Burma

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Tuesday 12th June 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The right reverend Prelate is correct on the issue of the Rohingya, and as a Government we think that ethnic cleansing has taken place. Indeed, that is self-evident because of the number of refugees we have seen pour into Bangladesh. As I said in response to an earlier question, the situation in Kachin is of deep concern, but because of the lack of access for international agencies it is difficult to determine the issue of genocide more specifically. As regards judicial opinion, we will be guided appropriately, but we have certainly seen ethnic cleansing take place in Rakhine state—there is no better term for it. In Kachin, too, what we are seeing is very troubling, but a full assessment cannot be made because of the lack of access.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, 32% of Burma’s population are from ethnic minorities, so we are seeing the systematic persecution of people spread from one group like the Rohingya to another like those in Rakhine state. Can my noble friend the Minister please outline whether this systematic persecution has had any impact on the ability of the UK Government to employ people from the Burmese ethnic-minority population in our embassy in Rangoon? I understand that around 70% of the embassy’s staff are normally recruited locally. Can he confirm that we are not restricted in who we can recruit by virtue of this persecution?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

Our recruitment policy reflects the impartiality we would employ in any circumstances. It would be beneficial for all noble Lords to know the exact numbers and I will look into that. My noble friend, who speaks from great experience, makes an important point; namely, that we need to ensure that we demonstrate the inclusive nature of our operations in all our actions, including the efforts we are making on the ground in Rangoon. As I have said, there is a degree of hope, in that for the first time the United Nations is now gaining access to parts of Burma. We will continue to impress on both the civilian and military authorities for that access to be applicable universally across the country.

Commonwealth Summit: Freedom of Religion or Belief

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Wednesday 25th April 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Berridge]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they took to promote freedom of religion or belief as part of the human rights agenda discussed at the Commonwealth Summit.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, last week the Heads of Government from the Commonwealth pledged to work together to foster a fairer future for all Commonwealth citizens. During the summit, my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary announced a £4 million accountable democracy programme, working with Commonwealth organisations and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. The programme will focus on the political participation of marginalised groups, including religious minorities and women. While we are chair-in-office, we will continue to raise freedom of religion or belief with Commonwealth members as a core value of the Commonwealth charter.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his Answer and declare my interest in relation to a Commonwealth initiative on freedom of religion or belief. While it is unfortunate that Her Majesty’s Government’s priority of freedom of religion or belief did not find its way into the communiqué, especially bearing in mind that the communiqué makes reference to the Rohingya population in Bangladesh who have fled religious persecution, I would be grateful if the Minister could outline how the two-year chairmanship-in-office will be used to highlight the freedom of religion or belief aspects of issues such as the Rohingya Muslim population.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

First, I pay tribute to my noble friend’s work in this area. Let me assure my noble friend, and indeed all noble Lords, that this continues to be a key priority for Her Majesty’s Government. During the course of the Commonwealth summit, various announcements were made on the broader human rights agenda, including a financing proposal in support of this. As a further assurance, I am sure that she has read the Written Ministerial Statement from my right honourable friend the Prime Minister, which was laid in this House by my noble friend the Leader of the House. It talks specifically about the values agenda, ensuring that all people’s rights, wherever they are in the Commonwealth, are fully protected. I also offer to work with my noble friend Lady Berridge on key priorities as we plan for our two years in office.

Commonwealth Summit: Human Rights

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Wednesday 21st March 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Berridge]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their human rights priorities for the communiqué of the Commonwealth Summit in April 2018.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I draw attention to my interests as outlined in the register.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, Commonwealth member states are meeting, as I speak, in London to negotiate the communiqué. While it would be inappropriate to comment on those negotiations or speculate on specific outcomes, the UK believes that the promotion and protection of human rights should be of central importance. Encouraging member states to uphold the values enshrined in the Commonwealth charter, which include democracy, freedom of expression, the rule of law, and opposition to all forms of discrimination, will be an important part of April’s summit.

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, on 28 February of last year the Prime Minister stated:

“We must reaffirm our determination to stand up for the freedom of people of all religions to practice their beliefs in peace and safety. And I hope to take further measures as a government to support this”.


That commitment, of course, is also outlined in the Commonwealth charter. While I am grateful for the Minister’s Answer, could he please provide details on how the Prime Minister’s commitment will be manifested in practical terms during the UK’s period of chair-in-office of the Commonwealth?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

First, I acknowledge the formidable work my noble friend does, along with other noble Lords across this House, in the area of freedom of religion and belief. It remains a key priority for Her Majesty’s Government to focus on freedom of religion and belief in the context of the Commonwealth summit. During the summit week, various fora will be held, including the Commonwealth People’s Forum, where civil society groups will have an opportunity to directly raise issues, including freedom of religion and belief, and there will be an opportunity for Foreign Ministers and leaders to hear about the outcomes of those fora. The UK will be chair-in-office for two years. I assure my noble friend that we have received various bids and we will certainly be focusing on all elements of human rights, including—

Commonwealth Summit

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Tuesday 20th February 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Berridge]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to promote the forthcoming Commonwealth Summit with schools, universities, non-governmental organisations, and businesses.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, we have undertaken an extensive public engagement programme across the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth to complement and promote the formal summit programme. The Department for Education recently launched a Commonwealth schools pack, which is available to all schools in the UK, to further pupils’ understanding of the Commonwealth and its values. We are engaging schools, universities, non-governmental organisations and businesses and encouraging them to celebrate the Commonwealth and raise the summit profile.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his Answer. It is often stated in this Chamber that the Commonwealth is an underutilised intergovernmental network and has little profile among these institutions and the general public. After the Heads of Government meeting, the UK will be the chair of the Commonwealth for two years until the next Heads of Government meeting. So what plans do Her Majesty’s Government have to promote this with those institutions? Could my noble friend outline the Government’s priorities for this period in office?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend. The Commonwealth is desperately underleveraged in terms of what it brings together in common languages, common history, common cultures and common opportunities for the future. I am delighted, as all noble Lords will be, that we now have an additional Commonwealth state; the Gambia has joined the Commonwealth family. On my noble friend’s specific questions, the priorities of the Government will reflect what will be decided during the course of the Heads of Government meeting itself, but already we are seeing some real focus on the important areas of empowerment, girls’ education and 12 years of quality education; on areas of cybersecurity; on trade; on tackling issues around climate change; and on the broader agenda of human rights. All these will be reflected during the two years of the UK’s chairing during this period in office.

Commonwealth Summit: Faith Leaders

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Monday 15th January 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Berridge]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will ensure the engagement of faith leaders in events around the Commonwealth Summit in April.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and draw attention to my registered interests.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, we look forward to hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in April this year, when faith leaders, civil society, business leaders and young people will come together to debate, celebrate and renew the Commonwealth. I shall engage fully with faith leaders in encouraging them to hold side events and to participate directly in activities in the run-up, because it is important that we offer important faith perspectives on ensuring a fairer and more secure, prosperous and sustainable Commonwealth.

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for his Answer but only a few weeks after the summit we will celebrate 70 years since the arrival of MV “Empire Windrush”. The Commonwealth migration that took place then has transformed many of the UK’s own faith communities. What plans do Her Majesty’s Government have to support the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s faith in the Commonwealth initiative, in particular to meet those UK faith leaders who are of Commonwealth heritage or whose communities are of Commonwealth heritage to promote the fact of the summit and outline how they can engage practically?

Commonwealth Summit 2018

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Thursday 2nd November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, for securing this debate, and declare an interest as the co-project director of the Commonwealth Initiative for Freedom of Religion or Belief and co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on that subject.

Last Wednesday, the all-party group launched a new report, Article 18: From Rhetoric to Reality. At that event my noble friend the Minister highlighted the Government’s commitment to freedom of religion or belief and promised to “take this commitment further”. Last Shrove Tuesday the Prime Minister said:

“We must reaffirm our determination to stand up for the freedom of people of all religions to practise their beliefs in peace and safety. And I hope to take further measures as a government to support this”.


So I trust that my noble friend the Minister will outline how the Government will use the Commonwealth summit to take this commitment forward.

The Commonwealth is a mixed picture when it comes to upholding Article 18, and the problems are not restricted to one faith or country. Pew research from April 2017 shows high levels of government restrictions in India and Pakistan and medium levels in Kenya. It is sobering to note that the same research highlights high and rising social hostilities based on religion here in the UK, shown especially in levels of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

Two of the Commonwealth’s most populous states are witnessing increasing problems. In India there were 316 attacks on Christians in the first five months of 2017, compared with 365 incidents in the whole of 2016. In Nigeria, according to the International Crisis Group, recurring violence between the Muslim Fulani and Christian settlers resulted in more than 2,500 deaths in 2016. This is the reality for too many young people growing up in the Commonwealth. According to Aid to the Church in Need, about 15,000 children have become orphans in conflicts relating to religious intolerance.

Violations of Article 18 can of course be barriers to education—one of the key sustainable development goals that the Government are committed to achieving. According to the Hindu American Foundation and the Aurat Foundation in Pakistan, around 1,000 young Christian and Hindu girls are kidnapped, forcibly converted and raped each year. This has led to many Christian and Hindu families being too afraid to send their young girls to school. On 27 August this year in Punjab, classmates beat a Christian boy, Sharoon Masih, to death after they had initially bullied him for being a Christian and told him not to drink from the same glasses as Muslims.

More than 60% of the Commonwealth is under 30 years old and the Prime Minister stated on 19 September that,

“we will put young people at the heart of the Commonwealth”.

But it seems that too many young people are growing up in the Commonwealth without their Article 18 rights, while thinking that those who hold no faith or a different faith to theirs are somehow other. Can my noble friend the Minister please assure this House that the UK will ensure that freedom of religion or belief is in the summit communiqué as a priority for the Commonwealth, under the Fairer Future theme? It is important that freedom of religion or belief comes under this theme as it highlights its role in building an equitable and prosperous future across the Commonwealth, and that freedom of religion or belief is valued as an inherent good in its own right rather than being subsumed into a wider counterextremism agenda.

While this is a Heads of Government meeting, it is vital that the resource of parliamentarians is harnessed, as the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, outlined. There are many MPs who are champions of human rights and freedom of religion or belief within the Commonwealth. In Pakistan, the NGOs Asia Foundation and Pattan—financed by the Canadian Government—helped to resource parliamentarians to engage in debate and legislation around religious freedom. As a result, religious freedom caucuses were established in two provincial assemblies—in Punjab and Sindh—to promote interfaith harmony and highlight issues affecting minorities. Through my own involvement in a panel of international parliamentarians, I have seen representatives of the National Assembly of Pakistan form a model of an all-party group within their assembly. It is important that this best practice is spread across the Commonwealth.

It is also important that freedom of religion or belief is on the parliamentary forum’s agenda in February, and that that forum feeds directly into the communiqué. Her Majesty’s Government rightly spend UK taxpayers’ money on parliamentary training through the laudable auspices of CPA UK and CPA International. While the UK chairs the Commonwealth between 2018 and 2020, it is important that this training should become increasingly professionalised and linked, where possible, to the very best the academic world has to offer. This is one of the reasons why the Commonwealth initiative I outlined is based at Birmingham University. Surely, to make full use of the ongoing CPA training a parliamentary forum should become a feature of future Commonwealth summits. Will my noble friend outline whether Her Majesty’s Government are speaking to the Government of Malaysia, which will host the 2020 summit, to press for a parliamentary forum as part of the next Commonwealth summit?

I have no doubt of my noble friend’s personal commitment to the issue I have outlined. I hope that the Commonwealth summit and our chairmanship will see more reality than rhetoric on Article 18, which is what so many young people in the Commonwealth need to ensure a fairer future.

Sri Lanka

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Thursday 12th October 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Naseby for securing this debate—and I declare an interest as project director for the Commonwealth Initiative for Freedom of Religion and Belief.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka in 2013 helped to focus international attention on the human rights failures of previous Sri Lankan Governments, and the decision of the then Prime Minister David Cameron to attend was, I submit, correct as this international spotlight helped to form part of the driving forces that secured a peaceful transition of power in January and August 2015. Resolution 30/1 of the Human Rights Council came after this democratic transition of power, which saw an alliance of moderates from within the two largest parties, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the United National Party, form a ruling coalition. The resolution stresses the importance of protecting the human rights of all Sri Lankans, regardless of ethnic and religious identity. That of course includes the right to freedom of religion and belief, as outlined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UN Sri Lankan Peacebuilding Priority Plan also stresses the importance of promoting and protecting the human rights of vulnerable peoples.

It is important to recognise the often underappreciated significance of religion to the conflict and the peace process in Sri Lanka. As Dr Rajesh Venugopal of the London School of Economics argues, both Tamil and Sinhalese national identities are bound to Hinduism and Buddhism respectively. Sri Lanka is one of only seven Buddhist majority countries in the world, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Laos and Mongolia, being the other six. Around 70% of the population identify as Buddhist. However, the country has sizeable religious minorities, with 12.6% identifying as Hindu, 9.7% as Muslim and 7.6% as Christian. Although Tamils are largely Hindu, it is less well known that Muslims and Christians are often seen as outsiders by both the Government and the Tamil militants, thereby suffering at the hands of both. As the Asia Foundation’s Sri Lanka Strategic Assessment 2016 argues, religious violence and hatred serves as a major barrier to securing a long-term peaceful Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan constitution currently protects freedom of religion or belief, in Article 10 of Chapter III, and the right to worship individually or as a group, in Article 14(1)(e) of Chapter III. However, under the previous Government, freedom of religion and belief was eroded because of the tacit acceptance by the state of extreme Buddhist sects which propagate an exclusive image of Sri Lankan identity as solely Buddhist, with non- Buddhists as “others”, whose loyalty and citizenship should be in question. Ultra-nationalist Sinhalese Buddhist organisations, such as Bodu Bala Sena, were able to spread hatred towards both Muslims and Christians with impunity. In April 2014, BBS raided an interfaith press conference and no action was taken by the authorities. Also in 2014, there was a nationwide BBS anti-halal campaign, which contributed to the toxic environment of religious hatred and, arguably, to the anti-Muslim Aluthgama riots, during which at least four people were killed, 80 injured and 10,000 displaced. The then Government responded by ordering a media blackout and, at the Human Rights Council in June that year, blamed Muslims for the riots.

There is evidence, however, of a change in the response to such events. On 26 September—less than a month ago—a mob of hard-line nationalists led by Buddhist monks attacked a UN shelter for Rohingya Muslim refugees in Colombo. The Cabinet spokesman, Rajitha Senaratne, was unequivocal in his condemnation the following day, saying:

“As a Buddhist I am ashamed at what happened … this is not what Buddha taught”.


The refugees were quickly moved to a safe location and the Government have now arrested nine people. It is so good—but all too unusual—to hear of such prompt action by a Government that had previously stood by and watched. I am grateful to Dr Rajesh Venugopal from LSE for bringing this to my attention.

Secondly, the change in government has shown a marked decrease in violence towards Christians. A report published by Verité in 2015 highlighted that the average number of attacks carried out against Christians had declined from one every week between 1994 and 2014 to roughly one every two weeks since 2015. This is, again, a change to be commended. But Sri Lanka has also faced challenges over the practice of conversion, with many religious groups complaining of Buddhists and Hindus being converted to Christianity through alleged material and spiritual inducements. In 2015, the opposition JHU put forward a Bill that would have contravened international standards on the right of people to convert. It is another encouraging sign that Sri Lanka was able to protect the individual’s right to freedom of religion and belief and to change religion by resisting such draconian legislation.

Can the Minister confirm whether Her Majesty’s Government have taken this opportunity to make positive representations to the Sri Lankan Government, commending their response to this most recent attack on Rohingya refugees, and confirm if they have considered whether this example beginning to be set by Sri Lanka of a Buddhist majority Government working to protect religious minorities could become best practice to promote? Such encouragement is crucial because the Sri Lankan Government still have much ground to cover to tackle the remaining significant structural and societal challenges to sustained religious harmony in Sri Lanka. A Minority Rights Group report in 2016 sadly found that harassment and intimidation of both Muslims and Christians, although decreasing—as I have outlined—was still commonplace. While the new Government restricted the space for groups such as BBS, it has continued to spread vicious hatred towards Muslims online. Between November 2015 and September 2016, there were 14 incidents in which Christian establishments were forced to close by local officials using the unconstitutional 2008 government circular, which stipulated that new places of worship must be approved by the then Ministry of Religious Affairs. The MRG report has also shown that local police and local officials still often refuse to record the complaints of or assist Christian pastors and communities who have been harassed by Buddhist extremists.

The excellent work begun by the Sri Lankan Government to foster religious unity, freedom and tolerance, although incomplete, should be supported. At present, outside of disaster relief, DfID has only one active programme in Sri Lanka, which is of course focused on removing landmines. This is clearly important, but there is a need to support the Sri Lankan Government’s effort to confront these elements of Buddhist extremism. I would be grateful to know from my noble friend whether looking at this Buddhist extremism is part of Her Majesty’s Government’s counterextremism work within the FCO. Sadly, such erroneous theology is part of the backdrop to the recent plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and urgently needs addressing.

As Jonathan Goodhand of SOAS argues, religious leaders in Sri Lanka are ideally placed to cross political, ethnic and religious boundaries to promote a culture of inclusivity and tolerance. Successful interfaith projects, such as Equitas supported by the Canadian Government, reach over 3,000 people and conduct vital research into the issues faced by religious minorities in Sri Lanka. Similarly, the Karuna Centre for Peacebuilding, with US government support, brings together over 80 Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Christian religious leaders in Sri Lanka’s troubled eastern province to build trust and common ground as peacebuilders. I am not naive: there are still grave problems and much needs to be done. However, I know that my noble friend the Minister is passionate about freedom of religion and belief, and it is encouraging to report the emergence of some rare good news in that country. Therefore, I hope my noble friend can outline whether staff from DfID or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy will visit these projects to see whether we can establish programmes using best practice. As I say, perhaps such best practice programmes are transferable or useful in the context of what we are seeing in Myanmar and other countries.

Burma: Rohingya People

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Wednesday 11th October 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Baroness raises a pertinent point. It is regrettable that currently, as I am sure she and the House are aware, in Rakhine itself the authorities are not allowing humanitarian access, apart from the Red Cross. We have provided £1 million directly to that programme. But on Bangladesh specifically, she is right to raise the match funding that we declared on the £3 million. The noble Baroness may be aware, as I hope the House is, that we have also provided through DfID an additional £30 million in humanitarian assistance since the crisis started. That was announced in mid-September and is being spent directly on the issues that she raises, such as food and sanitation, currently for over 126,000 refugees.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, although the overwhelming majority of people have fled to Bangladesh, about 40,000 Rohingya have in fact fled to India. The Indian Government are now threatening to deport them back to Myanmar. Are we going to speak to our colleagues in India to outline their commitments under international law and the principle of non-refoulement, which means that they should not deport to a place where there is a risk of torture?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend raises an important point about the challenge and the burden that has fallen on neighbouring countries. We have talked about Bangladesh, and on the matter she raised, I can assure her that my right honourable friend Mark Field, during his visit to south-east Asia, also visited India and met with Foreign Minister MJ Akbar to discuss various issues, including the humanitarian situation and Burma itself.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Thursday 6th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

Indeed, my Lords. That is the reason the Commonwealth team is cross-departmental, which ensures that we can take all the issues into account.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend the Minister has outlined the design and creation of an appropriate programme. I declare an interest as the leader of a Commonwealth initiative on freedom of religion or belief. Will she consider meeting, as she has done in the past, parliamentarians and representatives from CPA UK, the Youth Parliament and the Commonwealth Youth Parliament so that everyone can play a part in designing the programme?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, recently I met a representative of the Youth Parliament and discussed issues around the summit. I assure my noble friend that the important point she has made will indeed be taken into consideration. I am already holding a series of meetings, as are members of the Commonwealth team now based in the Cabinet Office.

Commonwealth

Baroness Berridge Excerpts

Thursday 16th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I, too, join with noble friends to thank my noble friend Lady Anelay for this debate. The Commonwealth is a 21st century, ahead of the curve multilateral, as its modus operandi is network. Over the last few years, we have heard of networking lunches, networking the room and of course virtual networks, so I join my noble friends Lord Howell and Lord Goodlad in assessing this as part of the essential DNA of this organisation. Her Majesty’s Government recognised that in evidence to the House of Lords committee on soft power, saying:

“The UK lies at the centre of an increasingly networked world”.


The report stated in relation to the Commonwealth that,

“it operates extensively at the level of people, below the radar of governmental and official contacts. This is of rapidly increasing significance in a world of personal and informal networks, where millions of individuals, groups and organisations are in daily and intimate contact”.

Engaging with the Commonwealth Initiative for Freedom of Religion and Belief, which I work for, I have seen its flexibility. You can get to know who is interested in your issue among the secretariat, high commissions, parliamentarians and NGOs without all the formality and bureaucracy of the UN. We selected the Commonwealth not only because of its parliamentary democracies in countries that have either freedom of religion or belief successes or issues, but because it is a network. Both the current UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, and the former postholder are on our advisory board, so it is clear to them that the role of the Commonwealth in human rights is important.

The word “relationship” is important. Relationships are at their best when they are mutually self-sacrificing. There is much talk in the Commonwealth that the UK is back but that, “You forgot us while you are in the EU, but now you need us. You told us in 1973 that we were the past and the EEC was the future”. There is a fear among countries of being used by us to service our own economic needs again, which resonates badly bearing in mind the Commonwealth’s complex origins. The UK’s relationship should be about engagement to bring wealth and peace to all the nations of the Commonwealth, sometimes putting aside national self-interest for the benefit of all—a Commonwealth of equal partners who can put on the table as well as intra-Commonwealth trade, intra-Commonwealth migration. The question for Her Majesty’s Government is how to avoid Brexit alone framing this event. The involvement of British citizens of Commonwealth heritage is crucial to making this a Commonwealth event. This again is a network that can provide a solution.

Our migration has historically been and still is Commonwealth-focused. From census material from 1971 through to 2011, of the top five countries where people are born outside the UK, three out of five in each of those decades are Commonwealth nations: India—as my noble friend outlined—Jamaica, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria. According to the 2001 census, 88,378 Nigerian-born people were resident in the United Kingdom. By 2011, the census recorded 191,183—a similar figure to that of South Africans.

CHOGM will take place just over two months from the 70th anniversary of the arrival of MV “Windrush” at Tilbury, so involving the Commonwealth’s diaspora needs to be a priority and include careful planning and advice from our vast Commonwealth diaspora who can aid FCO staff. I know that the Minister has reached out to the Caribbean diaspora, but the Foreign Secretary needs to play a key role as he has existing relationships from his time as Mayor of London. As I asked earlier this week, do the Government have a strategic plan to engage this diaspora and involve it in CHOGM?

Although I am sure that the Lord-Lieutenant of London, Ken Olisa—the first black man of Commonwealth heritage to hold that title—will play a high-profile role, how will the Foreign and Commonwealth Office handle the visual of the diplomatic corps? From my research, there are 34 high commissioners and they are all white. I use the word “handle” carefully as our diplomats are clearly being trained in digital technology. That is a group photograph that we do not wish to see. The Foreign Secretary hosting key British citizens of Commonwealth heritage could also make a plea for applicants for the Civil Service fast-track scheme at the same time. This is not just about issues on the agenda, but about creating a Commonwealth event and getting the hospitality right. One has only to go into the Robing Room in this building to see that it is an important value that is alive and well among many of Commonwealth diaspora. I remain saddened that the BBC never realised that the top dish on the Parliamentary Estate menu is jerk chicken with rice and beans, which outstrips everything else by a country mile.

Keeping the Commonwealth institutions at the centre of this event is also vital, as they represent the 52, not just the UK. Although there will be 60 civil servants helping to organise the event, they should not replace the role of the Secretary-General and her secretariat. Distance and respect by Whitehall are vital. I am grateful for the Minister’s outline of her support for the Secretary-General and her reforms, but reforms take resources, so I would be grateful if there could be discussions to ensure that the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Scotland, has sufficient resources to bring about these reforms and that Her Majesty’s Government will seek to get other Governments to give her their similar wholehearted support at this crucial time.

Although trade will be a large part of the ongoing relationship with the Commonwealth, so is the connection through parliamentary democracy. The CPA has a vast network of relationships across the Commonwealth. How will Her Majesty’s Government ensure that the training of holding Governments to account, on which we spend so much UK taxpayers’ money, will be put into practice at CHOGM? Perhaps the six best-performing Commonwealth countries in terms of female political representation could be asked to lobby the Heads of Government for an initiative through the Commonwealth on this issue. Those six are all African nations. That is the kind of leadership of a new Commonwealth of equal partners that we need to see in action.

In the field of freedom of religion and belief, how much better if colleagues from South Africa, Ghana, Trinidad and the Pacific islands lead on this issue. I commend the efforts of South African parliamentarians attempting to form their own version of an all-party group on this issue in their Parliament. Will Her Majesty’s Government specifically resource parliamentarians to engage at CHOGM? I commend my noble friend’s comments that civil society is absolutely vital, but there is a youth forum, a people’s forum, a business forum and a women’s forum but no parliamentary forum alongside CHOGM. I join the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, in saying that we need to look at outdated laws. That includes laws on mental health issues, sedition laws and laws relating to religion. At the end of the day, the parliamentarians are the legislators.

The UK’s relationship with the Commonwealth network has a further unexplored potential. Her Majesty is the Head of State of 16 Commonwealth realms and the head of a religious organisation, the Church of England, but the UK remains religiously plural. Religion and state are connected but compliant with international human rights norms. The population of the Commonwealth is primarily Hindu, then Muslim and then Christian, and in many countries, if you want to make progress on human rights, on climate change and even on business, you need their religious leaders. I have visited Nigeria only once to speak briefly at an event called the Holy Ghost Congress of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Some 1 million people were physically present and it was shown on cable TV. The Vice-President of Nigeria is a former member of the denomination, so think of the influencers and decision-makers who were in that audience. How is the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting going to include this mass transnational network and seek to understand its influence?

The Commonwealth is uniquely placed as the world faces network challenges, as my colleague Professor Monica Toft outlined recently in the IPPR periodical, Juncture:

“Given the nature of religious beliefs that transcend national boundaries, it is not surprising that radicalism and its attendant violence has been promulgated through loose networks”.


As my right honourable friend Alistair Burt said to me only this morning, there will be no peace without religious tolerance.

Finally, who will the delegates meet at the forum running up to CHOGM—not only the Heads of Government but the speakers at forums, the conference organisers, hospitality staff and security? Last night I looked in detail at the Chevening Commonwealth and Marshall schemes, which are funded by £42 million of UK taxpayers’ money, but I could not find an equivalent scheme for further education or apprenticeships. Soft power exists beyond academic influence in the professions and government nowadays. UK taxpayers, the majority of whom do not have a degree, should surely see Commonwealth apprentices so that every nation state has young people not only studying at our universities and who can attend CHOGM, but also young people learning skills. I hope my research skills have failed me as otherwise the use of UK taxpayers’ money could be portrayed as elitist, as does any suggestion of Empire 2.0. I am sure this must have been a misreporting as that kind of language does not convey the notion of a Commonwealth of 52 and plays into the paradigm of elites running this country. The only way to avoid appearing to use, and in fact using, this network only for our own ends is to reach out to British citizens of Commonwealth heritage to reframe this event, as we risk running a UK’s Commonwealth meeting, not a Commonwealth meeting hosted in the UK.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Mobarik]

I can say only that this is outwith the scope of this debate. I am afraid that I am not able to give the noble Baroness any more than I have already. In response to the noble Lord, Lord Cashman, of course we will look very carefully at all the speeches and contributions made by noble Lords on the particular issue of LGBT human rights. We will remain in touch and I am sure that this will be an ongoing dialogue.

Once again, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions—

[Baroness Berridge]

I raised a specific point about Commonwealth apprenticeships. It is really important that we have this as government policy. If my noble friend could agree to investigate this and write to me, that would be very helpful.

[Baroness Mobarik]

Once again, I have it on good authority that we will look at all the points raised here today, in what was an opportunity for noble Lords to express their views. The whole debate was very wide-ranging and useful, and it will be ongoing ahead of the summit next year in 2018. But today’s debate was on the whole very positive in its content. It was constructive and I am very delighted that we have had it. We will look again at all noble Lords’ contributions, which have been extensive in their scope and depth and vision for the Commonwealth as a vehicle for peace and prosperity.