Commonwealth

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Thursday 16th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, for taking a lead and calling this very timely debate. Given the remarkable historic trade summit and Commonwealth week of celebration in the presence of Her Majesty, I was inspired by the contribution in the City of London by the honourable Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, and his far-sighted vision of a more united Commonwealth. As a daughter of the Commonwealth, I wish to focus my comments on the role of women in the Commonwealth.

Current leadership can easily give a false sense of comfort, with Her Majesty carrying the baton for equality, but there are only two women heads of government—in Britain and Bangladesh. But the speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament, Dr Shirin Chaudhury, is the chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and my noble and learned friend Lady Scotland is the Secretary-General. Her priority this year is to drive Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50:50 by 2030. The aim is to continue as pioneers towards gender equality and to achieve fully the economic and social inclusion of women and girls. I wish to take this opportunity to speak particularly about the importance of the political, social and economic inclusion of women at the heart of our trading and security relationship among the 52 Commonwealth countries, without which there cannot be lasting peace and prosperity in our world.

I am a member of the Africa Group in Parliament, and last year we concluded an inquiry. Among the many objectives was the role of aid in promoting human rights. The UK rightly takes pride in its aid policy and it is important leverage in our work alongside Commonwealth partners to pursue our common desire for social justice and equity, be it in peace or in times of conflict. My personal observation during that period was that while many Commonwealth leaders have unflinching loyalties, given the rising influence of a younger generation, a significant number of Ministers and leaders were mindful and stated in no uncertain terms in their evidence that aid cannot dictate the social justice policies of sovereign Governments and partner countries.

In this context, any reference to empire, old or new, raises legitimate questions about how CHOGM and other institutions surrounding the Commonwealth can benefit all the Commonwealth equally alongside British interests. The fact is that we have enjoyed an unfettered advantage. Many want to negotiate a new post-colonial relationship, and I am in total agreement with the contribution made by the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, whose comprehensive analysis looked at how we can achieve levels of parity and respect among nation states.

Our Commonwealth Charter declares that,

“gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential components of human development and basic human rights. The advancement of women’s rights and the education of girls are critical preconditions for effective and sustainable development”.

These values of human dignity and gender equality must be intrinsic and present in all our trade and security relationships as we continue to strengthen our ties. Of course, if women are absent in their thousands from executive governance and in Parliament, the consequence of limited progress towards gender equality in these areas at regional and national levels is inevitable.

Women’s political empowerment and equal access to leadership positions at all levels are fundamental to achieving sustainable economic participation and a fairer world. With restricted growth in women’s representation, the advancement of gender equality and the business of governance, peace and security are seriously threatened. Unsurprisingly, 2017 has seen a decline in women’s political participation in a number of countries. Only two nations of the Commonwealth have female heads of government. This surely indicates that change has to be embedded in every corner of society. Progress in the number of women Members of Parliament worldwide is also moving at a snail’s pace, albeit that the number of women Speakers of Parliament has seen a small increase. However, the number of Ministers remains unchanged. It is still far from gender parity and indicates that gender equality remains out of sight in structures of power and decision-making; economic power and high office remain the domain of men.

Without a fair and level playing field along with a concerted effort to protect and promote women’s rights and leadership, we will not see a social environment in which entrepreneurship and small businesses can thrive. If we do not regard women as critical factors in our economy, there will be no equality in the market or the boardroom and they will not have financial independence, which will render the very fabric of our institutions undemocratic. We leave aside at our peril the importance of women as consumers of trade and business and as soft power generators. While many of these changes must come from within national institutions and Governments, the international community—and Britain in particular—has an onerous responsibility to ensure that gender equity can forge ahead unconditionally. It has to be the highest priority on our agenda for economic ties.

There seems to be a distinct excitement about the post-Brexit relationship with the Commonwealth. Successive Governments have overlooked the significant prospects for Commonwealth nations. Notwithstanding our colonial past, the people of the Commonwealth continue to defer to the UK’s standing and political values, not to mention their adherence to the remnants of our own legal system and governance. Their systems are prevailingly based on our model, although a little cranky at the edges.

We also have a forceful diaspora here with a deep-rooted Commonwealth heritage who contribute immensely to the UK economy. We should utilise these people as our assets and ambassadors to strengthen our economic and institutional ties. Many second and third generation Asians and Africans who were born and brought up in the UK are trail-blazing in business in their parents’ birthplaces, seeking out emerging markets and opportunities as well as assisting in building community infrastructures such as schools, hospitals and charitable institutions. I have witnessed many such projects at first hand in Bangladesh and I know of many friends who are actively engaged in India, Pakistan and many parts of Africa. Of course this means that our Government will need to refresh our policies on migration as well as trading arrangements and I cannot but mention the need for a welcome mat for international students beyond China. As an officer of the APPG on International Students, I must reiterate our call for international students to be taken out of net migration figures. It should be noted that the message that students from many parts of the Commonwealth are not welcome has been too harsh for too long.

The irrepressible presence of the Bangladesh, Pakistan and India diaspora of nearly 2 million people with financial clout represents a massive potential link to developing export markets. China is already cultivating and strengthening its position in these regions where our standing, history and friendship are far more significant. The much-respected and praised noble Lord, Lord Marland, has already opened the door of possibilities by recently organising the first ever Commonwealth heads of trade meeting with a view to increasing co-operation and trade between Commonwealth Governments and leading businesses. I had the privilege of having a conversation with the noble Lord and I wish him well in all his endeavours.

Finally, the Commonwealth Secretariat, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Youth Council, the Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network, and Rotary clubs in Canada and the Caribbean, has launched the Commonwealth Women’s Mentorship Scheme. I hope that some of our UK business leaders will participate and mentor the new generation of business women from the Commonwealth.

I conclude with the following questions for the Minister. First, what will Her Majesty’s Government do to ensure that all future political, economic and trade discussions embed women’s leadership at their core, as well as a recognition of the right of women to contribute to their nation’s economic progress? Secondly, not just for the greater good of humanity but because of our historical contribution, what plans have been put in place by Her Majesty’s Government to bring about peace among the various countries within the Commonwealth where long-standing conflicts rage, afflicting countless generations and exposing young people to the threat of extremism? India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh are cases in point.

I will repeat my previous call made in this House about reparation and apologies for the hundreds of thousands of women of Bangladesh raped by the Pakistani army as a weapon of war. Will the Minister consider this proposition within the context of peace building? I accept that it demands courage and foresight, which she has in abundance.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to salute Her Majesty, the Prime Minister and the Secretary-General for their continuous leadership to usher in a more peaceful and prosperous Commonwealth and look forward to the 2018 meeting.

Sudan

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2017 Grand Committee

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Hussain for initiating this debate at a time when our own Government are rephrasing their relationship with Sudan. I express my gratitude to my noble friend Lord Ahmed for his remarkable and long-standing commitment to the people of Sudan and for introducing me to that beautiful country with immeasurable potential. We have a long history with the Sudanese people that they have not forgotten. During our visits, we met a number of women parliamentarians and, together with the noble Baroness, Lady Hussein-Ece, who is not able to take part today, through the wonderful team at IPU we were able to organise a successful visit of six powerful women parliamentarians to our Parliament. I do not need to labour the importance of such exchanges to noble Lords but both these visits provided a great insight into women’s presence in the political, business and education sectors. While we cannot overstate the impact of international sanctions as barriers to women’s equality and well-being, women across Sudan are successfully working within those constraints to advance women’s rights. The impressive work of the British Council should also be noted here.

On our last visit we were able to see staff and students at the University of Khartoum, meet families in Darfur itself, witness an architectural excavation in Jebel Marra and meet UNIMID peacekeepers. On neither of these visits did we witness an Islamic state; clearly the President of Sudan has failed for 20 years to Islamise the whole country. What I was not prepared for was the effect of the crippling sanctions on the Sudanese people themselves, with basic healthcare not available, from maternity provision and eye drops to diabetes drugs and asthma pumps. I visited a hospital unannounced, having chosen it out of three or four, and I was utterly shocked—I was almost in tears— at how empty the building was. It did not lack patients, thousands of whom lined its corridors, but the medicine cupboards in the treatment rooms were bare. I therefore welcome the latest pathways to lifting international sanctions. The people of Sudan deserve to be free of these constraints and suffering that are not their fault. After two decades, it is time.

Britain should take a lead in this new era of co-operation as China and Saudi Arabia are already present in the region with investment. Crucially, the increasing threat of terrorism in Africa and the Middle East, with the presence of Daesh, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram among others on Sudan’s border, have rendered compelling the need for international actors to encourage Sudan in its anti-extremism drive and its threat against its neighbours. Sudan is now at the forefront of countering irregular migration and human trafficking, and we can achieve peace and reconciliation and the protection of human rights only if we assist Sudan post-sanctions with the necessary skills and resources.

Given the current theatre of conflict and wars, which as we have witnessed have brought nothing but death, destruction and enmities, I no longer believe or accept that continually and complacently adding further to these conflicts does any justice to the people of Sudan or our own regional presence and interest. Sudan is an important strategic partner in fighting terrorism and radicalisation, and is managing significant numbers of incoming families from South Sudan, Libya and elsewhere. It does not call them refugees. Let us not be self-righteous about individual countries when we so often suffer from selective amnesia about the impact of our own history. Today we know what has happened to minorities in many Gulf and Middle East conflicts.

As negotiations progress, I wish to see us work with the Sudanese Government to ensure that they embody human rights and the rights of minorities at their core. We can do that only if we are at the forefront of the partnership to rebuild Sudan. We should do so alongside the impressive Sudanese diaspora, many of whom see this as a glimpse of hope. I am glad that through the APPG on Sudan we aim to continue to strengthen our ties with the many professionals who are willing to utilise their talents and skills for a safe and secure Sudan.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Thursday 17th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I, too, would like to thank to the noble Lord, Lord Luce, and I refer to the stated aims of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s commitment to,

“support member countries to prevent or resolve conflicts, strengthen democratic practices and the rule of law, and achieve greater respect for human rights”.

I was reminded in August as we passed the 182nd anniversary of the introduction of the Slavery Abolition Act that, just yards from this Chamber, in Victoria Tower Gardens on Millbank, sits the Buxton memorial fountain. This monument, built in 1866 and originally housed in Parliament Square, was created in commemoration of the abolition throughout the British Empire of the transatlantic slave trade and in recognition of the efforts of a significant group of parliamentarians and other prominent citizens who dedicated their lives to the cause. This subtle neo-Gothic construction is, sadly, among only a handful of monuments that recognise the pain, torture and suffering of an estimated 30 million black men, women and children whose forebears were kidnapped in chains from their homes on the coast of western Africa. They were destined for lives of servitude, brutality and enslavement or were often thrown overboard en masse en route to the slave markets in Europe and the Americas in order to achieve greater profitability from insurance claims.

The African slave trade was introduced to Britain by Drake and Hawkins in 1567 and was to continue for the next 300 years. This trade in human misery was to bring, shamefully, untold wealth and prosperity to our lands. The Royal African Company is noteworthy: its principal business was in African slavery and many of its shareholders sat in this House and the other place.

Is it not a tragedy that, to this day, we have not made any attempt to properly recognise the real victims of the slave trade? Is it not a stain on our history and the history of the Commonwealth that, to date, not a single penny of compensation has been paid to restore some of the injustices committed to the real victims of what must be defined as one of the greatest crimes against humanity and what many refer to as the “Holocaust of Empire”? I should like to place on record there has been an abject failure of creating any monument to recognise the role played by those who were themselves enslaved in undermining and challenging the brutal system that cruelly punished them for several hundred years.

The other point I wish to draw to the House’s attention is the imperative of the Commonwealth’s role in peacebuilding and, in this context, I draw attention to the war of independence between Pakistan and Bangladesh. It ended 44 years ago yesterday, but protracted tensions remain. Since 2010, I have spoken in this House of the more than 300,000 women raped as a weapon of war by the Pakistani army. Nothing can compensate for the violent deaths of loved ones, torture, slavery and rape, but reparation and uncompromising apologies might begin the process of acknowledgment of the wrong done, and even assist in the healing process for the nation and its people.

We have a strong first woman in our new Secretary-General, my noble and learned friend Lady Scotland, who will take charge of the Commonwealth. I wholeheartedly salute her. She has campaigned robustly on justice and peace, and I hope very much that she will make time to integrate reparation and apology in her priorities for the greater peace among Commonwealth members.