During the Queen’s Speech debate today in the House of Lords, APPG Treasurer Lord Collins of Highbury questioned the Government on their human rights commitments and work on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and particularly LGBT+ rights, calling for a greater effort to ensure the decriminalisation of homosexuality across the Commonwealth.
If, as the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, argued yesterday, the UK’s foreign policy is to be used to promote our values and not only our commercial interests, then I would have expected a greater focus on human rights and a review of the Government’s regime for arms exports.
He added that there should be more consistency between the FCO and the DIT with regards to human rights positions:
As the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, said yesterday, we have an FCO condemning human rights abuses and a Department for International Trade supporting closer relationships—constant mixed messages.
In terms of the UK’s role as Commonwealth chair-in-office, he said that:
Many noble Lords mentioned the role of the Commonwealth, and I certainly recognise its importance. It is a family of nations that, through its charter, provides the means to promote the values of democracy, transparency, the rule of law and human rights. The Minister the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, referred to our role as chair-in-office, but where are we on the commitments we made at the end of CHOGM? Despite some progress, we still have Commonwealth countries where LGBT people face not only discrimination and anti-gay laws but increased violence. I hope that, in the Minister’s response, we can have greater detail as to how we are supporting efforts to ensure the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Lord Collins also raised the Government’s approach to the SDGs. Many have argued that the SDGs can also be a powerful tool for LGBT+ inclusion.
If the Government were serious about Britain’s part in creating a just, safe, secure and sustainable planet, free from the fear of hunger and poverty, then I would have expected a clear focus in the gracious Speech on the United Nations 2030 agenda, building a unified approach to deliver the sustainable development goals and to ensure that we leave nobody behind. The Government could have used the gracious Speech to signal a new approach to the SDGs by creating a new policy unit in No. 10 dedicated to them, with a Cabinet Minister responsible for co-ordinating across Whitehall.
The full transcript can be found here.
The full video is here.