Central African Republic

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

The noble Lord raises a number of issues, and I agree with what he says, but ultimately we have to return to a political process. There was a process agreed at N’Djamena in April last year, I think. There have been political changes at the top, as the noble Lord will be aware, with the President resigning and a new President now heading up the interim council. Ultimately, these incredibly complex matters will be resolved only when we return back to the political process. As for DfID’s contribution, I can inform the House that the contribution has increased, and the department has made a total contribution to date of £15 million.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, the Foreign Policy Association analysts have stressed that the key challenge is disarming both the Seleka and anti-balaka groups before any possibility of a ceasefire and wider peace agreements can be raised. With the deployment of 500 EU troops sending the right signal, does my noble friend share the EU representatives’ concerns at the limited number of AU troops deployed in the CAR so far? Do the Government agree with the UN’s assessment that at least 10,000 troops, mostly from the AU, will need to be deployed before progress towards a ceasefire and peace agreement can be contemplated?

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, the news that the Government of the DRC are to postpone—basically, to suspend—a controversial oil extraction bill is welcome news. However, will the Government support the NGOs, other donors and local MPs in using this delay to press for the inclusion of strong transparency measures to root out corruption and to ensure that the country’s oil wealth goes towards helping the very poor in the Congo rather than disappearing offshore in dodgy deals through companies such as Nessergy, with links to the controversial businessman Dan Gertler?

[Baroness Warsi]

My noble friend makes an important point and he is right: corruption means not only that the wealth of the country does not help the poorest but that money earned from minerals in that country serves to finance conflict and abuses of human rights. That is why we have been pushing both for UK businesses engaged in that country to make sure that they follow the OECD guidelines and for the DRC to make progress on the EITI, the extractive industries transparency initiative. The noble Lord may be aware that its candidate status was suspended and we hope that it will be restarted. We also hope that the new DRC oil law, which is under consideration, will make some progress.

Gibraltar

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

My Lords, I think that these matters are much more complex than that.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

Is it not the case that there has been not only a 44% reduction in visitors to Gibraltar but a 26% reduction in the number of non-Gibraltarian cars visiting Gibraltar? With 10,000 Spanish workers’ jobs dependent on a growing economy in Gibraltar, is not the use of aggressive tactics at the border to make life more difficult actually damaging the Spanish economy, which is already in a parlous state?

[Baroness Warsi]

I completely agree with my noble friend. The border delays are impacting on the economies on both sides.

Central African Republic

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

The noble Baroness is right; that has been an underlying factor to much of the violence that we have seen in the country. I am not aware of what specific conversations have taken place in relation to oversight of the industry to which she referred. I will check and certainly write to her.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, Gérard Araud, the French Ambassador to the UN, has confirmed that French and AU forces are confronting a near-impossible situation in the CAR. The BBC in Bangui this morning reported that John Ging of the UN is calling for,

“a huge international effort to tackle this situation”.

Does my noble friend therefore accept that the deployment by the United States of two C-17 aircraft to fly in 800 Rwandan troops over the next month will still be woefully inadequate? Will the Government make good the C-17 logistical shortfall to accelerate the delivery and scale of the peacekeeping force and to reduce the rising risk of genocide, which we all fear?

[Baroness Warsi]

My noble friend is right; there is an absolutely appalling situation on the ground. The violence has been seen by many of us on our TV screens as the news reports have been coming out. We currently have about 3,500 troops deployed there as part of the African Union force and I understand that a total of about 6,000 will be deployed—there are about 1,600 French troops deployed. We have responded to requests from the French for three airlifts, which took place in December. We will of course respond to any further requests for support. My noble friend may be aware that there is a European Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday, and further options may well be discussed there.

South Sudan

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

My Lords, unfortunately, the fighting continues in South Sudan. As we are in the middle of sensitive negotiations on the substantive issues between the two parties, rather than procedural matters, it would be the wrong time to try to attribute blame. It is clear that both sides have a case to answer for the violence that we have seen over the past few weeks. The UK is engaged in encouraging participation in the peace negotiations led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, which is leading the mediation efforts.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, I think it is generally accepted that the present conflict arises from the power struggle between Riek Machar and Salva Kiir, with scant regard for some 200,000 displaced Sudanese citizens and more than 1,000 killed so far, as the noble Baroness pointed out. What is the Government’s reaction to the call for urgent additional humanitarian aid, not just bringing forward an existing programme but additional aid to help these people in such a desperate situation? With regard to the negotiations that have begun in Addis Ababa, what discussions are the Government, as a member of the CPA troika, having with like-minded parties: for example, Wang Yi, China’s Foreign Minister; Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan; and the chair of the AU, Madame Zuma? What discussions are they having with the EU’s representatives to the African Union?

[Baroness Warsi]

On the humanitarian question, I assure my noble friend that, as regards the £60 million already allocated to South Sudan, the relevant programmes continue. We have allocated an additional £12.5 million specifically to address the current humanitarian emergency. In terms of the support for the political process, he is, of course, familiar with the troika partners. We, the US and Norway have been involved over a number of years in taking forward work in relation to South Sudan. I assure him that the Foreign Secretary has been in touch with the Sudanese Foreign Minister, the Ugandan Foreign Minister, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, the Ugandan President and, indeed, with Secretary Kerry on the negotiations. The main challenge was to get representatives of both sides to the table. That has now been achieved. They have met in Addis Ababa from 2 January and, as of today, they have started substantive discussions.

Central African Republic and the Great Lakes Region

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, I too, congratulate my noble friend Lady Berridge on securing this timely debate, in which I will confine my remarks to the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic. While in Addis Ababa last week, I had a message from a journalist who lives and works in the Central African Republic. He said:

“It's very nasty down there. It smells of mass murder. Since Rwanda and our experience a bit earlier in Burundi, I have not been in such an eerie place”.

The CAR has been in a state of chaos since the rebel alliance known as Seleka seized power in March this year, as my noble friend mentioned. It ousted President Francois Bozize from power, replacing him with its commander, Michel Djotodia. Last month, Djotodia formally disbanded the rebels and integrated many fighters into the national army. The rebels linked to Seleka, however, have continued to launch attacks on scores of villages, prompting the emergence of local civilian protection groups.

Tarak Bach Baouab, humanitarian affairs adviser for Médecins sans Frontières, reports from the CAR that the situation is dangerously unstable. He states that the main problem is that the fighting has specifically targeted civilians. Rural populations had become used to being displaced in the bush during the bush war of 2004 to 2007. However, the latest cycle of violence is different, increasingly taking on a religious undertone. It includes the execution, for example, by armed men of eight people who became separated from a larger group as they fled by truck; and the targeted killing of villagers, which caused many others of the same religion to flee. In Bossangoa, at least 35,000 displaced people are living on a Catholic missionary compound, far exceeding its capacity, while 1,200 people are in a hospital, effectively turning it into a makeshift camp. One thousand people are seeking shelter next to an airstrip—as I think colleagues have mentioned—while 400 others have gathered in a school. They are mostly Christians, afraid of retribution and targeted killings by rival Muslim groups. Similarly, Muslim communities now also fear revenge attacks by Christian militias. People are abandoning their villages, which often end up being burned by either party to the conflict, terrified by the tit-for-tat killings.

Since October, violence and deadly clashes have been reported in Bouca and Garga in the north-west of the country and in Mbaiki in the south-west. Civilians, medical staff and humanitarian aid workers have all been subjected to physical aggression. Médecins Sans Frontières has witnessed the execution of a healthcare worker, as well as multiple attacks on humanitarian staff. The United Nations has warned that the CAR is spiralling down into genocide, and that the international community must intervene to stop armed groups from inciting violence between Christians and Muslims. UN director John Ging is quoted as saying:

“More than half the population is in need of assistance and the scale of suffering is amongst the worst in the world and getting worse”.

Diplomats are saying that the Security Council should eventually consider plans to deploy a peacekeeping force of at least 8,000 to 10,000 troops.

While in Addis Ababa with the Inter-Parliamentary Union last week, I discussed the CAR crisis with the chair of the African Union, Madame Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and her deputy, Erastus Mwencha. Madame Zuma confirmed that an AU mission was being assembled, but stressed that it had to have the right mandate to be effective. Perhaps we should remember here that AU forces tend to do peacemaking not UN-type peacekeeping. Madame Zuma’s deputy was able to confirm that the UNSC had approved the deployment of some 3,000 to 4,000 AU forces, but stressed that this would be a long-term mission to take on and marginalise the rebel groups. He said that the AU troops would take on the governance and state-building roles, while being sure to maintain the role of the AU leadership.

Diplomats locally see the AU as the African response on African security issues, under the primacy of the UN. At a meeting last Wednesday of the AU Peace and Security Council, the UK confirmed a £5 million pledge in humanitarian aid, while the USA offered $25 million. The AU issued a formal Peace and Security Council communiqué of Wednesday’s meeting, calling on,

“all AU members States to contribute to the mobilization of the resources required for the successful deployment of”,

AU Forces. The council also requested that Madame Zuma initiated the necessary steps, while appealing to all member states and international partners to provide the necessary support to address the catastrophic situation facing the CAR. This is very positive language from the AU, but the question is whether it will result in the increasingly vital action.

There are serious questions that I hope the Minister will be able to answer. For example, as noble Lords have mentioned, will the French continue to take the lead in the CAR, as they did in Mali? Will the UK continue to play a subordinate role, limited to urging the AU to engage more and to supporting the French, while not becoming directly involved? Most importantly, will this be enough? The nature of the conflict is religious, Muslim against Christian. The cause is breakdown of government and governance, creating a vacuum of power. The solution is restoration of sound governance, underpinned by re-establishing security through deploying AU and UN forces of possibly 10,000 troops. To avoid a repeat of the horrors of the savagery and genocide of Rwanda and Burundi, the international community must act quickly and effectively.

Commonwealth

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Thursday 17th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, I also congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Luce, on bringing this debate to the Chamber. He has an unblemished record of many years of service not just to this House but to the Commonwealth as well. Wherever you go in the Commonwealth, his name comes up—always favourably, which is not the case for everyone.

Over many years, the Commonwealth has brought together in a constructive way the diverse perspectives held by its membership on global economic, financial, social and environmental developments. There have been significant collective Commonwealth actions to identify and raise interest in global issues. These include climate change, multilateral debt, migration and skills, the unique disadvantages of small states, aid effectiveness, poverty reduction, transforming economies and achieving sustainable development. Since 2009, the Commonwealth Heads of Government and Finance Ministers’ meetings have all highlighted the potential of the Commonwealth to play an important role as a forum in which members and non-members of the G20 can work together on global economic policy issues. The 2009 London summit announced fiscal stimulus packages which have indirectly helped poorer countries, injected more liquidity into financial systems with guarantees for poorer countries, and have agreed with some success not to increase protectionism.

The 2010 Toronto summit established a working group on development with a mandate to create a development agenda and multiyear action plans, to be adopted at the Seoul summit. The Commonwealth has been actively encouraging G20 leaders to think beyond national concerns to the needs of those not present at their G20 table. Canadian Prime Minister Harper took the significant step of starting a dialogue between himself, as the 2010 G20 chair, and the secretaries-general of the Commonwealth and La Francophonie.

In 2013, the Commonwealth charter was adopted, setting out the core principles of the Commonwealth, including democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance. It formalised the advantages shared by member states: a common language, a common rule of law and—not to be undervalued—a common system of accountancy. Despite the charter’s intention to strengthen the Commonwealth, the controversy over Sri Lanka hosting this year’s CHOGM while claims of war crimes committed against the Tamil Tigers remain unresolved threatens to undermine the Commonwealth’s fundamental values. The Prime Minister of Canada, with a nod to the large Tamil community in his country, has withdrawn from the CHOGM, as we have heard. However, there is a much larger Tamil population in southern India, and should India choose to respond to the general concerns, it could have a far greater influence.

The relationship between the Commonwealth and the G20 can potentially grow further and deepen, building on a unique set of Commonwealth advantages and promoting the Commonwealth’s wider impact. The Commonwealth can advocate globally for the inclusion of resilience and vulnerability aspects in the G20 development plans: asking for trade liberalisation from G20 members towards all developing countries; ensuring the proposed financial safety net covers small states and, potentially, all external shocks; promoting additional debt relief for small states who have large debts; promoting aid for trade, as this is especially effective in small states; and linking small states’ networks to a G20-supported knowledge-sharing network.

The Commonwealth has a long record of building consensus around global challenges and is well placed to provide both analytical and practical insight into the debate, based on the extensive experience of growth and development within the unmatched variety of its membership. In the governance of the Commonwealth, whether you are a small island nation, a huge landmass or a leading industrial nation, you have one thing in common—just one vote.

Gibraltar

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

There will always be politics in international fora, but it is the responsibility of the Government to respond to the reality on the ground. There have been a number of discussions at the highest levels between the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of Spain and the Deputy Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, and discussions with the President of the European Commission. We feel at the moment that discussions are ongoing. We also have the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron, which makes sure that those waters are properly protected.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, when the UN decolonisation committee met in June, what representations did the Government make in attempting to have Gibraltar removed from the UN list of 16 remaining non-self-governing territories? In that context, what progress have the Government made in convincing the UN General Assembly that Gibraltar has now achieved the maximum possible level of self-governance short of independence that the UN recognises as non-colonial in nature?

[Baroness Warsi]

I do not know what representation was made, if any, but I will write to the noble Lord in detail.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey]

My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale, on securing this very timely debate, and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Chalker of Wallasey, for her very informative contribution.

The distance from the Atlantic coast of the DRC west of Kinshasa to Goma on the eastern border with Rwanda is not far short of 2,000 kilometres as the crow flies. If it were possible to make the journey by road, the distance would be at least half as much again. As in many African countries, the road network is at best patchy, mainly graded and rolled laterite. At worst, it is just muddy tracks. In fact, the maps show that the river network in the Congo is far denser than that of the roads.

Much of the economic activity in the DRC, apart from mining, is confined to the urban area around Kinshasa. Communications with the rest of this vast country are at the mercy of an unreliable internal air service. The difficulties of administering a country with such sparse infrastructure are bad enough. Factor in a non-existent local government and a central government described as weak and corrupt and the task becomes immensely challenging.

Local elections have never occurred in the DRC. They have been regularly postponed since 2006. Civil society, NGOs and international donors all agree that the organisation of these elections would form a critical education and empowerment process. Beyond elections themselves, the reform of the National Electoral Commission—CENI—has been under scrutiny since before the 2011 general elections. Prior to the election, I and a small team of parliamentarians met CENI in Kinshasa. Its main objective seemed to be to present an election-funding and facilitating wish list beyond reason. We were not impressed. It may be that the mission that visited in May, which the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, described, has better news, and I look forward to seeing its report in due course.

Civil society sees revision of CENI as just one step in a wider process of reform of electoral institutions. A review of the electoral roll, the redefinition of constituencies and improving and supporting civic education are all on the urgent agenda. According to the constitution, the president should not be able to run for a third term but, having amended the constitution in 2011 to reduce the presidential election to just one round, many anticipate Kabila being tempted into further amendments to give himself a third term.

International commentators are slowly coming to the conclusion that there is little to show for all the peacekeeping missions, special envoys, inter-agency processes and diplomatic initiatives in the failed state that is the DRC. Since Mobutu’s removal from power in 1997, probably more than 5 million people have died in the DRC through civil war, massacre and criminal activities. The DRC is second only to Somalia in the failed states index. It is last in the UN Human Development Index, last in GDP per capita, behind even Somalia and South Sudan, and very close to bottom of the Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index.

Since 2000, the DRC has received $27 billion in development assistance and is probably the world’s largest recipient of international assistance after Afghanistan, yet there is still no effective governmental structure serving the needs of the two-thirds of the population—60 million people—who live outside Kinshasa’s area of influence. To DfID’s credit, it has launched a humanitarian development aid programme from 2011-15 which, if the security situation allows, will begin to make a difference to the people of the DRC.

In November 2012, the M23 rebel group, which is thought to be backed by Rwanda, seemingly walked past MONUSCO troops and occupied Goma, North Kivu’s provincial capital. A few days later, their point made, the rebels melted back into the forest. This March, fighters of the Mai-Mai Bakata Katanga entered the DRC’s second largest city, Lubumbashi, clashed with government forces and then surrendered, harking back to events in the 1960s when Katanga province broke away from the Congolese state. The latest report from a UN group of experts given the role of gathering and analysing relevant information on flows of arms and networks operating in violation of the embargo on the DRC has to date found no evidence of support for the M23 rebels from Uganda. However, it has evidence of limited and continuous support to the M23 from within Rwanda. When my noble friend the Minister responds, will she say what impact the continuous outbreaks of violence are having on DfID’s programme for 2011-15?

The UN Panel of Experts report goes into great detail about the changes in leadership of the M23 and the rivalry between indicted war criminal General Bosco Ntaganda and his deputy Sultani Makenga. Their struggles led to a split in the M23 and, ultimately, to military confrontations and the surrender of Bosco Ntaganda. Supplied with arms in exchange for gold and ivory gained from poaching activities in many parts of the DRC, the M23 are now thought to have some 1,500 soldiers spread over an area of 700 square kilometres. Yet the authorities have been slow to recognise the dangers in the current situation, given Katanga’s pivotal prominence in the region’s economy. Meanwhile, Joseph Kony now has a window in which to regroup his repugnant LRA in the Central Africa Republic that could soon spread again to the DRC. This could well reverse the gains made in quelling the rebellion in the region which, with the help of US advisers based in Uganda, cut attacks by half. There is a real concern that, with this mission currently on hold, attacks will build again. Can my noble friend the Minister shed some light on when this US-supported mission is likely to recommence?

As part of the strategic review of MONUSCO included in the peace, security and co-operation framework for the region, the UN Security Council’s resolution 2098 provides, as noble Lords have mentioned, for a brigade of over 3,000 troops drawn from Tanzania, South Africa and Malawi. At last, MONUSCO has been given a more offensive mandate, providing for targeted and robust offensives with a view to neutralising and disarming armed groups, while taking into account the necessity to protect civilians and reduce risks.

The MONUSCO senior staff I met in Goma would have been mightily pleased at the strengthening of their mandate. However, the emphasis on civilian protection will be hard to achieve. I met a group of five women in a church hall in Goma who had come to tell us how they had suffered multiple rapes at the hands of soldiers: whether they were rebels or army was not clear. They carefully and earnestly explained the details of their suffering. One had had a toddler snatched from her arms and butchered in front of her before they raped her. Another had been caught on her way to school and repeatedly raped. At that time, she was just nine years old.

Ban Ki-Moon has made it clear that the UN brigade is only one element of a much larger process. The peace deal has to deliver a peace dividend: health, education, jobs and opportunity. Can my noble friend tell the House where the allocation of additional resources needed to support the implementation of the peace, security and co-operation framework is to be made? What is the Government’s assessment of the military and logistics capability and capacity of the 3,000-strong UN brigade to take on and eliminate the 20 to 40 guerrilla groups consistently wreaking havoc across North Kivu and South Kivu alone? What does my noble friend believe has been learnt from the UN operations in 2009 that were intended to enable the government to regain control of the region? Finally, what plans are in place to prevent a repeat of armed groups being chased away to be immediately replaced by new ones, resulting in more displacement of civilians, armed groups fragmenting and spreading across Kivu and more retaliatory attacks on the civilian population?

Morocco

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Thursday 27th June 2013 Grand Committee

[Lord Chidgey]

My Lords, of course we have to congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Harrison, on securing this debate at a very timely moment, coming as it does in the year in which we celebrate 800 years of diplomatic relations with Morocco. I have had the good fortune to visit Morocco on a number of occasions, including as one of the 500,000 tourists that people refer to. I once crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into the historic free port of Tangier and spent time in the ancient diplomatic quarter, which is traditionally engaged in all sorts of goings-on that I shall just call “trade” and “politics”. As a key point of entry into Africa from Europe, it is a hugely important route.

I had the pleasure of staying in the riads in Marrakesh, close to Jemaa el-Fna, the huge square at the heart of the city. It is bursting with all sorts of activities that you will not find anywhere else in the world, even down to the guy selling second-hand sets of false teeth, displayed in neat rows on a huge tray in the middle of the square. It is an amazing sight. Of course, by contrast down on the coast there is Essaouira, a perfect example of an 18th-century fortified town, complete with the original cannons still in place on the ramparts. The town is characterised by strong, persistent winds coming off the Atlantic, making its miles of beaches the world capital for kite surfing and wind surfing, as well as the site of an internationally acclaimed music festival. The amount of different cultural activities within Morocco is quite amazing. Given the opportunity, Morocco is a must-see place for noble Lords to experience for themselves.

However, we are celebrating the 800th anniversary of UK-Moroccan diplomatic relationships and recalling the dispatch by King John of England—we were not the UK at that stage—in 1213 of the first diplomatic mission to make contact with the court of Sultan Mohamed Ennassir. King John, we are told, sought support for our conflicts in Europe—there is nothing much new there by the sound of it. There are close and ancient ties between our two countries as monarchies. Here there is an intriguing historical aspect.

As we in this House know only too well, just two years after his approach to Sultan Mohamed Ennassir in Morocco, King John was forced by the Barons of England to sign the Magna Carta, or the Great Charter of the Liberties of England. As we know, Magna Carta made chequered progress over the ensuing years, being sometimes rescinded, sometimes reinstated, with bits deleted, added and altered. Nevertheless, it was an important part of an extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in the English-speaking world. It is generally considered part of the uncodified constitution of England. The late Lord Denning described it as,

“the greatest constitutional document of all times—the foundation of the freedom of the individual against arbitrary authority”.

In 2005, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf, called it,

“the first of a series of instruments that now are recognised as having a special constitutional status”.

Others include the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 and the 1689 Bill of Rights. Magna Carta was reconfirmed by successive sovereigns over the centuries and it was not until 1829 that a single clause of the charter was changed or repealed. However, by 1969, just three clauses remained in force.

The relevance of the progress of Magna Carta is, of course, that it took some 750 years for its constitutional powers to become redundant in our law. In the excellent brief provided by the House of Commons Library, there is a critical analysis of the 2011 Moroccan constitution by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. The Arab spring elsewhere seems to have created an opportunity to fast-track constitutional reform in a country where the monarchy has reigned for three centuries. The monarchy acknowledged the need for a social charter and later constitutional reform.

The new Moroccan constitution includes many human rights not previously recognised, which is clearly a major step forward. However, constitutional experts point out that several rights are unclear, such as the right to life not being accompanied by a clear abolition of the death penalty and contradictions in the establishment of equality between women and men. The recommendations include that any new constitutional reforms should be based on: fundamental rights and freedoms as recognised by the constitution in accordance with the Declaration of Human Rights, the origins of which are of course attached to Magna Carta; strengthening the independence of Parliament and the judiciary vis-à-vis the Executive; and recognising gender equality without the restrictions currently in place.

In April, our ambassador published an excellent op-ed in Le Matin on the relationship between Morocco and the UK, pointing out that Morocco played a vital role as a fellow member in the Security Council’s deliberations on threats to peace and stability emanating from the Sahel. As the noble Lord, Lord Harrison, pointed out, our ambassador knows the importance of the bigger picture, saying that,

“Morocco needs no lessons from the UK in pursuing the reforms which have been underway for more than a decade … Along with Britain”,

Morocco is,

“one of the oldest countries in the World and”,

lacks,

“neither wisdom nor courage. But, where we have experience and expertise that may be useful”,

we are,

“proud to share them … as a partner and friend”.

Let the last word go to His Excellency Taieb Fassi Fihri, the Moroccan Minister for Foreign Affairs. He said in a speech at Chatham House in March 2011:

“Historical reform, important reform, ownership reform, open reform, audacious but serene reform—I hope that all Moroccans will be happy to live under the umbrella of the next constitution in Morocco”.