Commonwealth Day

Pamela Nash Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[Pamela Nash (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Bayley. I congratulate the chair of the CPA, the right hon. Member for Saffron Walden (Sir Alan Haselhurst), on securing today’s important debate. I belatedly wish all of my colleagues a happy Commonwealth day.

I start on the right hon. Gentleman’s idea for a Commonwealth youth parliament, which is a fantastic idea. As a former MSYP—that is a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for those colleagues from south of the as-yet-non-existent border—I think that that could be a crucial tool in a group of countries with so many under-25s. In some of the recent news from our partner countries in the Commonwealth, we have heard the voices of the past coming forward in their legislation. I cannot think of a better tool to get the voices of young people heard actively across the Commonwealth than what he suggested.

As a Scot, I am proud that we are hosting the Commonwealth games. It is an exciting time for Scotland and for those of us who live around Glasgow. I am looking forward to welcoming friends and athletes from all over the world. It is an exciting opportunity for Brits and Scots not only to make new friends and hear from different cultures but to make our own voices heard and to speak out about the concerns we have. I will concentrate my remarks today on one such issue.

One reason I have been involved in the CPA since I was elected four years ago is the strength of the Commonwealth, as I see it, as laid out in the charter. Although it has had some criticism, it is an extremely worthwhile document. It will help to champion human rights throughout the Commonwealth and we should be wielding it as a weapon at the moment. I want to talk about what has been happening in Uganda recently. In recent meetings I have had with them as chair of the all-party group on HIV and AIDS, Ugandan activists have all had the same war cry, which has been to ask us to cleanse ourselves of our imperial guilt. All Commonwealth member countries should use the charter as much as they can, and all parliamentarians who can use the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to get their views heard should do so.

I include British Members of Parliament in that. Sometimes we have been too quiet about saying what we think when something has gone wrong. The anti-homosexuality law that has recently been passed in Uganda and the anti-pornography law that was passed just before it are good examples of just that situation. We should be calling on the strength of the Commonwealth to stand up to the human rights infringement in Uganda.

Uganda is a country that means a great deal to me. I have spoken often in the House about the fact that I have friends and family there. I have visited Uganda often, as a tourist, as a student worker and as a CPA member. It is very close to my heart and I have been deeply upset by what has happened there recently. I want to use the opportunity that today’s debate offers to speak about that. I hope we can use the CPA to stand up and have our voices counted.

The law in Uganda now threatens life sentences for homosexual behaviour and “aggravated homosexuality”—that is what the law says. It is also a criminal offence for anyone to know that someone is homosexual. The law will therefore divide families and ensure that men who have sex with men are frightened to seek health care. It will cause friction where there should be none. Uganda’s Health Minister has already declared that the law will not breach human rights on access to health care for men who have sex with men, but I cannot see why that will be the case. Men who have sex with men will not seek health care if they think that they might be turned in to the authorities for homosexual behaviour. The law also contains a provision on the promotion of homosexuality, which means that some of the clinics and non-governmental organisations that we as a country support will not be able to operate in Uganda without risk of criminal conviction and jail. All that is happening in the only country in Africa that has rising rates of HIV. For me, the law is simply a violation of human rights.

The issue does not simply concern Uganda, however, and the reason I have raised it in a debate about the Commonwealth is that I have real fears that it will spread throughout other Commonwealth countries. We have already seen evidence of that happening in the two and a half weeks since the Act was signed into law by President Museveni. Just before that, a new anti-gay law was signed in Nigeria. A copycat Bill has been introduced in the Kenyan Parliament and Bills have been introduced in Liberia and Malawi as well.

[Mr Bellingham]

I share the hon. Lady’s concern that since the private Member’s Bill was passed in the Ugandan Parliament other initiatives have been triggered in the countries she has mentioned and in others, including non-Commonwealth countries. Does she agree that aid is a key part of our bilateral relationship with most of those countries and there is therefore a role for the Department for International Development? DFID should have very firm conversations on the matter, probably in private—I have certainly found that speaking to President Museveni in private on the matter was a great deal more effective than doing so publicly. Does she agree that DFID has to look at how it finesses those conversations in the very near future?

[Pamela Nash]

The hon. Gentleman has made two good points. He mentioned private conversations. My work through the CPA has allowed me to have such conversations with Members of Parliament and Government Ministers and officials from some of the countries I mentioned, including Uganda. At the time, I found those private conversations to be most helpful in gaining a better understanding of where the movements are coming from. However, with all due respect, in Uganda it has not worked. We have been hearing all the right things—other Members here today will have had those conversations, particularly with Ugandan parliamentarians, and the President and the Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament—but we are now in the situation we are in. Although my fears are mainly about Uganda at the moment, I am incredibly concerned about what will happen across the rest of the Commonwealth.

In terms of the possible knock-on effect, it is not always clear what is happening in those countries. I found it difficult to research exactly what the legislation was in some countries and what the changes were. I will use Malawi as an example. President Joyce Banda, who has been a guest of mine in this House, announced in November that she had suspended all laws criminalising homosexuality, but the Malawian Government have recently denied issuing that statement, and the laws criminalising same-sex acts remain in place. We are stuck in a position where we are hearing one thing in private conversations with legislators, but the reality for people on the ground is something very different.

The hon. Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham) also raised the role of DFID as a lever to encourage or discourage partner countries on the ground. Although that is possible, in the case of Uganda we do not, as far as I know, provide any direct Government support, as all our money is directed through NGOs and other projects. There is therefore the difficulty of what levers we can use to influence Uganda. I hope that the Minister will enlighten us about what more the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can do in our conversations with Uganda.

[Sir Malcolm Bruce]

The hon. Lady is making an important and powerful case. Does she accept that gay rights are not our only area of concern? In a number of countries there are also concerns about the rights of women and the right of access to family planning, and the fundamental issue of unsafe abortions. We do not have the right to impose our view on people. We have to find partners within the country with whom we can engage at all levels. She is right to say that the situation is tricky, because if we start trying to use the DFID budget as a lever, the danger is that those countries will turn round and say, “We do not want your aid.” We have to be careful to find a partner we can work with inside the community and give them the support they need.

[Pamela Nash]

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman, who has a lot of experience in international development. It is a tricky balance to strike. We should not be frightened of saying what we think, but we must use the correct levers. We should not wield the DFID budget as a weapon but instead should use it to promote the values and beliefs that we have as a nation, the fundamental one of which is universal human rights.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

My point is similar to that made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Gordon (Sir Malcolm Bruce). I was at the Commonwealth parliamentary conference with the hon. Lady and my right hon. Friend in South Africa in September 2013 and spoke several times on this issue. I urge caution in using the Department for International Development budget because a big challenge for us when Canada, Australia and Gibraltar raise concerns is that our actions can be seen as an attempt to recreate the empire or to preach from our imperialistic past. Perhaps it is better if other nations, such as South Africa, advocate on such issues. We heard a wonderful speech at that conference from the Deputy Speaker of the South African Parliament, and because of history it may be better if South Africa advocates on such issues instead of us, sadly.

[Pamela Nash]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He made the great point that we should remember that we are not the only advocates in the Commonwealth for LGBT rights, women’s rights and equality for all. We have strong partners in the Commonwealth, and this is the time when we should come together to ensure that their voices are heard. I take the hon. Gentleman’s point that South Africa may be a better advocate at the moment, and I hope that we can work with it on that.

I would like some clarity on the Foreign Office’s position. Has the Minister spoken about the matter to Uganda’s high commissioner in London recently? Are there other diplomatic engagements with Uganda and other Commonwealth Governments, such as Malawi and Nigeria, and countries such as Liberia, about LGBT rights and the recent proposed changes to legislation?

I want to pick up some points that hon. Members have made about DFID’s role and ask the Minister to comment on his Department’s discussions with it on Uganda and the emergency reaction. We have not touched on the fact that the problem is not just the legislation and the threat of arrest but violence. There have been outbreaks of violence over the past few years at every stage of the Bill’s progress in Uganda. Since it was enacted on 24 February, there have been several reports of people being murdered after being outed.

I was horrified to see that the Red Pepper, a tabloid in Uganda, had published the names of 200 people, including photographs and including the name of a dear friend of mine, Frank Mugisha, who runs Sexual Minorities Uganda. His name has probably appeared in Hansard more than mine over the last few years, and it is often taken in vain when this important issue is discussed. I am glad to say that he has rightly been nominated for a Nobel peace prize. He is the successor to David Kato, who was murdered three years ago after his name was published in another tabloid in Uganda. He successfully took the paper to court, but the price he paid was to be murdered. My blood ran cold when I saw that history was repeating itself in the tabloids.

What conversations has the Minister had with DFID about what the Government can do to provide support to those on the ground? I do not ask for protection from a law in another country, but what can we do to protect vulnerable Ugandans who are at increased risk of violence and violation of their human rights? An emergency security funding pool has been established, and I ask the Government to contribute to it quickly.

I have raised this issue today because it is fundamentally a human rights one. The Commonwealth charter, which was signed last year, includes articles on tolerance, respect and understanding, freedom of expression and human rights. I cannot think of a more valuable current issue to address than LGBT rights in Uganda and beyond in the Commonwealth. We should use our position in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Commonwealth to ensure that our voice is heard.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

First, I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Saffron Walden (Sir Alan Haselhurst) on securing this timely debate on the Commonwealth. I am sure I have the support of the whole House when I pay tribute to his tireless work in his three-year tenure as chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association executive committee. I hope that he will take it in the right spirit when I say that that is one of the great achievements and services he has given Parliament in what I believe is his 35th year of service in the House.

The CPA, as my right hon. Friend has described, makes a valuable and concrete contribution to promoting democratic values throughout the Commonwealth and we should applaud its achievements. I would also like to thank all my hon. Friends and the Opposition Members who have spoken today and outlined eloquently their views on the Commonwealth: both its strengths and the challenges and difficulties it faces.

I should add that the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), who is the Minister with responsibility for the Commonwealth, regrets that he cannot respond to the debate. He is on a very long-planned ministerial visit elsewhere in the world. As Minister for Europe, however, I am delighted to deal regularly with two members of the Commonwealth as fellow members of the European Union, and—before my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) intervenes to remind me—with Gibraltar, a British overseas territory that is part of the EU and whose position in EU negotiations is something that I and the Foreign Secretary are always on the alert to safeguard.

In talking about the Commonwealth, we understandably focus on Governments and the incredible variety of countries, large and small, represented in this network of 53 nations spread across six continents and oceans. As has come through in the debate, we always need to bear in mind that those countries are home to no fewer than 2 billion citizens. The Commonwealth’s strength lies not solely in the relationships between the Governments of its member states, but in that web of around 100 different Commonwealth civil society organisations: professional, scientific and academic bodies that continue, month after month, usually unremarked and far from the national press headlines in any country, doing their important, constructive work for the good of the people of all those 53 countries.

This week, we marked Commonwealth day. This year’s celebrations have a special significance as we remember those soldiers from across the Commonwealth who fought and died for freedom and democracy during the first world war. Also, in September, we will mark the 75th anniversary of world war two, when we shall have occasion to reflect on the sacrifice of so many people during that conflict from Commonwealth countries and territories throughout the world.

Coincidentally, I was in a meeting earlier today with the Belgian Foreign Minister and one of the subjects we discussed was the work that the United Kingdom and Belgium are doing to commemorate the centenary of the first world war. The place of Commonwealth servicemen and women will be an important part of the British Government’s planning for that. I address this comment in particular to my hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford): one of the very important events in the Government’s planning for those commemorations over the next four years will be the centenary of the Gallipoli landings next year, which is hugely significant in the collective memory of the people of New Zealand and Australia.

This summer, Glasgow will host the Commonwealth games. Scotland is no stranger to the games, having hosted them in 1970 and 1986. I know that the games organising committee, Glasgow city council, the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government are all working hard to make Glasgow 2014 a triumphant success. The“Team Commonwealth” theme of the 2014 games, is particularly appropriate. One reason the games will be a success is that the whole of the UK is working together at all levels as a team to achieve that.

Sport has a unique power to promote some of the Commonwealth values we cherish: teamwork, fairness, respect and equal treatment. This time last year, Her Majesty the Queen signed the Commonwealth charter, to which every Commonwealth nation has agreed and which sets out the Commonwealth’s core values for the first time in a single document. Those values are important in their own right, as respect for human rights and strong institutions are fundamental building blocks of development and prosperity.

However, as hon. Members have highlighted today, respect for the values set out in the charter is not yet consistent across the Commonwealth. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Saffron Walden said, not every Commonwealth member observes those values fully. During our debate, a number of hon. Members have drawn attention to particular problems in different Commonwealth member states.

I say to my right hon. Friend that member states have agreed to take forward all but 17 of the 106 recommendations that the eminent persons group made at CHOGM. Those include agreement on the Commonwealth charter and a strengthened Commonwealth ministerial action group, known as CMAG. The secretariat is now working on a new strategic plan to take it through to 2016-17. The key is the swift implementation of the recommendations of the eminent persons group, and this country will continue to work closely on that with the secretariat and with other member states.

We must be honest about the fact that the Commonwealth is an organisation that has always proceeded by consensus. There is no provision for majority voting or for a majority of the Commonwealth to mandate any one member to change its practices. It is more a question of the informal influence that can come from peer group pressure, or the advice of candid friends—perhaps it is best put that way. That is what we should rely upon to try to secure the change we want in line with the Commonwealth charter, which every Commonwealth member has undertaken to uphold.

I will respond now to some of the specific issues raised by hon. Members. I will take first the case raised by the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy). I am grateful to her for alerting me to the matter before the start of the debate. We are urgently investigating reports that a British national is facing execution in Malaysia. It is not yet certain that the man in question has kept British citizenship. Some media reports have suggested that he has joint Nigerian and UK citizenship, but we have also heard a suggestion from Amnesty today that the person in question no longer has United Kingdom citizenship. We are investigating that urgently, given what has happened.

Uganda has been mentioned in several speeches, particularly in that of the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Pamela Nash). As the House knows, on 24 February this year, the President of Uganda signed into law the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which increases sanctions against homosexuality. Ugandan civil society and human rights institutions have objected to that Bill in the strongest terms. They believe that it is incompatible with Uganda’s constitution and international obligations, and that it will harm human rights in Uganda. We share the concerns expressed by those Ugandan institutions. We have consistently raised, and will continue to raise, our concerns about the Bill with the Ugandan Government at the most senior levels.

The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds), raised this issue with the Foreign Minister of Uganda on 28 December and again on 28 January and, most recently, with the deputy Foreign Minister of Uganda on 13 February.

As the hon. Member for Bristol East rightly said, both the Foreign Secretary and Baroness Warsi met Frank Mugisha, a leading Ugandan LGBT activist, yesterday to discuss the latest developments and to take his advice on how the international community might best support individuals and organisations in Uganda.

Our high commissioner in Kampala met the Ugandan Minister of Justice earlier this week. The high commissioner has also received assurances recently from the inspector general of police on the protection of individuals. I assure the House and the hon. Member for Bristol East in particular that we will continue to follow this issue closely and actively make representations at all appropriate levels of the Ugandan Government and Administration.

[Pamela Nash]

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive answer. I shall ask just one specific question, which I asked in my speech. Have the Government called in the Ugandan high commissioner here in London and if not, why not?

[Mr Lidington]

I will draw the hon. Lady’s question to the attention of my hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for Africa, who is travelling on ministerial duties this week. If we judged that to be the best way of making effective representations, we would not hesitate to do that.

The hon. Lady mentioned various options for action that might be taken. There is a judgment to be made about the right balance in these circumstances, between the megaphone and the candid words in conversation. We try to judge these issues so that we end up with a set of actions that are most likely to help those people who are under threat in Uganda. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and Baroness Warsi met Mr Mugisha yesterday so that they could hear first hand from somebody living in Uganda who feels that his position is at risk, and find out what he thinks are the most effective ways to try to seek a change in policy in Uganda.

The hon. Lady also mentioned Nigeria. We are disappointed that President Jonathan has given his assent to a Bill that would further criminalise same-sex relationships in Nigeria and infringe on the human rights of LGBT people. The Foreign Secretary made a statement on 15 January that highlighted our concerns and my hon. Friend the Minister for Africa raised these concerns directly with President Jonathan in Abuja, when he visited Nigeria on 27 February. Again, we will continue to lobby at the highest levels on this issue.

I was also asked about the persecution of Christians and other minorities in Pakistan. We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee fully the human rights of all people in Pakistan, particularly the most vulnerable: women, minorities and children. These principles are, after all, laid down in the constitution of Pakistan and are in accordance with international standards, to which Pakistan has subscribed.

We regularly raise the issue of Christians and religious freedom more generally at senior level with the authorities in Pakistan, and did so during the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Pakistan in July 2013 and Baroness Warsi’s visit in September 2013. In fairness, the Pakistani authorities have publicly recognised the problems that their countries’ minorities face and the need to bring an end to religious persecution. The British Government remain fully committed to working in partnership with the Government of Pakistan to achieve that, and to tackle both terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms.

We cannot as one country impose change, particularly in public attitudes, which may in some Commonwealth nations be very different from public attitudes in this country, but we can and we will continue to speak out when basic human rights—life, liberty and personal safety—are violated. There can be no justification for infringing such fundamental human rights, which are central to a strong and prosperous society. The consequences of failing to respect human rights are apparent in Sri Lanka. I will give the Chamber the update for which the hon. Member for Bristol East asked.

The Prime Minister used his presence at CHOGM in Colombo in November 2013 to emphasise the United Kingdom’s and indeed the international community’s serious concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka. He made it clear that the Sri Lankan Government should begin a credible independent investigation into violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by both sides during the war by March, when the UN Human Rights Council meets to discuss Sri Lanka. No credible domestic process has yet begun.

Establishing the truth plays an important role in reconciliation. As a result, the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon made it clear at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 3 March that we would now call for an international investigation. I draw the attention of the Chamber to a written ministerial statement that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary published today on Sri Lanka. It is available in the Library and will be printed in tomorrow’s Hansard. That statement says, among other things, that a draft resolution was jointly tabled by the UN Human Rights Council on Monday 3 March by the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Mauritius, Macedonia and Montenegro. The draft resolution calls for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to lead the international investigation and to report back by March 2015. Further discussions on the text will take place this month.

The adoption of the resolution is not a foregone conclusion. Ahead of the vote, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, I, other Foreign Office Ministers and other Ministers across the Government have been in contact with a wide range of UN Human Rights Council member states to encourage them to support a strong resolution that calls for an international investigation. In doing so, we have drawn attention to the assessment of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who points to the need for such an investigation as progress on accountability in Sri Lanka has been, in her words, “limited and piecemeal”. In the days remaining before the vote takes place, we will continue to urge UNHRC members to support this action, and we will maintain our close contact with non-governmental organisations and civil society throughout.