Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [HL]

Baroness Chapman of Darlington Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 29th July 2024 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington]

That the Bill be now read a second time.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)]

My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Collins of Highbury, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time. This is an important Bill, as it enables a long-awaited status change for two significant organisations. Indeed, the Bill comes at a crucial time for both the CPA and the ICRC. Before I go on, I want to comment on the hard work that the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, put into the previous Bill, before the election. He leaves very large shoes to fill on this side of the House, but endeavour to fill them we shall.

March saw the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the creation of the modern Commonwealth, and we continue to work together in partnership with our Commonwealth family on vital issues, such as empowering women and girls, bolstering the rule of law and good governance, and protecting the freedom of the media. The ICRC has been at the centre of international humanitarian work in recent years, including in Ukraine and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. The UK values its partnership with the CPA and is proud to support work being done by the CPA and its regional branch, CPA UK. This includes developing benchmarks as indicators of parliamentary democracy, and addressing modern slavery in supply chains and gender-based violence with Parliaments and parliamentarians across the Commonwealth. The organisation’s current status as a charity has meant that the CPA has been prevented from operating fully across the Commonwealth and international fora. Without this legislation, there remains a high possibility that the CPA would look to relocate its headquarters outside the UK.

The UK supports the ICRC and its important work around the world. It is an essential partner for achieving the UK’s global humanitarian objectives, as it has unique legitimacy to engage all parties to conflicts and unparalleled access to vulnerable groups in conflict situations, and it operates in dangerous and challenging situations across the world. Its specialised role engaging with all those involved in conflict, including the growing number of non-state armed groups, is coupled with its direct delivery of a comprehensive range of integrated humanitarian assistance and protection programmes.

It is critical that both the CPA and the ICRC are given the correct status in UK legislation to conduct their work and deliver their objectives while operating in the UK. This will guarantee that the CPA remains headquartered in the UK, and that the UK is able to give the ICRC the guarantee that the information it shares with the UK Government is secure and protected.

That is why this Bill and the provisions contained in it are so important. They enable the Government to treat the CPA and the ICRC in a manner comparable to that of an international organisation of which the United Kingdom—or His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom—is a member, so that the CPA is able to continue its work on promoting democracy and good governance across the Commonwealth, and the ICRC is able to pursue its humanitarian mandate in conflict zones. By creating the power, by Order in Council, to give both organisations the legal capacity of a body corporate—that is, the ability to bring claims and have claims brought against them, and to enter into contracts and hold assets and liabilities in their own name, as well as having specific privileges and immunities—the Bill will support the functional needs of the CPA and the ICRC, including their property, information, and certain personnel.

The actual suite of privileges and immunities to be conferred, including relevant exemptions and limitations, will be determined by the functional need of each organisation and will be specified in the Order in Council. To be clear, personnel have no personal immunity if they commit a crime, and there is a clear carve out ensuring that they have no immunity in any vehicle incident.

The ICRC confidentiality provision in the Bill provides for the protection of certain information related to the ICRC’s sensitive work, which it has provided in confidence to His Majesty’s Government. For example, it is protected from being disclosed in UK court proceedings, except for criminal proceedings. This provision reflects the ICRC’s standard working method of confidentiality, which is designed to protect its staff and operations in active conflict zones. The public disclosure of information that the ICRC obtains from confidential dialogue with conflict parties is likely to put this at risk. It is also a principle that underpins its ability to operate in dangerous locations on sensitive issues, such as negotiating safe access to civilian populations caught up in conflict, engagement with both state and non-state armed actors, and working with prisoners and hostages. There is undoubtedly a very clear risk and concern about ICRC information being used in legal proceedings, with the ICRC’s confidentiality having been challenged in the UK some 20 times over the last 15 years. The Government therefore consider that the confidentiality provision is both necessary and proportionate.

The financial implications of the Bill are minimal and there will be little or no loss of revenue as a result of the fiscal exemptions or reliefs, which will be granted by delegated legislation through the provisions in the Bill. Refunds of certain taxes will be made in accordance with the separate arrangements between the Government and the CPA and the ICRC respectively, as is standard for international organisations. Administration of the arrangements will be resourced from the existing resources responsible for managing privileges and immunities with international organisations in the UK. The FCDO will consult both organisations ahead of secondary legislation, and will work closely with them to agree subsequent specific arrangements, detailing day-to-day management of the privileges and immunities granted to both organisations, based on functional need, and other facilities.

I assure noble Lords that any Order in Council made under Clause 1 or 2 of the Bill will be subject to the draft affirmative parliamentary procedure, which requires the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The FCDO has committed to lay the draft Order in Council as soon as possible.

To conclude, the Bill gives the CPA and the ICRC the correct status in UK legislation to allow both organisations to continue their international operations without restriction. It reflects the Government’s strong commitment to the Commonwealth, and our support of democratic legislators through our work with the CPA and our global humanitarian objectives through our work with the ICRC. This is not the first time that the Bill has been read in this House. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady D’Souza, and the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, for their work to introduce the previous Private Member’s Bill in the last parliamentary Session, and I thank noble Lord for their unwavering support of that Bill. I hope that this Bill continues to receive that support.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

My Lords, first, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad. People said I was triggered by remembering the Northern Ireland protocol debates; they were very long and intense, they meant an awful lot to both of us at the time and we came at them from very different angles. However, the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, dealt with them, as we would all expect, in a most respectful and considered way. I think we probably got to the right place in the end, as is often the way with these things in your Lordships’ House. I look forward to him taking a similar approach with legislation that we may bring forward in the future to that which I took to the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill. I am very grateful that has not been the experience on my first outing at this Dispatch Box. I noted with the Whip during the debate that I think this is the very first piece of legislation to receive its Second Reading in this Parliament, under a new Government. It is great to know all our legislation will be so warmly received.

I thank noble Lords for their incredibly insightful contributions, bringing a huge amount of experience to the debate. It is not the first time we have discussed this, but your Lordships’ House does a very fine job on issues such as these and has made a strong case this afternoon for the importance of the Bill. As others have done, I thank again the noble Baroness, Lady D’Souza, and Maria Miller, Ian Liddell-Grainger, Lord Chidgey and Stephen Twigg. I remember being in a bar with Stephen Twigg in 1997, just after the election—I definitely bought him a pint, and he definitely has not bought me one back yet, but perhaps he will after today.

I look forward to further discussions while the Bill continues its passage as we seek to ensure, as many noble Lords have said, that the CPA and the ICRC are given the correct status in legislation.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.