Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale Excerpts

Thursday 22nd March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Government, and in particular the Minister for securing this debate and for leading and introducing it so comprehensively. I also thank him for the energetic and very open way in which he has taken the leadership role within the Government on ensuring that the summit and the other forums are a huge success—I am sure that, 10 days out, he is a little nervous about it. In particular, I praise the initiative to involve so many young people from across the Commonwealth. I also express a hope, which he may wish to touch on in his summing up, that during this year’s CHOGM summit the Government might announce an increase in Commonwealth scholarships. That would be very welcome to ensure that the kind of links we have that provide our education system with opportunities for young people across the Commonwealth might be extended in this new post-Brexit age.

I also thank and congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Howell, and his committee on the short but clear, appropriate and positive report that it has produced in advance of this debate and the CHOGM summit. The report rightly concentrates on the role of the Commonwealth nations, and the Commonwealth as a whole, in promoting the international rules-based system and the vital importance of human rights issues in discussions at the summit and in the various other events taking place.

In the time available, I want to highlight a couple of points which may not necessarily have already been mentioned. I absolutely endorse the various initiatives and priorities set out by the Minister in his opening remarks and I obviously support the report of the International Relations Committee. I would add to those statements that the summit should have a key role in promoting the Agenda 2030 sustainable development goals. The Minister came along to our all-party parliamentary group on the sustainable development goals just a couple of weeks ago and we had a very positive and energetic discussion. But I was disappointed that when I visited the Government’s website on the CHOGM summit yesterday, I found that Agenda 2030 and the sustainable development goals did not feature on it. In fact, even the Commonwealth Secretariat’s website features it in only a passing reference.

The Commonwealth could play a terrific role in trying to achieve the sustainable development goals. The priorities set out for the summit in April tie in neatly and closely with the key themes in those goals: people and planet, prosperity and peace, and partnership. We should work in tandem with the United Nations leadership on this issue, and encourage the whole Commonwealth to be ambitious in setting out paths towards achieving the goals between now and 2030. Can the Minister give me an assurance on whether, between now and the summit, he might ensure that the promotions around the summit adequately reflect the goals and their importance in those discussions?

I will focus particularly on goal 16: on peace and justice, and strong, stable democratic institutions. It seems to me that this is where the Commonwealth could make the biggest difference. The history of the Commonwealth is perhaps mixed. It is sometimes successful in promoting human rights and supporting democratic institutions; at other times the Commonwealth has perhaps found that to be a challenge, given the nature of some of the elected and non-elected leaders we have dealt with over the years. But even with that slightly mixed history surely today, in the 21st century, the Commonwealth could be a beacon for strong, stable, independent democratic institutions. It could be an energetic partner in efforts around the world on post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. Surely the Commonwealth could share the expertise, professional and otherwise, that would help to build the capacity of developing countries in particular, in addition to post-conflict countries. The Commonwealth could build the capacity in those countries for stability, peace and progress in the future.

The Minister rightly highlighted his recent visit to the Gambia, during which I was able to meet him, as I was there at the same time visiting a number of important development projects. For example, it struck me in the Gambia that an intervention by the Commonwealth as a whole could support that small nation, which has just rejoined it, in a key democratic transition to ensure that it goes not backwards but forwards—that it is able in future to have those strong democratic institutions but also to develop a strong economy. Ludicrously, given the access to the land, the sea and the river that the Gambia has, it imports more than 50% of the food that it consumes. Surely there is an opportunity there for the Commonwealth to support that small nation in its transition and perhaps to use that as a pilot for other forms of support in the future.

Finally, I mention one of my personal preferences, which your Lordships will have heard me mention before. The Commonwealth Games take place in the Gold Coast in Australia just in advance of the summit. They are the friendly Games. They are a fabulous opportunity for people across the Commonwealth, including a three-person team from the Gambia, to come together in a friendly spirit of competition. Yes, they are seeking excellence and achievement, but also a cultural and sporting exchange that benefits everybody.

I would like to wish Team Scotland, with which I am closely associated, all the best for the Games. Their plane arrived in Australia this morning and I wish them all the very best, but also that the other nations— not just of the UK but all the nations of the Commonwealth—have a friendly Games. I wish the organisers—the Minister, Kate Jones, and the chair of the Games, Peter Beattie—all the best, and for the kind of success that we have experienced previously in Manchester and Glasgow and, I hope, will experience in Birmingham in four years too.