Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government will put equalities issues on the agenda for the 2018 Commonwealth Summit; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Government believes that the Commonwealth is an enormous force for good around the world, through its promotion of freedom, democracy, human rights, development and prosperity.
The Commonwealth Summit, which the UK will host in April 2018, will encourage all Commonwealth members to uphold the Charter's commitment to oppose all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political, religious or other beliefs.
While it is too early to set out the specific agenda, a key goal of the Summit will be to reinforce the Commonwealth's commitment to the rules-based international system based on members' shared values of democracy, good governance, equality and the rule of law.