Commonwealth Day 2004
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S2M-913, in the name of Sylvia Jackson, on Commonwealth day 2004. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
That the Parliament recognises the valuable role of the Commonwealth in strengthening relationships between nations across the world; welcomes the continued contribution of Scotland and its people to those relationships; reaffirms its support for the work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and commends the theme of Commonwealth Day this year, "Building a Commonwealth of Freedom", that raises important issues of governance, democracy, human rights, citizenship, building communities and development that are relevant to all peoples of the Commonwealth.
I welcome to the gallery Don McKinnon, who is the secretary-general of the Commonwealth, and the high commissioners. We are having a reception later so we look forward to meeting them all then.
I am pleased to be having this debate today. My colleagues in the Scottish Commonwealth Parliamentary Association will be speaking about different aspects of the work of the Commonwealth and of the association. As everyone knows, Monday 8 March was Commonwealth day. This year's theme was "Building a Commonwealth of Freedom". The theme reflects the Commonwealth's commitment to democratic freedom as expressed by Commonwealth heads of Government at their summit in Coolum, Australia, in March 2002. They spoke of the need for the organisation to be
"an effective defender of democratic freedoms."
It also reflects the Commonwealth's commitment to freedom of expression, the rule of law and robust civil societies.
The Commonwealth works to promote many kinds of freedom. First is the freedom to express oneself. Individuals have the right to say what they think and to do what they believe in, as long as they respect the rights of other people.
Second is the freedom to develop. Sustainable economic development and the freedom to trade enable individuals to earn a living and to take care of their families. Third is the freedom to participate.
There is also the freedom to learn. As a former teacher and teacher trainer, I know that being able to attend school is important, because it gives young people the opportunity to develop the skills that they need to lead fulfilling lives.
Does the member accept that it is particularly important for girls to have access to education, given the shocking number of girls and young women who still do not have it?
I thank Rhona Brankin for making that important point. Not many weeks ago we had a debate about science education and the need to increase the number of girls who study physics and engineering. The point is well made, and there is a much broader point.
There are two final points to make in relation to freedom. There is the freedom to aspire, which covers the importance of equal opportunities, and the freedom to choose. People have to have the right to elect their leaders, vote for justice and say no to crime and corruption. All those are laudable aims.
Commonwealth day is an annual event during which all 53 member countries celebrate their links with each other. There have been events up and down the United Kingdom and worldwide. The centre of the activity has been the UK, and the largest event was held at Westminster.
I would like to speak about the Commonwealth's general background. Some 53 countries throughout the world are involved in the Commonwealth. People may not be aware that its total population is 1.7 billion, or 30 per cent of the world's population.
Commonwealth countries share certain common threads, such as a common working language and similar systems of law, public administration and education. Over the years, the Commonwealth has built on its shared history to become a vibrant and growing association of states in tune with the modern world.
When we examine Scottish links with and influence on the Commonwealth, it is clear not only that ties have been strong in the past, but that they continue to thrive. We hope that the work of the Scottish CPA is a real force for good in that regard.
We are aware of Scotland's connections with Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Scottish CPA feels that it can do more to strengthen links with Africa. We all know about David Livingstone and the Scottish missionaries who brought education, health and Christianity to Africa. There has been a Scottish influence in many African communities. Medical clinics and churches are often built next to each other to show that foundation.
I know from my constituency that there are close Scottish links with the St Andrew's Clinics for Children. Having spoken to constituents who are involved, I know that there are Scottish links with clinics in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Uganda and Zanzibar in Tanzania. The support that is given by the clinics is basic, but it is effective. They plan to provide 1,000 Nigerian children with insecticide-treated bed nets, for example. One might think that that is a basic provision, but it will do a great deal of good in that area.
I gather that Dr Lorenzo Savioli, who works with the World Health Organisation in Geneva, gave a Land Rover and a trailer to a project in Zanzibar. That may appear like a small gesture, but it was a most generous act that meant that mobile clinics could be held in remote parts of the island of Pemba, two days a week, from January 2004. Such small initiatives are helpful.
The CPA, which was founded in 1911, is a unique forum. It involves 14,000 parliamentarians from all parts of the Commonwealth and has become highly respected. Its Scottish branch was established in May 2000, after the first election of the regenerated Scottish Parliament. The presidents of three Commonwealth countries, including Jerry Rawlings from Ghana, came here during the first session of the Parliament. Some 162 inward visits and 26 Commonwealth visits have taken place since May 2000, including five visits by speakers from other Commonwealth legislatures. The Scottish branch has strong links with Canadian provincial legislatures. It has visited New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
As I said earlier, the Scottish branch of the CPA is looking elsewhere to raise awareness more generally and to encourage people to re-engage with the Commonwealth, particularly with Africa. It has contacted the centre of African studies in Edinburgh, the Royal Over-Seas League and the Council for World Mission, which have provided invaluable information and advice on a variety of issues, including Scottish education and health projects.
I hope that our guests in the gallery have had an enjoyable time in Scotland and have enjoyed their visit to the Scottish Parliament. I hope that strong links continue to exist between the Scottish CPA and our visitors.
I congratulate my colleague on the CPA executive, Dr Jackson, for initiating this important annual debate. I join her in welcoming the secretary-general of the Commonwealth, the high commissioners, the deputy high commissioners and the students from various Commonwealth countries who are studying in Scotland.
In a recent speech, the secretary-general of the Commonwealth quoted one of his predecessors—the first secretary-general, Arnold Smith. He talked about two of the greatest dangers that faced the world 30 years ago: the development of what Mr Smith called neo-isolationism, degenerating into mere regional thinking—becoming inward looking and thinking only in European terms; and the danger of the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Thirty years later, those problems and dangers remain. Indeed, they have got worse.
There are immense problems in sub-Saharan Africa, where 16—nearly a third—of the Commonwealth countries are situated. It is the only region to have grown poorer in the past 25 years; its share of world trade has halved during that period; it receives less than 1 per cent of direct foreign investment; an estimated 44 million children do not go to school there; and it contains 10 per cent of the world's population, but 70 per cent of people inflicted with HIV/AIDS, which is nearly 29.4 million people according to a recent estimate. In our own Prime Minister's words:
"Africa is the scar on the conscience of the world."
I welcome the Prime Minister's announcement of his international commission for Africa along the lines of the Brandt commission, which is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the policies towards Africa—of what has worked and of what has not worked. The commission is due to report next spring, which will coincide with the UK's presidency of the G8 and will be just before our presidency of the European Union. The commission for Africa will consult widely, and I hope that this Parliament's proposed CPA delegation to Africa in the summer will submit a report to the commission.
I strongly support, and warmly welcome, the Chancellor of the Exchequer's proposal for an international finance facility to provide long-term guaranteed funding to the poorest countries by the richest countries. It is a bold initiative, which seeks to raise the amount of development aid from just over £50 billion a year today to £100 billion a year in the years leading up to 2015. That would help us to meet our internationally agreed millennium goals; it would ensure that every child had primary schooling; it would radically reduce infant and maternal mortality; it would effectively tackle HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and hepatitis in the developing world; it would halve world poverty; and it would halve the number of people who do not have access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The proposal is bold and visionary, and it deserves the support of all political parties in this country. In effect, it is a Marshall plan for the developing world.
In the recent speech, to which I have referred, the Commonwealth secretary-general emphasised the importance of fair trade and economic development. Although many poor countries have removed their trade barriers, many developed countries have failed to reciprocate. The World Bank has estimated that, were we to do so—and I hope that we will when the Doha round restarts—by opening up our rich countries' markets to poor nations, we could lift up to 144 million people out of poverty by 2015.
We in Scotland can play our part and do our bit to help, and I will give just two examples. There is a partnership between Lothian NHS Board and Zambia. The board shares expertise on the delivery of antiretroviral therapy and is helping to train health professionals. It shares methods to encourage testing and to deal with the stigma and discrimination around HIV/AIDS. Fife Council allowed the headmaster of Pitteuchar East Primary School, Ian Macaulay, a year off to work in Malawi, a country that is afflicted terribly by AIDS, where teachers are being lost as fast as they are being recruited—7,000 of them are currently HIV positive—and the classes contain over 300 pupils. Those are the kinds of initiative that the Scottish Executive needs to encourage.
In the oft quoted words of John Donne,
"No man is an Island … every man is … a part of the main".
That has never been more true than in this year of globalisation. We all live in one world, in one community and in one family. The problems of one member are the problems of us all. In helping to resolve those problems, Scotland has an important role to play.
I support what my parliamentary colleagues have just said and I commend to the Scottish Parliament the theme of this year's Commonwealth day: building a Commonwealth of freedom.
The Scottish branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association was established in May 2000. As Sylvia Jackson said, it has organised a great many inward Commonwealth visits and has hosted the British islands and Mediterranean regional conference. The 19th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association seminar will be hosted in Scotland in 2007, which is very exciting for the profile and standing of the Scottish branch of the association and for Scotland as a whole.
As Sylvia Jackson said, Commonwealth day is celebrated each year by all 53 of the developed and developing nations, which comprise a staggering 1.7 billion people of different nationalities, religions and cultures. The theme—building a Commonwealth of freedom—is one that the Scottish Parliament should commend, support and endorse. John Stuart Mill said:
"If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
President Roosevelt summed up the theme of freedom in his speech about the four great freedoms: freedom of worship, freedom of expression, freedom from fear of armed aggression and freedom from want. Perhaps the most important of those freedoms is freedom from want, particularly in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia and India. I stress that that freedom is important to us all. Should we not all be allowed to live in a house with a roof and to have clean water to drink, food to eat and education for our children? The Commonwealth family believes that we should, which is why educational scholarships, basic literacy training, AIDS and HIV education and awareness, immunisation programmes, health aid and many other initiatives are and should be in place.
Scotland has a considerable number of Britain's most highly qualified and trained individuals and it is incumbent on us to share, contribute and exchange our valuable knowledge, resources and practices to benefit others. We should continue to build on our good international relations through the Scottish branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, with other Parliaments and at a technical level, and we should continue to encourage maximum participation and contact between the Scottish Parliament and important Commonwealth establishments.
I repeat what Sylvia Jackson said—we are extremely glad that the Commonwealth high commissioners and consuls general, as well as Commonwealth students who are studying at our universities and academics and business people who have links to the Commonwealth, are with us tonight. I pay tribute to the excellent work of Don McKinnon. He has made a substantial and lasting contribution, of which we are proud. We are delighted that he is with us tonight. [Applause.]
In the debate two years ago, I said that the Commonwealth brings a touch of healing to a troubled world. Scots have shown a commitment to improving the lot of mankind throughout the Commonwealth, through medicine, education, engineering, construction, science and administration. That is a record of which we in the Scottish Parliament can be justly proud.
We are right to support and be part of such a valuable global organisation, which has the power and the vision to help others. We should be proud of our country's commitment to the Commonwealth and we should continue our hard work in the knowledge that we have made a difference and will continue to make the world a better place for all people.
Like others, I congratulate Sylvia Jackson on securing the debate and I welcome our distinguished guests in the galleries.
Much of what I was going to say has been touched on by my colleagues on the executive committee of the Scottish branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, but I want to mention, from a personal point of view, one or two issues that confront us.
Although saying that the world is a small place trips off the tongue, the sentiment applies particularly to the Commonwealth, because, despite all the geographical differences, it is easy to make and retain contact with the countries that make up this family of nations.
I remember that my brother and I had a stamp collection when we were children. We used to go through strange stamps that were bought in obscure ways or were sent to us—I am not sure how it all happened. My parents always insisted that we had an atlas so that we could look up countries to see where the stamps came from. The stamps often came from faraway places with strange-sounding names, although I assure the minister that I will not burst into song.
Many of the countries were originally part of the empire but they joined the Commonwealth and gained their independence. They are sovereign nations within the community of nations and they are proud of that. I confess that there is a wee bit of envy in me that so many others have managed to gain independence while Scotland seems to have found doing that more than a little bit difficult. I remember that, in the 1970s, Tuvalu, a place that I had not heard of, was given its independence in a two-page bill—Princess Margaret was sent out for the flag-lowering ceremony—while we struggled with the lengthy, complex details of a minor Scottish Assembly bill. The interesting fact is that all those nations have remained in the Commonwealth, because they do not want to sever ties with it.
When we have held similar debates over the past few years—particularly last year—the cloud of Zimbabwe has hung over us. That cloud has not gone away. Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth. There is no easy solution to the complex problem in Zimbabwe, which I find distressing, having visited the country and having happy memories of meeting people there. When I hear other politicians talking about regime change, I often think of Zimbabwe. Perhaps the Parliament should address that issue.
The executive of the Scottish branch of the CPA agrees that the African countries should be our priority this year. That is not to ignore our other partners, who are immensely valued, but we regarded our priorities as lying in Africa. I hope that all members of the Parliament agree that that is where the priorities should lie.
I am fascinated that Lesotho has emerged on the pages of our newspapers. I have visited that little country, but I suspect that few people who were shown a map of Africa would be able to point it out. The fact that Prince Harry is there has given it a bit of publicity. I am sure that the Scottish Parliament's "University Challenge" team would have been able to find Lesotho on a map if that was a starter for 10.
We must think about such areas. Quite rightly, as locally elected MSPs, we talk about the impact of the shortcomings of public services on the daily lives of our constituents but, given the lack of services in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa, which face drought, famine, HIV/AIDS and civil war, we are truly blessed compared to the people who live in those areas. We should count our blessings. The shortest sentence in the Bible is, "Jesus wept." Quite honestly, we, too, should weep for some of the difficulties that the people in those areas face.
The theme is freedom, but freedom requires a level of socioeconomic standards and the achievement of goals. My ambition is to see the provision of clean, available drinking water for everyone, which could do more to save lives than anything else. Is it not a bit hypocritical that we are arguing about Coca-Cola selling processed tap water as pure water while people in Africa do not even have a tap?
I am delighted that we are having this debate. The first line of Sylvia Jackson's motion states that we recognise
"the valuable role of the Commonwealth".
I think that everyone present recognises that. There are few people who do not. I recognise it so much that, even when Scotland is independent, I will be pushing for it to remain part of the Commonwealth.
Sylvia Jackson mentioned the number of countries that are part of that great organisation, which comprises 1.7 billion people. A heck of a lot of people around the world are part of the Commonwealth.
The Harare declaration of 1991 called for the promotion of democracy and good governance, human rights, the rule of law, and sustainable economic and social development. Commonwealth members from the developed world should look to those great goals and help the underdeveloped world to attain them. The Singapore declaration of 1971 set out the principle of international co-operation to promote peace and tolerance and to combat injustice, but here we are 30-odd years later and we are still having to aspire to adhere to that principle.
Co-operation sounds wonderful—it is how the Commonwealth should be run—but we have to examine the problems with member states over the past few years. Thankfully, Fiji has been reinstated as a full member, but Pakistan is still suspended. Moreover, after we suspended Zimbabwe, Mr Mugabe took it out of the Commonwealth. Although we have a spirit of co-operation, that does not mean that the basic principles that were set out Singapore in 1971 and reaffirmed in Harare in 1991 should be ignored. Nobody should be able usurp those principles. I have particular respect for Mr McKinnon for taking those principles seriously while trying to deal with, for example, the situation in Zimbabwe. He took a pragmatic view of the situation and tried hard to improve matters. Sadly, however, that did not work.
Margaret Ewing and Keith Raffan spoke about Africa. We are all aware of the awful problems there. Margaret Ewing summed them up well by saying that some people cannot even get a decent drink of water.
Another area of the Commonwealth for which I have particular love and affection is the southern Pacific. I hope to visit many of the islands this summer—I might even end up in New Zealand. I mentioned Fiji, but there is also Kiribati, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and all those places that were once very young members of the Commonwealth and are now very old members of it. Before I say how wonderful they are, I should add that I am a trustee of a charity called Just World Partners, which is registered in Scotland and does sterling work in the southern Pacific islands. The head office is just down the road, in Dalkeith. It is currently working in Fiji on environmental conservation of the coral reefs. We also have projects in Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.
Work is still going on even in areas that we do not hear much about nowadays and member states still co-operate to ensure that we can do everything that we can for all of those members that are not as fortunate as some of us are.
Keith Raffan mentioned the millennium development goals. One of the best things that the Parliament could lobby the United Kingdom Parliament about is to try hard to reach some of those goals. We should start by matching the United Nations' recommendations for development aid and meeting the target relating to 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product, and we should do so immediately.
I, too, welcome the debate and congratulate Sylvia Jackson on securing it.
The Scottish Parliament is only five years old and is a relatively new Parliament in world terms. As a result, we can learn much from other countries. I hope that, because we are a new Parliament, there are also things that we can share with other countries.
We live in world of many circles, of which the Commonwealth is one. It is important that the Parliament plays a full role in circles such as the Commonwealth in order to make a contribution to the wider world. Of course, I wish that Scotland was an independent member of the Commonwealth. We are not at the moment—that is a few years down the line—but powers have been devolved, so we have the opportunity to make a contribution.
I remember when I represented the Parliament at the Commonwealth conference, at which there were 500 parliamentarians from 50-odd countries. We met in Australia in 2001. I was there as part of the Scottish delegation with Cathy Jamieson, the Labour MSP who has since gone on to higher things. We sat at the conference as the duo from Scotland; we had a saltire in front of us, which was the first time that that had happened. For a week or so, we were able to pretend that Scotland was there as independent country. We were able to make a contribution. There was a huge, warm welcome from the other countries for Scotland's presence.
The member suggests learning from other Commonwealth members. Will he join me in paying tribute to and expressing gratitude to those many citizens of Commonwealth states who have played a part in the academic, social and economic life of this country? Does he agree that we have learned from them and from the contributions that they have made?
I am happy to agree with the member. She makes an important point. However, it is also important to say that Scotland's contribution to many Commonwealth countries down the centuries has sometimes not been positive. We in Scotland, and people throughout the UK, should remind ourselves that we have a debt to repay to many of those countries. We should keep that at the forefront of our minds.
The Commonwealth can play a key role in two specific areas. First, it can play a role in partnership and co-operation with Parliaments in order to improve their accessibility to their electorates. It can also use information technology to improve democracy and, of course, ensure that all the Parliaments learn from one another in scrutinising their respective Governments.
The second area that is extremely important is that of discussions around issues of international development. At the conference in 2001, the biggest and most important issue, which all the delegates wanted to talk about, was international development and the impact on their countries of globalisation.
Commonwealth day was 8 March. Just two weeks before that, the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation presented to the International Labour Organisation an important report entitled, "A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All". The report states:
"There are deep-seated and persistent imbalances in the current workings of the global economy, which are ethically unacceptable and politically unsustainable."
The report goes on to draw conclusions from its analysis, two or three of which are devastating. It found that the income gap between the richest and poorest countries was widening significantly. In 1960-62, the average annual income was $212 for the poorest countries in the world and $11,417 for the richest. By 2000-2002, the figures had risen to $267 for the poorest countries and $32,339 for the richest.
The report goes on to talk about
"a world in which 22 industrialized countries representing only 14 per cent of the world's population dominate about half the world's trade and more than half of its foreign direct investment."
It also states:
"Net overseas development assistance (ODA) flows have been decreasing and are far below the long-standing target of 0.7 per cent of GDP".
The report is important, because it calls for a reform of world governance, which is what Commonwealth countries are looking for. I hope that, despite the fact that Scotland is a small country, we can contribute to the call for the reform of international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. I hope that when members of Commonwealth Parliaments get together, we can reach conclusions on those issues so that members can go back to their respective Parliaments and try to get their Governments to sign up to the changes. We have to get results from the Commonwealth, especially given that the Scottish Parliament is sending its representatives overseas. I hope that the Scottish Executive representative who is about to speak will indicate the Executive's support for reforming governance globally so that we can improve the quality of life not only here in Scotland but particularly for the rest of the members of the Commonwealth who desperately need to improve their standard of living.
It is a delight to speak in a debate in which so many members have spoken with eloquence, care and passion about not only the Commonwealth but the world around us. Across the parties is a deep longing for a better world, which has been reflected in so much of what we have heard this evening. I join other colleagues in thanking Sylvia Jackson for introducing the subject for debate and I share her sentiments in welcoming the Commonwealth secretary-general and the high commissioners who are present with us this evening and who will be present later on as well, courtesy of our Presiding Officer.
This is a useful occasion on which to consider the arguments surrounding the work of the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Scottish branch of which is here in Edinburgh. I had the pleasure of going on a CPA visit to Quebec a couple of years ago with Rhona Brankin, John Young and Mike Russell—Mike and John no longer grace this Parliament, but Rhona still does. The visit was a special occasion and was about learning not only from Quebec but from all the Canadian provinces about their ways of doing things, their governance and their style of relationships. That answers Richard Lochhead's last point to some extent, because just as he and Cathy Jamieson were in Australia a couple of years ago—I rather suspect that Cathy might have a slightly different perspective on that visit compared to Richard Lochhead's—it is important that our parliamentarians take opportunities to learn from colleagues throughout the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth is a symbol of positive, constructive and peaceful international interaction. It is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, international peace, the rule of law and equal rights for all. This nation's contribution to the Commonwealth in the past in building communities and in development is undeniable. Scotland is a land of pioneers; history records the role of Scottish explorers, engineers, doctors and missionaries in the countries of the Commonwealth. Sir David Steel gave me a particularly good example of that missionary work yesterday. He argued that the Scottish influence on the Commonwealth is that there was no conscious separation of the spiritual from the temporal in its development.
Sir David also recalled this splendid tale. In the then Rhodesia, the development of a strong Christian consciousness of the worth and dignity of the individual was fostered by the spread of education. Amid some tension at a school, a list of grievances was presented to the principal by one of the senior boys. He paused at the end of his speech, bowed and concluded by saying to the principal:
"Sir, we thought it right and proper that this matter should be brought before you in this fashion, so that government of the students, by the students and for the students shall not perish from this mission station."
In passing, I take Mrs Ewing's point about modern-day Zimbabwe, as we all do.
Scotland has many growing links and contacts with countries in the Commonwealth. Last year, Scotland hosted the 15th conference of Commonwealth education ministers—as my colleague Peter Peacock, the Minister for Education and Young People, pointed out to me a moment or so ago. I understand that Don McKinnon was present at the conference, which had the largest turnout of any such conference to date and was recorded by all as a considerable success.
Scotland also held the first ever education youth summit of the Commonwealth. Young people from every country, overseas territory and Crown dependency in the Commonwealth participated in discussions on subjects that covered a substantial agenda for the future. Their conclusions and recommendations were part of the final Edinburgh communiqué. In that way, their impact on education across the Commonwealth will be both valuable and far reaching.
Learning and the pursuit of knowledge—issues that Sylvia Jackson very properly raised—are Scottish traits and are a Scottish theme in the development of the Commonwealth that continues to this day. For the past two years, Kelvin School in Glasgow has enjoyed links with a school in Nigeria that teaches deaf-blind children. Kelvin School has been involved in sending Braille material and equipment to Nigeria. Earlier this year, two teachers from Nigeria visited Kelvin School as part of exchange programmes.
Recently there was a study visit to Nova Scotia involving teachers from throughout Scotland. The visit was based on the cultural and heritage links between the two areas, including Gaelic language teaching. Anderson High School in my constituency is part of the global classroom project and has links with two South African schools. One, Langa High School, is in the heart of Cape Town's oldest township community. The other is the South Peninsula High School. Anderson High School students were at Langa High School in February—just a month or so ago. At the first conference, a Langa student said:
"We live daily with the consequences of a past your country left us with."
A Shetland student responded:
"We have to understand each other and this certainly is helping us to do that."
Anderson High School is an island school with an international outlook. That is an objective that all our schools should aspire to meet.
Scottish universities are reaching out to provide the high-quality education that they can offer to students around the world. The University of Dundee's faculty of education and social work and the Department of Education are building capacity at the Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning. The team is training staff to deliver distance learning to rural Botswana from six outreach centres and is delivering staff development to strengthen basic education and training in Botswana.
The issue of the role of the Scottish Executive has been raised. Government can play a more direct role. Following a proposal made by the Lord Advocate at last April's Commonwealth law ministers conference, the Scottish Executive is offering a series of placement opportunities for lawyers from other Commonwealth countries in the office of the Scottish parliamentary counsel. The trawl, which was co-ordinated by the Commonwealth Secretariat, resulted in a positive response from the countries concerned. A senior state attorney from the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in Uganda will take up the first placement in September this year. As a global citizen, Scotland has a role in ensuring that the knowledge that we are privileged to have is transferred as widely as possible. Teaching is fundamental to ensuring that that knowledge transfer takes place.
In closing this important debate for our young, evolving, new Parliament and in illustrating how important Commonwealth Day is, I can do no better than to quote Jordan Smith, a young, visually impaired lad from Anderson High School in my constituency. When visiting Cape Town High School earlier this year, he said:
"I'm never going to see the world … but I want to know as much about it as I can."
Meeting closed at 17:54.