Commonwealth

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington Excerpts

Thursday 16th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Con)]

My Lords, it is always rather a challenge to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Flather, especially on a day with so many excellent speeches from so many noble Lords. I start by thanking my noble friend Lady Anelay not only for introducing this debate with such a comprehensive opening speech but for her commitment to her brief, including her role as the Prime Minister’s special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict. She is an inspiration to many of us here and outside this Chamber and it is clear from all the speeches today that she is held in immense respect by us all.

Earlier this week we celebrated Commonwealth Day, a time for us all to stop and reflect on and celebrate our rich diversity and shared values. The values that hold our unique partnership together are promoting democracy, championing human rights and extending social and economic development across all 52 Commonwealth member countries. Our family spans six continents and is home to one-third of the world’s population, some 2.2 billion people, and, with 60% of its population under 30, now more than ever the Commonwealth has the potential to be an unstoppable movement in delivering global social progress. I endorse the suggestion of the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, that young people should be engaged and welcomed at CHOGM next year. It would be a great opportunity to encourage and develop the next generation of leaders, and they should be properly supported on that journey to leadership.

Next year, the UK will resume the chair of the Commonwealth. The UK is already a leader in economic and sustainable development and is the only G7 country to give 0.7% of its GNI to international aid and development. It is transforming lives around the world every day. Our chairmanship will come at a critical moment for the world’s poorest and offers a unique opportunity to help to implement and deliver authentic, concrete action in support of the global goals for sustainable development.

There is much still to be done. Despite incredible progress, preventable diseases still wreak havoc across the Commonwealth and, indeed, the world. The collective power of the Commonwealth means that we can make tangible plans to curb these debilitating and, in some cases, deadly diseases. Previous Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings have shown that this is possible.

Let us take polio as an example. In the years leading up to the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, outbreaks of poliovirus were occurring in places where it had not been seen for years. The disease seemed to be making a terrifying comeback, even though we had been 99% of the way to eradicating it for good. In response, millions of pounds of new funding were pledged from donor countries such as the UK and, importantly, the leaders of Pakistan and Nigeria, which accounted for the majority of polio cases at the time, pledged to prioritise the effort. Six years later, the situation with polio is vastly different. Only 37 cases were reported across three countries last year, compared to 650 cases across 16 countries back in 2011. Challenges remain that may yet derail such progress, but with the Commonwealth’s ongoing support we stand on the cusp of making polio the second human disease in history, after smallpox, to be eradicated.

The Commonwealth’s legacy on polio leaves lessons for other urgent causes. In working together to eradicate polio in the most remote, vulnerable and socially excluded communities, Commonwealth countries are constructing a blueprint not only for tackling preventable diseases such as malaria but for achieving the sustainable development goals as a whole. To this day, 90% of Commonwealth citizens still live in malaria-endemic countries. Malaria kills half a million people every year and although there has been significant progress in tackling this disease—Sri Lanka was declared malaria-free last year—more needs to be done to tackle what is considered to be the greatest killer disease of all time. The collective power of the Commonwealth can make this happen.

By the same token, the only way in which we will end extreme poverty in all forms is, as noble Baronesses have said in recent speeches, by prioritising the rights and needs of girls and women across the world. For too long, the efforts to ensure gender equality have fallen short, even among Commonwealth nations. To this day, each Commonwealth member country has at least one law on its books that discriminates against girls and women simply because of their gender. Further to this, at least six Commonwealth countries do not have legislation on domestic violence, while 15 still have exemptions that permit marital rape, ensuring that men only face criminal charges for raping their wives in very limited circumstances. This is not good enough. Women also face barriers when it comes to laws and practices affecting their right to work, financial inclusion, inheriting property and harmful practices such as child marriage. The Commonwealth can be a force for good in this world, provided that we first get its own house in order.

In these uncertain times, the Commonwealth has a real, legitimate chance to be a major power for social good in the world. Like the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, I am a former adviser to Global Citizen, which, with many other NGOs, is working to support Commonwealth nations to collectively address discriminatory laws and practices, including gender-based violence—barriers that keep girls and women from realising their full economic and social potential. In the spirit of the sustainable development goals, Global Citizen believes that, by demonstrating the political and financial will needed to achieve a polio-free world by 2020, we can ensure that no one gets left behind.

Whatever your gender, and wherever you were born, you deserve a fair chance to live a healthy life of opportunity. The lives of women and girls and of children vulnerable to the devastation of polio and malaria cannot be forgotten. UK aid already has a tremendous impact on the world’s poorest, something that we should all be incredibly proud of. When we take the chair of the Commonwealth next year, not only should we strengthen our ties with our old allies, but we should ensure that its awesome power is harnessed to give help to those around the world who need it the most.

Central African Republic

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, of course we will listen to any requests made by the President for technical assistance. As the noble Lord will know, that can be done through the United Nations. Certainly at the moment MINUSCA, as a peacekeeping force, is concentrating on securing Bangui and the immediate area. Until that is done, it is difficult to go further outside Bangui to provide any assistance there. DfID will be doing all it can through delivering its humanitarian aid to provide the kind of technical assistance that is appropriate in those circumstances. The first objective, though, has to be to secure the region, which has been so troubled.

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, drew attention to the 2.3 million children who have been affected by the violence in this country. Will my noble friend join me in paying tribute to UNICEF and the other NGOs that are providing humanitarian assistance, despite unprecedented attacks against the humanitarian workers?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

I join my noble friend in that with great pleasure. I ought to declare a past interest, of which I am proud, which is that I used to be a trustee of UNICEF. It is one of many organisations that perform valiant work and without them I have no doubt that Governments would find it almost impossible to deal with the humanitarian crises we face.

Syria: Sexual Violence

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd July 2014 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the alleged sexual violence crimes committed against Syrian civilians in Syria.

[The Senior Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Warsi) (Con)]

My Lords, as reported by the UN commission of inquiry and others, rape, sexual violence and sexual torture have been carried out by regime forces against men, women and children as part of a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population. We are deeply and increasingly concerned about sexual exploitation of displaced people. The UK is committed to supporting victims of these crimes, as well as supporting efforts to document sexual violence and other atrocities.

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for the Answer. Would she join me in congratulating the Foreign Office and particularly the Foreign Secretary—so ably assisted by Angelina Jolie—on the success of the recent global summit on sexual violence in conflict, which has done so much to raise the profile of these dreadful crimes? Would she also confirm that the Foreign Office, DfID and the international community will do what they can to collect evidence and testimony from the surviving victims of sexual violence in the conflict so that, when this terrible war finally ends, the perpetrators can be prosecuted and brought to justice?

[Baroness Warsi]

I will join her—and I am sure the whole House will join me—in congratulating the Foreign Secretary on an incredibly successful summit on ending sexual violence in conflict. Those taking part came from 155 countries and included 1,700 delegates, 79 Ministers, victims’ groups, NGOs and international organisations. On the documentation and collection of evidence of sexual violence, my noble friend will be pleased to note that some of the projects we are funding in Syria are around the documentation and collection of evidence, so that those who commit these crimes will one day be brought to justice.

Afghanistan: Women’s Rights

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington Excerpts

Monday 2nd December 2013 Grand Committee

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Con)]

My Lords, I, too, am extremely grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson, for raising this important issue. There are few in Parliament who know more about the subject, and we welcome her and her considerable expertise to the House. I also take this opportunity to salute the Foreign Secretary, the International Development Secretary and my noble friend Lady Warsi for the time, effort and focus they have all put into this very challenging problem. With the imminent departure of United States and UK combat troops from Afghanistan, and the election of a new president and provincial councils scheduled for next year, we are all too well aware that the country stands at a crossroads.

Many women’s rights around the world are still far away from where they should be in the 21st century: 70% of people living in poverty are women and a third of all women in the world experience some form of violence. However, it is Afghanistan which, despite many efforts by many people in recent years, remains the most dangerous place in the world for a woman to live.

One Afghan woman e-mailed me to say how grateful Afghans are that we, as a country, have been generous to them over the last 12 years, providing assistance in many ways, reaching out to women and promoting their cause. As the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, said, we have to do all we can to ensure that this support is not wasted. I hope that this debate will be reported in Afghanistan and that women there will know that we are on their side, and that we support and are concerned for the women there who fear for the fragile rights that they have gained.

As my noble friend pointed out in her powerful and well argued speech, there are a number of signs of appeasement of Taliban and other conservative forces by the Afghan Government. Last year President Karzai supported a new code of conduct, issued by a group of prominent clerics, which permitted the beating of wives by husbands and the segregation of men and women in offices and schools. As both my noble friends have said, there has been progress and this should be celebrated. However, this progress is at risk. As human and women’s rights activist Wazhma Frogh comments:

“After 12 years of struggle and sacrifice we are handing over the fate of Afghan women into the hands of … guys who are ready to take away every right from women”.

One new NGO, the focus of which has been on assisting women in Afghanistan to make a contribution, is Future Brilliance, of which I am proud to be a trustee. Its vision is to create stability in fragile states by offering world-class training that contributes to the nation’s prosperity through the skills, ambition, professional knowledge and participation of its people. One person whom the charity has helped is Khala Zada. It took her two months to persuade her sons to let her come to Jaipur to be trained. A 50 year-old illiterate widow from rural Afghanistan, Zada runs a small business making jewellery by hand. The six-month course would teach her about design, techniques and sales but, as a woman coming from a country of gender inequality, she was not allowed to make the decision herself. She had to get permission from the men in her life—her adult sons. Finally, in January this year, she left her home accompanied by one of her sons and his wife to enrol alongside 35 other Afghan men and women—the ratio was two men to one woman—at the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery in Sitapura, Jaipur’s new jewellery quarter. The institute had hoped for more women than men, but it proved difficult for the women to get permission to travel for the training.

Zada is a pioneer in this new scheme to create a network of skilled Afghan artisans who will set up businesses and spread their knowledge. The advantage is that women jewellery-makers will be able to work from home—a key benefit should the Taliban return to power once UN peacekeeping forces pull out. She will be able to expand her business and employ more women so, in terms of maximum return on capital employed, taking just this one woman and investing in her personally is potentially huge for the economy of her local village.

Future Brilliance has recently forged an agreement with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to distribute 7,000 tablets to young entrepreneurs and students at training and vocational colleges throughout Afghanistan by 2014, customised for use in Dari and Pashto and loaded with education, social media, and m-commerce applications—there is lots of very exciting potential in that.

As my noble friend has said, education is the silver bullet. Education for all children, but especially for girls, is the key to continued progress. In 2001 there were fewer than a million students in school, and practically none of them were girls. Today, if you were in Kabul, you would happily see girls travelling to school in their black uniforms and white headscarves. There are now more than 8 million children attending 4,000 schools across Afghanistan and nearly 40% of these are girls. This is a fantastic improvement. As Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, has said:

“These girls who are in school today are the future of Afghanistan”.

When influenced early enough, boys and girls can grow up to be accepting of one another and to resist regressive tendencies. By educating boys and girls together in an equal environment, ensuring that they have access to the same knowledge and opportunities, the first step is taken to eliminating entrenched sexism.

I am proud that the UK has committed to supporting girls’ education in Afghanistan by giving £47 million to the DfID Girls Education Challenge fund to help 250,000 girls to access quality schooling. We have a responsibility to help these girls to reach their full potential. We also have a responsibility to ensure that boys fully comprehend the value of women and understand that appreciating and valuing women does not distract from, or in any way decrease the value of, men.

Many women in Afghanistan today are putting their lives and those of their families at risk by fighting for the rights of women. Shaima Alkozai secretly taught girls in her home during the fear and repression of Taliban rule. Her students would pretend that they were going to a friend’s house and hide their books in flour containers. Today she is the deputy principal of Zarghona Girls High School in Kabul, responsible for the education of more than 8,000 girls. As she says:

“An uneducated person is blind. They don’t know how to live their life. It’s especially important for women, because they are responsible for their life and the lives of their children and family. The life of the nation is in the woman’s hands”.

She also voices her concerns about the future of Afghanistan under the Taliban:

“What will be the future for women? Will their situation improve or become worse? It doesn’t matter to us if we have to wear a burka or not. But we want to continue with education”.

Ease of movement for women is a key problem that also needs tackling. In public transport, women have to wait until the men get into the vehicles, there are hardly any public bathrooms for women and it is not safe for them to walk around and be out after the sunset. There are many obstacles in their way, physically and psychologically—unimaginable for any of us in this Room today.

Last week I e-mailed a contact in Kabul to ask what changes she thought would best enable progress on women’s rights in Afghanistan. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, she came back with a rather extensive list. Beyond education, which was at the top of her list, she would like to see a distinct subject of human rights included in the school curriculum and taught in all schools, mandated by the Afghan Ministry of Education. She wants the Government to require all employers to display posters on rights and respect for women. She says that the Afghan public should be exposed to effective and brief TV and radio skits and slogans demonstrating why it is important to honour women as equals. The media in Afghanistan should be used extensively to reinforce the vital role that women play in society.

Historically, women are the first to suffer in a fragile state. Without proper planning, traditionalists will gradually erode the progress that has been made at the expense of so many lives. If we are to continue to make changes or even just preserve the status quo, women’s rights must be at the centre of negotiations with the Taliban. It is only by fully integrating women into the Government’s agenda that we can protect their fragile gains. As Kofi Annan said:

“There cannot be true peace and recovery in Afghanistan without a restoration of the rights of women”.

There must be increased access to justice, including reparations, and access to comprehensive services for all women to ensure that they are enabled to fully participate in the democratic process. As with all long-lasting and sustainable change, this cannot be imposed by the West. It must come from the Afghan people. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s comments.

Burma

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington Excerpts

Wednesday 5th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington]

My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Alton, on securing this important debate and pay tribute to his active interest in, and commitment to, the cause of freedom and human rights around the world, including in Burma.

I make no claim to any expertise on this specific subject, but I declare an interest for four reasons. First, I hope to visit Burma next month with the All-Party Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health—unless of course my visa is refused as a result of my contribution to this debate. Secondly, I co-chaired the Conservative Friends of International Development. I recognise that Burma is a major recipient of British aid but it is in need of even more humanitarian assistance. Thirdly, I am contributing to this debate having met and talked to Benedict Rogers, deputy chair of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission and a well known Burma specialist, who has visited Burma many times, most recently with the noble Lord, Lord Alton, in March. Fourthly, last summer I put my name to a letter to the Daily Telegraph, along with noble Lords from across the Chamber, expressing concern about the desperate plight of the Rohingya people. We called for emergency aid to all the victims of violence in Rakhine state, pressure on Bangladesh to allow refugees fleeing persecution across its borders, pressure on the Government of Burma to stop the violence, a serious effort to revise, or repeal, the 1982 citizenship law, which stripped the Rohingyas of citizenship, and a new citizenship law in line with international human rights norms. I repeat those calls today.

I echo many of the points already raised in this debate. Although it is indeed absolutely right to recognise the extraordinary and welcome changes taking place in Burma, to encourage further reform and to open a hand of friendship to the people of Burma as the country opens up and moves towards freedom, it is also essential that we recognise that Burma is just at the very beginning of change, that the early signs of increasing freedom are fragile and that there are many grave challenges still to be addressed.

In the time available, I wish to focus my remarks on a couple of these challenges. First, as others have already noted in depth, the recent anti-Muslim violence is of serious concern. Clearly, there are attitudes within parts of Burmese society that are deeply troubling and need to be addressed through public education and inter-religious dialogue. Such efforts must be encouraged at grass-roots levels, as well as at a national level. However, more urgently, it must be a priority for the international community to urge the President and his Government to end the climate of impunity and to ensure that the security forces act swiftly, effectively and fairly to prevent violence, stop violence when it is occurring, protect vulnerable communities and bring the perpetrators of hatred and violence to justice. Can my noble friend give her assessment of the Burmese Government’s response to these crises and say what concrete steps Her Majesty’s Government are taking to address these serious concerns with the Burmese Government?

Secondly, I am very pleased that Britain has continued to increase aid to Burma and has been the largest single donor to the country. That is a record to be proud of. I am also pleased that, as part of our aid to Burma, Britain has provided humanitarian assistance to displaced people within the country and along the borders. However, as my noble friend will know, there are two areas which are in particular need of further and urgent assistance: Kachin state and Rakhine state. The war in Kachin state has displaced at least 100,000 people and left more than 200 villages destroyed. In Rakhine state, more than 130,000 people, mainly Rohingyas, have been displaced and are living in camps which the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordinator, the noble Baroness, Lady Amos, described six months ago as “dire”. Will my noble friend tell the House what efforts Her Majesty’s Government are making to secure unrestricted access for international humanitarian aid to all displaced peoples in Kachin and Rakhine states, including those outside government-controlled territory, and what contribution Britain is making to the needs of displaced people in these areas?

I wish to end with one of the most serious challenges in Burma and an issue that should be at the centre of Her Majesty’s Government’s focus on the country, given that it is a personal priority of the Foreign Secretary: sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war. Over the past decade, hundreds of cases of rape and sexual violence have been documented by women’s organisations in six different states. Of the cases of rape that have been documented, almost half are women who were raped and also killed. In Kachin state, many women have been raped during the conflict over the past two years. According to an article in the Guardian in February, Muslim Rohingya women, including teenagers, were raped. Will my noble friend tell the House what plans the Government have to ensure that Burma is included in the Foreign Secretary’s preventing sexual violence initiative?

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2011 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they hope to see achieved at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford)]

My Lords, we believe that the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth, Australia, could and should be a significant moment for the future of the Commonwealth. The modernisation of the Commonwealth, based on Heads of Government agreeing the Eminent Persons Group core recommendations, is our priority. A reinvigorated Commonwealth with increased trade and investment flows is good for all its members and can help uplift prosperity levels for all its 2 billion citizens.

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington]

I thank my noble friend for that positive response and I am sure we all wish the Commonwealth Heads of Government a successful conference at the end of the month. My noble friend will be aware that the UK Government have led the way in the polio eradication programme and that earlier this year the Prime Minister announced a doubling of the funding for it, which will lead to an additional 45 million children being vaccinated over the next two years. Can my noble friend confirm that, while he is in Australia, polio eradication will be on the agenda and that he and his colleagues will encourage other Governments, notably the Australians, to be similarly generous in their approach?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

I can confirm that that will be on the agenda and that the Australian Government, the hosts for this Heads of Government meeting, have taken a lead in proposing it. It will certainly gain discussion and, I hope, intensive development and improvement at the CHOGM.