---

Commonwealth

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Freeman, for giving us the opportunity to consider the UK’s relations with the Commonwealth. This is an especially important time as we are just one week from the Valletta Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. I will, of course, ensure that this debate is drawn to the attention of my colleagues who will attend the meeting. Noble Lords gave three interesting descriptions of the Commonwealth. The noble Lord, Lord Freeman, described it as unique. The noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire, talked about the Commonwealth as a useful network and stressed the importance of links in terms of culture, defence and education. The noble Lord, Lord Howell of Guildford, talked about a living network of relations. The Commonwealth is one of the older international organisations. Its governments represent almost half of humanity, one quarter of the world’s governments and one fifth of global trade. Membership is diverse, ranging from some of the world’s richer nations to some of the poorest on the planet. Commonwealth countries share a unique heritage—a common language, common legal and financial systems, and a commitment to good governance and democracy. Best practice can be, and frequently is, widely applicable and widely shared. Very importantly—it has been alluded to many times in this debate—the Commonwealth operates by consensus, which allows members to exchange views in a frank and less formal manner than in other multilateral fora. Let me say at the outset that the United Kingdom believes in the Commonwealth and remains the major contributor to the Commonwealth headquarters organisations, specifically the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation. At the heart of the organisation are the Harare principles, which set out the shared commitment to good governance, human rights and democracy. So the Commonwealth’s declared goals are close to those of the United Kingdom. There are two important goals; namely, to help to prevent or resolve conflicts, strengthen democracy and the rule of law and achieve greater respect for human rights, and to promote pro-poor policies for economic growth and sustainable development. Uniquely, I think, among international organisations, the Commonwealth has procedures in place to suspend members should they fall short of those standards. As the noble Lord, Lord Freeman, made clear, the Commonwealth takes those commitments very seriously. In recent years, Nigeria, Fiji and Pakistan were suspended. All have returned to the Commonwealth family, with Nigeria now serving with distinction as Commonwealth chair in office. Those values are also spread by the Commonwealth’s affiliated bodies—which number more than 80—including the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, the Commonwealth human rights council and the Commonwealth Business Council. I turn now specifically to the forthcoming heads of government meeting. The Government have three main aims, the first of which touches on a point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar; that is, a meeting that builds on the outcomes of the Commission for Africa Report, the Gleneagles G8 meeting and UN World Summit. The second aim is for a heads of government meeting that uses the Commonwealth’s comparative advantage to set standards on confronting terrorism, promoting tolerance and resisting incitement. I assure the noble Lord, Lord Freeman, that, with respect to our third aim, we want a heads of government meeting that sends a powerful message to the Hong Kong Trade Ministerial on the need for an ambitious pro-poor development outcome on the Doha development agenda. The noble Baroness, Lady Falkner, the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, and the noble Lord, Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, raised trade. I have to say that there will doubtless be difficulties. It is no secret that trade will be contentious at the Hong Kong meeting. We know the problem areas, such as agriculture, market access and erosion of preferences, which are exacerbated for some by the separate reform of EU regimes on sugar and bananas. Given the pace of developments in those negotiations, I do not want to say too much today, but despite the difficulties I remain optimistic that CHOGM will be able to give impetus to those striving to reach agreement at Hong Kong. I should like to remind the noble Baroness, Lady Falkner, that as a government we have been relentless in our pursuit of a good outcome not only in Hong Kong but also for this entire Doha development round. That is not just rhetoric; since 1998 we have spent £181 million on trade capacity building to give developing countries themselves the capacity to negotiate on their own behalf. Moreover, I have to say to the noble Baroness that we have been roundly criticised by some of our other colleagues for doing precisely that. I also want to say to the noble Baroness that as a member of a government who have put the interests of our relations with the Commonwealth at the heart of our wider relationships, specifically on trade, it is very important indeed to remember that developing countries that are members of the Commonwealth family do not necessarily share the same aims for the outcome of the Doha development round. They managed to hold together the developing country coalition at Cancun—I was there—but a lot of anger was expressed about the difference between what the larger emerging developing countries want and what the poorer developing countries want. We would do well to remember that. I almost always agree with the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, but I do not concur with his view of the outcome of the G8 Summit. An extra $50 billion a year by 2010 to be spent on development aid, half of that going to Africa, along with a 100 per cent multilateral debt stock cancellation providing up to $55 billion for as many as 38 poorer countries could not be called a disappointing outcome. I have talked to many African leaders and others about the G8 outcome, and that is certainly not how they would describe it. Turning to the themes raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, I should like to see the business, youth and people’s forums, all of which precede CHOGM, picking up on some of the Gleneagles and world summit outcomes. After all, buying from business, civil society and young people is essential to Commonwealth success. I know too that the Commonwealth People’s Forum will hold workshops on adaptation to climate change, faith and development, which are also UK priorities. Here I want to say a special word of thanks to the Commonwealth Foundation for its work in promoting cultural links and dialogue with NGOs across the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Youth Forum will also take forward its longstanding work on citizenship. Many developing Commonwealth countries, especially in Africa, are priorities for our poverty reduction programmes. In these nations, education remains a very high priority, especially quality primary education. My noble friend Lord Desai asked about the monitoring of the millennium development goals by the Commonwealth. The heads of government meeting will consider how best to monitor the MDGs and whether that should be done by the Commonwealth countries or the Secretariat alone, or working with others such as the United Nations and the OECD. We should also remember that the majority of Commonwealth countries are small states. These, especially the small island states, face unique challenges. Their economies are sometimes overly dependent on a limited range of products, they are geographically remote and, in many cases, they are vulnerable to natural disasters. Over the past year alone, Commonwealth Caribbean nations have been devastated by hurricanes, while Commonwealth Asian countries were ravaged by the Indian Ocean tsunami. Most recently, Pakistan and India have been affected by a catastrophic earthquake. My noble friend Lord Desai referred specifically to earthquake-proof housing. I can tell my noble friend that a donor conference is to be held in two days’ time to discuss the modalities of reconstruction. We will work with the government of Pakistan’s plans and encourage appropriate reconstruction methods. The United Kingdom is a close friend of India and Pakistan and maintains regular contact with both governments, actively encouraging them to seek a lasting resolution to all of their outstanding issues. I refer in particular to the opening of crossing points along the Line of Control, which will assist individuals by allowing them to travel between the two parts of Kashmir. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe of Aberavon, said that it was important to find a solution to the question of the Commonwealth Institute. The issue was also raised by the noble Lords, Lord Freeman, Lord Goodlad and Lord Howell. The Government are committed to helping the trustees find a solution to their present difficulties. This will be particularly important if the trustees are properly to endow the Commonwealth Institute’s Centre for Commonwealth Education in Cambridge. The first meeting between the trustees and an interdepartmental working group, which has representatives from DCMS, ODPM, FCO and DfID, took place last week. A second meeting is planned for later today. The group will study the options now available, including the listed building consent route. The group has also advised the trustees on how best to instigate dialogue with the parliamentary legislation office on whether a private or hybrid Bill might be possible. However, I have to tell the House that I understand that preliminary contacts suggest that this might be problematic. On the question of Zimbabwe, raised by the noble Lord, Lord Blaker, and mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, and the noble Lord, Lord Howell of Guildford, I should say that the country is not on the Commonwealth agenda. I think that is right. At the moment there is no obvious remit on Zimbabwe for the Commonwealth, following Mugabe’s decision to withdraw from the organisation. However, we believe that external pressure, in particular from within Africa and the UN, offers the best hope for the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in Zimbabwe. So we will continue to take every opportunity to raise the issue of Zimbabwe in appropriate fora and with partners bilaterally, including other Commonwealth members. The policies of the government of Zimbabwe have been disastrous and I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, about the importance of providing support for the people of Zimbabwe. That is why we have made a major contribution to ensuring that Zimbabwe’s food shortages do not lead to famine. Since September 2001 we have donated over £71 million in humanitarian assistance and I remind noble Lords that at one stage we were feeding 1.5 million Zimbabweans per day. The noble Baroness, Lady Falkner, asked about Uganda and the upcoming elections. We welcome the outcome of the July referendum with its support for a return to multi-party politics. We think it is essential to have a level playing field for all parties for the February/March 2006 elections. I understand that much of the necessary legislation is now awaiting presidential assent, and we need to ensure that the ruling Movement Party is fully separated from the state before the elections are held. On the matter of used PCs, the noble Baroness, Lady Gardner, is quite right about our computer equipment. The House of Lords sets a very good example. When PCs are replaced, those machines are donated for use in developing countries. Currently many are going to Namibia and, in accordance with arrangements recently approved by the Information Committee, there is a plan to extend this to other developing countries in the Commonwealth and elsewhere. The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, mentioned the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Development. CPTM’s role as a Commonwealth affiliated body will be reviewed at CHOGM. The Secretary-General will present a paper to the heads of state and government. It is likely to recommend that CPTM is brought more closely into the Commonwealth family. My noble friend Lord Hunt of Chesterton raised the important issue of culture and referred to the importance of the welcome that we give to scholars coming to the United Kingdom from Commonwealth countries. Scholars on UK-sponsored scholarships receive a welcome briefing. There is, however, a problem with those who come independently and I am not sure what resources we can put into dealing with that. As to NGOs, an issue to which my noble friend also referred, the Commonwealth Foundation, which organises the Commonwealth People’s Forum, has been mandated to bring Commonwealth NGOs more fully into the decision-making process. I should say to my noble friend that the criteria for membership will be reviewed, but currently the rules require a close association with a member state, adherence to the Harare principles and a willingness to abide by Commonwealth rules and norms. The noble Baroness, Lady Gardner, raised the issue of medical workers. The suggestion that UK health workers might return to or visit and work in Commonwealth countries has not been raised at Commonwealth meetings. Commonwealth governments have, however, addressed the issue of the targeted recruitment of healthcare workers in the developing Commonwealth countries by the health services of developed Commonwealth countries. The Malta CHOGM communiqué is likely to contain language on this problem. The noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire, referred to last week’s Memorial Day service and, in particular, the importance of the Commonwealth’s contribution. While the service at the Cenotaph attracts the most publicity, it is important to remember that hundreds of similar services took place around the United Kingdom and thousands of similar events took place across the Commonwealth and around the world, many in Commonwealth war graves cemeteries. About two years ago the Ministry of Defence produced a very useful document which set out the contribution made to the British Army historically by people from other countries. I have used it many times with people of Caribbean descent to show the contribution from Caribbean countries. The noble Baroness, Lady Flather, worked extremely hard to establish memorial gates in recognition of the important contribution made by troops from Africa, the Caribbean and the Indian sub-continent. Indeed, a few days before Remembrance Sunday, an event was held at the gates. With a colleague from the Ministry of Defence and others, I attended an event at the Museum of London, organised by the Windrush Foundation, which acknowledged the contribution of Caribbean countries to the outcome of the Second World War. Much is going on but the noble Lord is quite right that we need to make these events a much more regular part of Remembrance Day services. Before I conclude, I must say something about cricket, a subject which was mentioned by my noble friend Lord Desai, the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, and the noble Baroness, Lady Gardner. I could not agree more about the central importance of cricket in the Commonwealth. As the product of a British colony myself, cricket continues to have a central place in my life, including listening to ball-by-ball commentary at very odd hours indeed, depending on which part of the world the game is being played. I conclude by paying tribute to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don MacKinnon, and his staff at the Commonwealth Secretariat. He has presided over unprecedented modernisation of the Commonwealth. He has sometimes ruffled feathers, even among his own staff, but his work has been essential to bring the Commonwealth Secretariat into the 21st century. I know that we all wish him, our Commonwealth colleagues and the Maltese authorities well at the Valletta CHOGM.