India: Extremism

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Monday 24th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we are indeed clear friends of India. The UK-India trade relationship is flourishing. The two Prime Ministers agreed that, when the UK leaves the European Union, they will make it a priority for both countries to build the closest possible commercial and economic relationship—but our friendship also goes to the development of human rights.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I am grateful for that commitment by the Minister, because many of us will be very concerned that, as a consequence of Brexit, the focus of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be on trade and economic development alone. Will she repeat, again, that there can never be a trade-off between economic trade and human rights and that we will remain committed to raising our concerns with President Modi at every opportunity, because the recorded level of violence against minorities has increased and we must raise it with the Government?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, the Prime Minister referred to reports of violent offences when she visited India in the first bilateral overseas visit after she became Prime Minister last summer to show the importance that we ascribe to our relations with India. The reports have also been raised more recently by my honourable friend the Minister for Asia when an Indian Minister visited this country. So we will continue to raise those issues. It is for the benefit of both countries that we develop our trade relationship—but, as I mentioned earlier, it is our firm belief that good relations and strong human rights are the underpinning for successful economic development.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 6th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, recently I met a representative of the Youth Parliament and discussed issues around the summit. I assure my noble friend that the important point she has made will indeed be taken into consideration. I am already holding a series of meetings, as are members of the Commonwealth team now based in the Cabinet Office.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, one important consideration about trade which is often ignored is the need to ensure that we advocate strong minimum standards and support the International Labour Organization. I hope that the noble Baroness will be able to reassure the House that when we engage civil society in CHOGM, we will also include trade unions and the international trade union movement so that we can advocate strong labour standards.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

Yes, my Lords. Yesterday I had the privilege of being able to meet Owen Tudor, who heads the TUC’s international relations office, to discuss how his agenda and the decisions that might be made in June by TUC organisations can feed into the summit process.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Wednesday 5th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

Like the noble Baroness, I deplore events that cause such suffering. She is right to point to the action by the international community over the years to try to ensure that such vile use of chemical weapons cannot happen. It is essential that we work together to prevent these events. At 3 pm British time I understand that the debate at the United Nations should have started—I cannot confirm that because I have been here and so unable to see it. We will have to wait to see the decisions on what actions to take. I entirely agree with the noble Baroness that there must be a thorough and credible investigation.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, the key point that the Foreign Secretary made was that all the evidence points to the Assad regime. We have also heard from the Prime Minister, who called for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to conduct an investigation. Of course, it has been gathering evidence for some time on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. I welcome the Government’s intention to raise the matter at the Security Council—but, as the Minister has told the House on many occasions, it is sometimes difficult to reach a consensus in the Security Council. Can she tell us what the Government will do if there is a failure to reach consensus? Will we take it up in the full UN General Assembly? The most important point—I know she shares this view—is that the people responsible must understand that they will be held fully accountable.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary said a short while ago in Brussels:

“I would like to see those culpable pay a price”.


I do not want to predict the result of today’s debate. It is predicted not to conclude until around 6 pm or 7 pm. It is clear that we have to try to ensure that nobody will vote against the resolution. In the past, Russia and China have done so. I hope that they will think very carefully today before they take any action other than to support the resolution before the United Nations.

Balfour Declaration

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Monday 3rd April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

First, my Lords, I send my good wishes to the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, and wish her a strong and full recovery. The Balfour Declaration was an historic statement and one for which the United Kingdom has no intention to apologise. We are focused on encouraging the Israelis and Palestinians to take steps which bring them closer to peace. That is the whole thrust of government policy which has underwritten the work of this Government, the coalition Government, and the Labour Government before that. We continue to carry that work forward. With regard to recognition, perhaps in the future, of Palestine as an independent state, bilateral recognition does not deliver reality. We will make sure that we recognise a Palestinian state when we judge that it is in the best interests of peace and a lasting negotiated solution between Israel and the Palestinian Authorities to do so.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I associate myself with the remarks of the Minister about the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge. I also welcome the commitment again to the two-state solution, which the Opposition have supported historically. The most important thing we can achieve, 100 years after the Balfour Declaration, is to ensure that peace talks commence. Can the Minister tell us how she can put direct pressure on both parties to start talking to each other rather than firing rockets at each other?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, that point is extremely well made. I assure the noble Lord and the House that we are making our best efforts to encourage both sides to come to the table for discussions. When my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, he made just those points. When I had discussions last week in New York with Nikki Haley, who is a member of the President’s Cabinet, I too made those points, and we agreed entirely that it is important that we all work together to get the interested parties to the table to talk, not fire weapons.

Gibraltar

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Monday 3rd April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, on the first part of the noble Baroness’s Question, it is a matter of fact that Gibraltar and other overseas territories, and the Crown dependencies, were mentioned specifically in the White Paper, as they should be. The letter was not the occasion to convey that matter in addition, but I can assure the noble Baroness that we have engaged thoroughly with Gibraltar during all the processes so far. On other matters, I understand that the noble Baroness may be referring to a comment made by one of my noble friends. We still have free speech in this country; may that long continue.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, what the overwhelming number of people in Gibraltar recognised when they voted to remain was that, when Spain acceded to membership, this country negotiated an extremely good deal for very unique circumstances. The unhelpful remarks about gunboat diplomacy do not address the fundamental issue, which is not that the people of Gibraltar doubt Britain’s commitment to them to maintain their sovereignty, but that they doubt Britain’s ability to negotiate on their behalf the best deal economically. That is what they want to hear from this Government.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, they have heard that and they very much welcome it, as the Chief Minister has made clear. Since the referendum we have set up a system from the Department for Exiting the European Union and the FCO, whereby the overseas territories, including Gibraltar, can be best consulted. For Gibraltar there is a very special track that that particular negotiation follows, which is a joint negotiating committee set up by the Department for Exiting the European Union, chaired by Robin Walker, a Minister in that department, and attended by my right honourable friend Alan Duncan. We take extremely seriously the importance of negotiating the best outcome for the whole of the UK family. That includes Gibraltar.

Syria

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Monday 20th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we certainly do not see the Assad regime as bringing benefits to the Syrian people. This is a regime which has been found by a series of independent United Nations reports to have used chemical weapons and committed war crimes against the Syrian people. The regime is currently denying humanitarian aid to 1.4 million Syrians living in siege-like conditions. The UN has found it responsible for bombing an aid convoy last September. It simply is not true to say that all armed opposition are terrorists. The opposition fighters in rural Damascus, for example, are not extremists, nor were the vast majority of fighters in eastern Aleppo. The UK provides political and practical support to the moderate opposition. This has included communications and medical equipment, as well as equipment—as the House will understand—to protect against chemical weapons attacks. We do not provide weapons to anyone in Syria. The recipients of UK assistance are always rigorously and continually assessed to ensure that they are not involved in any extremist activity or human rights abuses.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, there is no doubt that all sides of the House will be united in seeking peace in Syria, particularly bringing all parties together, but that peace cannot happen without ensuring that the people responsible for war crimes are held to account. My own view and the strongly held view of the Opposition is that all sides have committed atrocities and no one should be able to act with impunity. What steps are we taking to support the UN General Assembly resolution on an accountability mechanism that will ensure that all those who have committed crimes against humanity are properly held to account?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, I entirely agree with the noble Lord that as a member of the international community it is right that we hold to account all those who commit war crimes; that is, both Daesh and the regime, and any of the very extreme groups with which the UK does not have contact as such. Otherwise, there cannot be a long-term solution. Therefore, I can give the noble Lord an assurance that we give our full support to the United Nations, particularly this month of all months because we are chairing the Security Council. We call for all measures to be taken which ensure that the Security Council can move forward on this and avoid having anybody veto any decisions.

Commonwealth

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 16th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, like the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, and my noble friend Lord Cashman, I am an officer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT Rights. I am also a member of a number of other organisations that promote human rights, particularly those of LGBT communities.

The Minister opened by stating that the aim of the Government was to help the Commonwealth to unlock its vast potential, and use the opportunity of hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 to do just that. She is absolutely right to stress that there is cross-party support for that objective. When we debated the results of the last CHOGM 15 months ago in the debate initiated by the noble Lord, Lord Luce, she pointed out that it coincided with the European Union Referendum Act receiving Royal Assent. It is quite strange that today’s debate also coincides with the Bill to trigger Article 50 receiving Royal Assent—I do not know if that is a coincidence or was planned by the Government. In that previous debate, the Minister emphasised that the choice facing the country in the referendum was not binary; our membership of both the EU and the Commonwealth complemented each other. For some, the UK’s vote to leave the European Union means that our relationship with the Commonwealth assumes a greater significance.

I accept what the noble Lord, Lord Howell, said about the synergy that members of the Commonwealth have. There are undoubted opportunities but, as the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, said, there are also threats. For members of the Commonwealth, Britain was—and remains, until we finally leave—a powerful advocate within the EU, with considerable opportunities to work in its broader interests. The Commonwealth, comprising 52 developed, emerging and developing nations, presents a range of potential trade options and challenges. Of course, trade between the UK and the bloc declined markedly between 1948 and 1973, with UK goods exports to the group and Commonwealth goods imports to the UK both falling from 38% to 18%. From 1991 to 2011, however, UK exports changed from 9.2% and 8.8%, bottoming out at 7.4% in 2006, while Commonwealth imports rose steadily from 7.7% and 10.6%.

Many noble Lords have reminded us, as the Minister did last week, that the promised inaugural Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ meeting has taken place. As we have heard, its objectives were set in Malta in 2015 and reflected the commitment of Commonwealth member countries to a,

“transparent, free and fair multilateral trading system”,

and to define an ambitious Commonwealth-led agenda for growth. However, I am afraid that the International Trade Secretary travelling around the world to hold pre-negotiations with potential trade partners is no substitute for a clear policy. Perhaps if Dr Fox had first focused on policy rather than polemics, we might have been spared the embarrassment of him alienating Commonwealth Ministers with a vision of trade that his own officials refer to as “Empire 2.0”.

The UK must learn to engage constructively with the rich diversity of potential trading partners who are willing to work with us post Brexit. Many Commonwealth trading partners are concerned to see the UK, post Brexit, continue the EU’s GSP-plus system of enhanced preference for countries that have implemented core human and labour rights as well as environmental and good governance conventions. Least developed countries, in particular, need reassurance about the “everything but arms” arrangement, which grants duty-free and quota-free access into our markets to all products from those countries except arms and ammunition. Until the UK signs new FTAs with the nations of the Commonwealth, Britain will be in the odd position of having worse trading terms with these countries than Brussels has. As Sir Simon Fraser, the former head of the UK Foreign Office, noted recently, the damage goes beyond that, saying,

“these EU trade agreements are vital for”,

Commonwealth states’,

“development goals. The UK will no longer be able to champion their access to the EU market as we have in the past”.

Does the Minister not agree that it would have been better for the Government to present to Parliament and the country an international trade White Paper, setting out their international trade principles and a clear plan for what they intend to achieve through future trade negotiations—which may even assist members of the Cabinet to speak with one voice?

As the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, said, it is vital for the UK and the EU to work together constructively to mitigate post-Brexit risks. Does the Minister agree that perhaps the best way of managing the related economic uncertainties would be to specify or include continuity of the trade preferences that developing countries currently enjoy in Europe? However, as we have heard in this excellent debate, the future of Britain within the Commonwealth goes further than trade.

As I have said, Commonwealth government leaders were firmly of the view that Britain within the EU represented a positive force in the development debate in both financial and influence terms, and in ensuring that the EU’s role as the world’s largest multilateral donor followed a more progressive agenda. Britain’s contribution to the EU aid budget has been substantial. In 2014, the Department for International Development distributed £1.14 billion of aid through the European Commission—that aid is considered the best form of support from a multilateral body—including £328 million through the European Development Fund.

The removal of British influence—of British government departments, NGOs and think tanks—from areas of development spending will have direct implications for achieving the sustainable development goals. On her election as Commonwealth Secretary-General, my noble and learned friend Lady Scotland committed to,

“build consensus on a revitalised Commonwealth”,

which will focus on the,

“twin goals of democracy and development”.

I totally associate myself with the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Howell, and others about her absolute commitment, and how terrible and totally unjustifiable some of the attacks in the media have been. The 2015 final communiqué—

[Lord Hunt of Chesterton]

In the light of earlier remarks, does my noble friend think that our embassies should now fly the Commonwealth flag, given that our European embassies fly the national flag and the EU flag? Does he not think that would be a logical step forward?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Collins of Highbury]

As the Minister knows, I am keen on flags flying at embassies, including the rainbow flag, which we managed to achieve through her efforts. Certainly, I think my noble friend’s suggestion is a good idea.

The 2015 final communiqué welcomed the adoption of the 2030 UN agenda for sustainable development and the 17 goals and 169 targets. We have to keep reminding ourselves of these because it is a very tough agenda to deliver. I would certainly like the Government to engage this Parliament and this House more in discussing how those SDGs are implemented. The universality of the goals and the specific commitment to leave no one behind are key to the importance of Commonwealth involvement. We all have an obligation to be part of the SDGs’ implementation. None of us is immune from scrutiny as regards how well we implement them. In Malta, David Cameron announced a package of initiatives aimed at supporting efforts to build their resilience, increase their access to climate finance and reduce their reliance on aid. This included UK funds to support a new Commonwealth climate finance access hub. Could the Minister update the House on this and its success in leveraging private sector investment for green projects across the Commonwealth?

Another element of today’s debate is good governance and respect for the rule of law, which are vital to achieve stable and prosperous societies as well as efficient, effective and accountable public institutions. Reference has been made to the excellent work of the noble Lord, Lord Marland. As chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, he said that the focus on free trade agreements hides the real issue, which is that not enough small businesses are exporting. He argued that abuse of the rule of law and a lack of trust in trading partners were barriers to trade for UK companies, and he suggested that the Government should focus on increasing their capacity to support businesses confronted by such obstacles. I hope that the Minister will be able to address those specific concerns of the noble Lord. Of course, the Commonwealth agreed to make anti-corruption work a priority. It committed to strengthen efforts to tackle corruption, including through increased transparency and co-ordination among law agencies.

One area that has not been touched upon is tax havens and international finance policies, which have resulted in developing countries haemorrhaging billions of dollars in taxable financial resources. These tax losses could have been invested in reducing inequality and poverty, and in developing jobs and prosperity. Surely the time has come for this Government to work harder to achieve global agreement on tax, and that must be a top priority across the Commonwealth countries too. Can the Minister update the House on the work that has been done since the anti-corruption summit last year?

As the Minister said in her introduction and as she has said in previous debates, peace and security are also a key issue for the Commonwealth. Since Malta, a priority has been to counter extremism by increasing co-operation between member states. The UK funded a dedicated Commonwealth unit to deliver this. What assessment have the Government made of this work—in particular, of the work with young people and education networks to counter extremism propaganda on the internet?

At the Malta CHOGM the Commonwealth reaffirmed its commitment to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to support the empowerment of women and girls. As we have heard in this debate, LGBT rights remain a major source of division among Commonwealth members. I think that the point has been made that we do not have the right or the opportunity to force states to decriminalise, but we can work with them so that they understand the economic as well as the human rights issues involved in making the necessary change. As the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, has said on numerous occasions, the 2015 CHOGM leaders’ statement recognised the economic potential that can be unlocked by tackling discrimination and exclusion.

My noble friend Lord Cashman highlighted the fact that persecution and criminalisation of identity can also decimate efforts to halt the spread of HIV. It often results in gay people not being able to access the healthcare, education and employment that they need, and it prevents access to HIV testing and treatment.

The noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, has repeatedly stated the Government’s belief that the Commonwealth must stand up for human rights, including LGBT rights. She has also confirmed in previous debates in the House that the Government are working on plans to ensure that that important message is delivered when hosting CHOGM in 2018. Because of the noble Baroness’s efforts in this field, I doubt that I am alone in hoping that I am one of her GBFs.

The key to progress in 2015 was the way, as we have heard in the debate, in which LGBT activists from criminalising countries were able to lay bare the facts about life as an LGBT person in many Commonwealth countries. As the country of the host Government, the UK is uniquely positioned to create the space for civil society to engage with decision-makers who are not normally willing or able to consider LGBT concerns. How will the Government work with the Kaleidoscope Trust and the excellent Commonwealth Equality Network, which we have heard about in this debate, to include LGBT issues and tackle this problem at the summit? What is the Government’s position on enabling countries from the Global South that have decriminalised to lead on this issue in terms of reforming outdated criminal laws, particularly sexual offences laws? I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Lexden, about providing government funding to enable the Commonwealth Secretariat to support the reform of these outdated criminal laws in Commonwealth member states.

These are uncertain times in intra-Commonwealth relations. It is possible that as well as threatening the future of the UK and the cohesion of the EU, the Brexit vote will also threaten the socioeconomic development and therefore the political stability of Commonwealth countries. I do not want to overplay that and raise the hyperbole, but the fact is that we need to focus on those relationships in a constructive and deliberate way, as partners, not as the former empire and former great nation. We must see ourselves as partners in terms of trade. Ensuring that there is parliamentary engagement at CHOGM may be a key way of addressing those concerns. That was highlighted by the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, and the noble Lord, Lord Purvis.

In December last year in an exchange on an Oral Question, the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, recognised the importance for parliamentary democracies at CHOGM 2018 to have a way of communicating with the event and agreed to take forward the idea of how best we can ensure that there is parliamentary engagement. Will the Minister tell the House how far forward that has been taken?

United States: Immigration Policy

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Monday 27th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, with regard to visitors to this country, I can give the noble Baroness that assurance. With regard to the access of visitors to the United States, its guidance says that those same factors should not determine the decision that is made: the decision is made on an equality basis.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister’s comments, but can she reassure the House that on the executive order that we expect either this week or next week, the department will be prepared to offer proper advice immediately and the Foreign Secretary will not waste any time in seeking urgent clarification, unlike the last time?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary did seek urgent advice the last time. The difficulty was that there was some confusion in the United States’s systems, as was evident from the changing nature of its travel advice online. Therefore, early engagement by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in this country and by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister meant that we were able to get the earliest advice to British passport holders that they would not be adversely affected.

West Papua

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 21st February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we convey the view to the Indonesian Government that we wish to work with them in their stated objective of improving the condition of people in West Papua. With regard to abuses, it is the case that the Indonesian President is committed to addressing the problems in the region. The previous co-ordinating ministry for legal, political and security affairs established an investigative team to resolve past cases of human rights abuse. However, we remain concerned by the slow progress that has been made and we are encouraging the Indonesian Government to prioritise a swift resolution. The fact is that where human rights are recognised and protected, prosperity tends to follow.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister reiterated the point about exerting a more positive influence on the Indonesian Government, particularly with regard to religious freedom. What practical steps have the United Kingdom Government taken to ensure that religious freedom is able to be practised in West Papua, particularly in terms of the practical training of police and other civil servants to ensure that the words of the President are not only heard but fully implemented?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, it is of course important that we are able to talk as we do with the Indonesian Government about ensuring that security has to be maintained. It is a fact that Indonesia faces the threats of terrorism and instability that are around the region, not just in Indonesia, so we have to respect the action it needs to take on that. What we do is work with the Indonesian Government to ensure that there is support for their work both in Indonesia and at international level. That work is done through the FCO but also more broadly in government.

Syria

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2017 Grand Committee

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I will be brief, as I want to leave as much time as possible for the Minister to respond—and obviously in three minutes we have time to ask only a few questions. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Cox, for initiating this debate. It is our responsibility to try to create the conditions for the people of Syria to decide their own future. Every act of genocide or crime against humanity needs to be investigated and the people responsible to be held to account for their actions. Impunity must be challenged; we cannot have a situation where years and years of crimes against humanity are ignored. I accept that there are two sides to this equation but, as we have heard in the debate, the sides are very complex—it is not just the people of Syria who are involved in this crime.

I have heard coverage on BBC Persian news and in the Afghan media about Iran coercing Afghan refugees to fight on behalf of—and in favour of—the Assad regime in Syria. Many are young children; the youngest I have heard about was 16. The Iranians promise these Afghan refugees citizenship and money and then send them to fight in Syria. Can the Minister tell us whether these claims have been investigated by the British Government?

I am also very aware of the need for humanitarian support, and I have supported the Government’s actions in the region. I particularly want to hear from the Minister about what more we can do to support the host nations and to save their economies and societies from collapse from the weight of refugees currently in those countries. One obvious matter on which we need to hear the Government’s assessment is the progress of talks and the parties being brought together—we know that there can be no settlement without the Russians and the Iranians, but the Saudis need to be involved as well. We know that this conflict has wider implications.

However, at the end of the day, we cannot allow this situation where the crimes that have been described in this debate go on without action—we cannot allow impunity to be the watchword for the future in the Middle East. I hope that the Minister can assure us that work will continue to collect and retain evidence so that we can ensure that justice will be done in the end.