UK and Sri Lanka: Bilateral Trade

Lord Bach Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bach (Lab)]

My Lords, I start by congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Sheikh, on securing the debate. I thank him and the noble Lord, Lord Naseby, for their speeches. The only regret is that the debate was listed, as it probably had to be, at the end of a long list of debates on the last Thursday sitting before Christmas.

The United Kingdom is proud of being a trading nation. It is important that, in general, the Government encourage and help British exporters. In a former life I was the Minister for DESO, which is now part of UKTI. I hope that I did my bit to assist at home and, especially, abroad. British trade means more economic activity at home; British exports mean more and better jobs for workers in this country. I congratulate the Minister on having one of the best jobs in government.

That is my starting point, but it is always vital to connect the general truth that trade is good with the real world as we find it. Defence exports in particular are, rightly, closely looked at. My first question to the Minister is this: why was more than £8 million-worth of arms—including shotguns, assault rifles and ammunition—granted licences for export to Sri Lanka in the first six months of 2014, as set out in data from BIS, and as reported in the Observer on 8 November? I ask the Minister—if he can help me—what criteria were used in deciding that this was a suitable transaction.

In economic terms Sri Lanka enjoys good annual growth, as we have heard. Since the end of the civil war, by and large trade has increased in both exports and imports between Sri Lanka and both the European Union and the United Kingdom. Of course, I welcome the expansion of trade and welcome the proposals in this debate by the two speakers who have already made their contributions. Obviously, tourism is an immediately attractive product—hardly surprisingly, given the beauty of the country. I can beat the noble Lord, Lord Naseby: I was in Sri Lanka before he ever stepped on to that island. When I was a boy living in Chennai and then Madras, my mother took me to Ceylon, as it was then, before the noble Lord ever went there as a young adult. Of course, those we must be envious of today are those lucky fellow countrymen of ours who were there to see England win the fifth one-day match, held over two days near Kandy. More seriously, it is in other areas of possible trade that, no doubt, progress can be made. The higher education and technology fields, where there seem to be considerable opportunities, are of great interest.

Sri Lanka enjoys preferential access to the EU market under the generalised scheme of preferences. However, the generalised scheme of preferences-plus status was temporarily withdrawn in 2010 and remains withdrawn. As I understand it, 36% of Sri Lanka’s exports go to the European Union: it is its largest market. Why did the withdrawal of the “plus” status happen in the first place, and why does it remain withdrawn today, nearly four and a half years later? The answer of course—although it may be uncomfortable to say so—is in Sri Lanka’s response to the legitimate concerns of the rest of the world about the behaviour of its Government and its military towards minority groups both during and after the end of its terrible civil war. Sri Lanka’s Government—again, I am afraid to say so—appear to have done all within their powers to block any effort to discover what went on and what may still be going on. The frustration of world opinion about this blockage has resulted in the setting up of an inquiry by the United Nations Human Rights Council, instigated by the United Kingdom, among others, under the auspices of OHCHR, which was referred to in passing by the noble Lord, Lord Naseby. The Sri Lankan Government have just gone on blocking: there is no access for the investigative team and a reported threat by the Minister for Mass Media in Sri Lanka that legal action may well be taken against those who testify before the Commission, if they breach the terms of the Sri Lankan constitution. This attitude has led to the respected House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, under all parties and under the chairmanship of a very distinguished Conservative Member of Parliament, to the following conclusion, in paragraph 37 of its recent report:

“Given the time that has passed since the launch of the international inquiry, and the constraints placed on the OHCHR team, we believe that the Government should be ready to consider all possible options, including sanctions, to convince Sri Lanka to allow access. We recommend that the Government negotiates with its EU partners to remove GSP status from Sri Lanka, if the Government of Sri Lanka does not allow the OHCHR investigating team into the country and uphold the right of human right defenders to engage with the UN human rights system”.

What is Her Majesty’s Government’s view on that recommendation? I ask again whether it was wise for a licence to be granted for the arms exports from the United Kingdom in 2014.

We have heard about the presidential elections due on 8 January next, which the world hopes will be fair and, of course, non-violent. However, the Financial Times argued in June that the growing tensions between the Sri Lankan Buddhist majority Singhalese population and the minority Muslim population are likely to affect the country’s business climate. Muslims in Sri Lanka are among that country’s most successful commercial operators; surely it is in Sri Lanka’s economic and human interest to ensure that its minority population is treated with respect and equality. That surely means assisting and not blocking the OHCHR commission, so that if wrong has been done it can be admitted and properly dealt with; and if it has not been done, that can be independently verified. Only in that way can the country move forward. I look forward very much to hearing what the Minister has to say.