The Modern Commonwealth: Opportunities and Challenges

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for East Devon (Sir Hugo Swire) and to have supported the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) in his application to the Backbench Business Committee, which I thank for granting this debate. I serve as vice chair of the CPA UK branch and was pleased to support the application.

This is the 70th year of the Commonwealth, and in that time we have done much to be proud of. The Commonwealth remains a force for good and for international co-operation and provides an opportunity to develop a positive future, and the UK has a role to play in that. I am pleased to see the Minister showing leadership through the UK’s role in chairing the Commonwealth in this current period.

There are 53 countries in the Commonwealth and 2.3 billion people, but the challenges we face are symptomatic of some of the major challenges in the world at large: concerns about sustainability and climate change and the need to develop a positive programme; the challenge of chronic poverty and promoting opportunity for all, particularly for women, in Commonwealth countries; the international challenges of cyber-security, prevention of terrorism and modern slavery; and the opportunities to continue to develop trade and investment across the Commonwealth and to welcome it from Commonwealth countries into the UK.

We asked the Backbench Business Committee for this debate to discuss ways of achieving action on some of those common challenges and threats, and I ask that the Minister focus on that in her remarks. We want the Government, particularly in their current role, to report back on progress towards meeting those objectives, particularly on sustainability, the oceans and the prevention of plastic pollution, a fairer future, girls education, advancing human rights, reforming discriminatory legislation, securing a more secure future, particularly around cyber-security and modern slavery, and harnessing trade and investment. I want to see progress on all those issues.

The Minister will know that the Foreign Secretary laid a statement in the House on 14 January with several progress statements on how the Government were approaching some of those key issues. It is important today to focus on how we are trying to achieve some of the clear international objectives the Commonwealth has set, particularly on quality education for girls by 2030, the Pacific Commonwealth equality project and the Commonwealth blue charter on protecting and developing sustainable oceans. We are on track to achieve several of those objectives, but I would welcome an update from the Minister. Indeed, I would like quarterly progress reports on the objectives the Commonwealth has agreed and on which the UK Government take a particular lead.

I want to highlight one aspect of the Commonwealth’s activities that we in the UK branch are undertaking in partnership with other Commonwealth countries: tackling modern slavery. In addition to being vice chair of the CPA UK, I chair its modern slavery implementation group, which has been well supported by UK Government funds, particularly from the Home Office, and is investing in supporting and promulgating positive action on modern slavery across the Commonwealth. Of the 40 million people around the world who are victims of modern slavery at the hands of criminal gangs, 71% are women and 55% reside in Commonwealth countries, so the Commonwealth has a key role to play in tackling modern slavery.

Through the project the UK branch is undertaking, we have—I hope—helped to generate discussion on how to use the UK’s lead on modern slavery to support Parliaments and Governments across the Commonwealth to take action. I pay particular tribute to Adeline Dumoulin, an official at the CPA, and her team who are working on this issue. We have had support from the Home Office for projects targeting Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. In 2018-2020, the target countries will be Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

We are trying to work with Commonwealth parliamentarians to generate legislation on modern slavery and to stop criminal gangs taking action. The CPA UK branch has supported three Parliaments in the past year, in Nigeria, Pakistan and Uganda. I went to Uganda to meet parliamentarians there. I am pleased to report not only that we have deepened the knowledge of parliamentarians, who have also brought their own experiences to modern slavery, but that Members of the Ugandan, Ghanaian and Nigerian Parliaments have drafted anti-slavery legislation. I am hopeful that, in co-operation, we will be able to take action in those countries, at least, in the very near future.

A legislative drafting seminar will be held in the House of Commons between 26 and 29 March, and will be attended by parliamentarians from countries including Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Namibia, Kenya, Bangladesh and Pakistan. We will look at how we can learn from them, because they will bring great expertise to the table, and also at how we can continue to work together to tackle the issue of modern slavery.

The CPA does great work, both in the UK branch and internationally. It has common ideals and objectives. If the Minister can report on what happens with CHOGM and how we are progressing, that would be very positive, but I think we should be proud of the work that we do, and continue to build on it in the next 12 months.

[Several hon. Members rose—]