwealth countries do
not have equal access to education. The UK’s most recent report
as chair-in-office—the final report to which my noble friend
referred—states that Rwanda is one of the 11 Commonwealth
countries that marginalise girls. It is now the chair-in-office
for the Commonwealth, so what commitment has it given to the UK
that, as chair-in-office, the country will eliminate the
marginalisation of girls in education?
(Con)
My Lords, as my noble friend will be aware, the issue of girls’
education remains—and rightly so—a priority for Her Majesty’s
Government and our Prime Minister. I can assure my noble friend
that we have had a strong exchange of concerns and views with all
members of our Commonwealth family over the importance of
education, not least for girls across the now 56 countries of the
Commonwealth. We will continue to pursue this objective, not just
in our conversations with countries within the Commonwealth but
beyond. Rwanda remains very much committed to the values of the
Commonwealth family.
(Lab)
My Lords, one of the priorities set by the London CHOGM was LGBT
rights. I congratulate the Minister on his work to ensure that
this continued throughout the chair-in-office period. What can he
tell us about how this work will continue over the next two
years? We must bear in mind —as he acknowledged to me
yesterday—that LGBT rights are now under threat globally, and we
need to ensure that we continue to act.
(Con)
My Lords, one of the areas we pursued during our time in
chair-in-office was to strengthen the voice of civil society
within the context of the Commonwealth. Although I was not able
to share this with him yesterday, I can now report to the noble
Lord that, in the civil society engagement we had, we had well
over 10 Foreign Ministers engaging quite directly. There was a
quite specific question on the issue of LGBT rights. While it
does remain a challenge in a number of Commonwealth countries
where backwards steps have been taken, it is also notable that
certain countries—including, for example, the likes of
Botswana—have taken forward steps on this important issue. We
continue, as we have done during our time as chair-in-office, to
fund human rights priorities, including those of LGBT rights.
They were featured very prominently in the civil society
discussions, and I am sure of the important role civil society
organisations will play in ensuring that all countries of the
Commonwealth will adhere to the values of this important
principle, and not just during Rwanda’s chair-in-office.
(Con)
My Lords, if we are to expect the Commonwealth to remain a strong
and influential organisation far into the future—bearing in mind
the high proportion of Commonwealth citizens who are aged under
25—would it not be sensible to encourage, perhaps through
officers of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the
setting-up of a Commonwealth-wide youth organisation, just as has
happened with both women, on the one hand, and small
jurisdictions, on the other?
(Con)
My Lords, again I agree with my noble friend. As he will be
aware, within the Commonwealth context, there is the Commonwealth
Youth Forum. Together with a number of other Ministers, including
the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of Rwanda, I
attended a meeting where the youth forum delegates were directly
reporting back on the importance of their priorities. Of course,
60% of the Commonwealth is under 30— although I think that this
House acts as a strong voice for the 40% who are not. Equally, we
need to remain focused: the youth forum plays a central role in
the thinking on this, and will be feeding not just to the chair-
in-office but to the member states as well. In addition, the role
of the CPA is well recognised.
The Lord
My Lords, as the Minister knows extremely well, this week marks a
brief lull between the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
in Rwanda last week and the International Ministerial Conference
on Freedom of Religion or Belief in London next week. Given the
overlap between those two conferences, what progress has been
made on this basic human right, not least given that three of the
Commonwealth nations—India, Pakistan and Nigeria—are among the
worst when it comes to protecting the rights, and even the lives,
of Christians and those of other faiths and beliefs?
(Con)
The right reverend Prelate raises an important issue. It seems to
be a continuum. As someone who is overseeing the FoRB conference
as well, I was wondering whether the “Minister for Conferences”
is being added to my portfolio. Nevertheless, it is an important
area which is of focus to Her Majesty’s Government. I am working
very closely with on the delivery of next week’s
conference, at which over 30 countries will be in attendance. On
the countries the right reverend Prelate referred to, I would
also note that there are many where there are distinct
constitutional protections for all communities and faiths. It is
important that all countries of the Commonwealth stand up for the
rights of the faiths and beliefs of all.
of Newnham (LD)
My Lords, at last week’s CHOGM, the communiqué read that the
“Heads emphasised the commitment in the Commonwealth Charter, to
international peace and security, and to an effective
multilateral system based on international law.”
What have Her Majesty’s Government, as chair-in-office, and the
Prime Minister, in particular, done to talk to other heads of
Commonwealth Governments to try to persuade them of the
importance of supporting Ukraine and the British position on
Ukraine, rather than seeing Prime Minister Modi alongside
President Putin and President Xi?
(Con)
My Lords, the importance of Ukraine—indeed the next Question I
will be answering is on that very subject—was a discussion that
did not meet with total agreement. I sat through and indeed
represented the United Kingdom at the Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
Nevertheless, I think we worked very constructively with all
partners to ensure that the language on Ukraine was not just
sustained but also recognised by all members of the Commonwealth.
Our advocacy and that of other partners is important. The Ukraine
conflict is far from over as we saw through the attacks only
yesterday.
(CB)
My Lords, the narrowness of the re-election of the noble and
learned Baroness, Lady Scotland, as Secretary-General of the
Commonwealth is almost as well known as the strength of Her
Majesty’s Government’s opposition to that re-election. Will the
Minister please say whether the Government think that the noble
and learned Baroness has a mandate for her remaining time in
office, and what will his relationship be with her for the
remaining two years she has in office?
(Con)
My Lords, I am sure the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
will share my view that we enjoy a very strong, constructive
relationship. That is important to take the Commonwealth
forward.
(Con)
My Lords, I must say that I welcome this, despite one or two
difficulties that we have just touched on. I think an orderly
transfer of the Secretary-Generalship in two years’ time is a
very sensible thing. I also welcome quite a lot of achievement at
Kigali. Two new members joined and there were many other
successes, thanks not least to my noble friend the Minister
sitting here and, on the commercial side, to my noble friend
. Looking into the future, did
my noble friend see any talk of the increasing Chinese
involvement in island state after island state, coastal state
after coastal state in Africa in a systematic advance not in just
commercial matters but in military and officer training matters
as well? Will he tell his expert planners in the Foreign Office
that this is a real challenge to Britain’s security, as well as
world security, and it needs a good deal more attention than it
has had so far?
(Con)
Again, I agree with my noble friend in his expert analysis and
the wise counsel he offers to the FCDO. It is important that we
remain vigilant. Indeed, it is not just across Africa, when we
see the recent engagement of China across the Pacific and
particularly on specific islands. That is why we are, through the
announcement of British International Investment, working with
key partners in ensuring that there is a long-term structured
offer to all members of the Commonwealth in ensuring their
sustainability and economic progress.
(Lab)
My Lords, while welcoming the fact that the Commonwealth is still
attractive to new members, we are bound to ask whether there are
now any relevant criteria for membership such as links with
Britain or human rights credentials.
(Con)
On the noble Lord’s second point, there is a very strong and
objective criterion assessment. No new member state joins unless
the existing members of the Commonwealth agree. On the issue of
past history, I think the Commonwealth is moving forward. Rwanda
was never part of our imperial past, but it is very much part of
our common future within the Commonwealth family.
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