Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Official Report 933KB pdf

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Commonwealth Day 2022

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-03278, in the name of Sarah Boyack, on Commonwealth day 2022, which was on 14 March. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament celebrates Commonwealth Day 2022 on 14 March 2022, which has the theme, Delivering a Common Future, and aims to highlight how the member countries in the Commonwealth family are “innovating, connecting and transforming” to help achieve goals such as tackling climate change, promoting good governance and boosting trade; recognises the work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association over the last 12 months, mainly through virtual meetings, in discussing a range of issues, including the response to COVID-19, encouraging greater diversity in parliaments and the climate emergency; considers that these will be key themes across 2022, as will the work of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians and the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities networks, and believes that the Scottish Parliament, in its relations with Commonwealth legislatures this session, will continue to share ideas, thoughts, experiences and best practice on how to make parliaments work effectively in holding governments to account on behalf of the people that they serve.

17:21  

I thank colleagues across the chamber for supporting the motion, which celebrates Commonwealth day.

In recent weeks, our press and media have highlighted the Commonwealth’s history and Britain’s colonial past. However, it is important that we do not let our Commonwealth of nations be defined by history; we should also celebrate the relationships and friendships between countries, which are demonstrated by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and think about how we shape our future. The CPA brings together countries across the world to work together.

This year’s Commonwealth day theme was “Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming.” As the Queen said earlier this month in her Commonwealth day address, we should support one another and

“endeavour to ensure the Commonwealth remains an influential force for good in our world for many generations to come.”

The CPA is a fascinating collaboration. It represents 53 sovereign countries and 17,000 elected representatives, and there are more than 180 branches across the CPA. That is a quite a thought. There is a huge opportunity for the Commonwealth countries to come together and work together across the nine different regions—Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic region, the India region, the Pacific region, the south-east Asia region, and our own British islands and Mediterranean region. There are different experiences and geographical connections, and there is a real challenge for all of us in how we act as parliamentarians and elected representatives to deliver for our constituents every day of the week; how we promote engagement; how we involve people in our democratic structures to change people’s lives for the better; how we tackle the inequalities that exist across our world; and how we work together to tackle the global challenges that our world currently faces.

In the past two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a huge shock to our global economy, and it has changed the world as we know it. It has also exposed the inequalities between the well-developed nations and the global south in terms of vaccine distribution and the impact of Covid on people’s health.

We know that we face a climate and nature emergency. Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported before the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—on the critical need to avoid exceeding the 1.5°C temperature rise and, last month, of course, there was the Russian invasion of Ukraine. How we work in our own geographic areas and how we work together to tackle those unprecedented global challenges is absolutely critical.

We need to work together on long-standing challenges. The International Labour Organization has estimated that more than 40 million people worldwide—40 per cent of whom live in the Commonwealth—are victims of modern slavery. I was shocked to find that statistic. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative is promoting action, because one in every 150 people in the Commonwealth lives in modern slavery. That cannot be acceptable. There is work that we need to do together.

At the Commonwealth heads of Government meeting in the UK in 2018, every country committed to achieving the UN sustainable development goal of eradicating forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking by 2030. There are issues that we maybe do not regularly discuss in our Parliament but which affect Commonwealth citizens who are part of our CPA network. There is work to do in the UK to honour its commitment to end modern slavery. It must work with other nations, using its global influence, to transform people’s lives. I think that we can all agree on that.

Last week, it was a huge honour to be a member of the delegation from the Scottish branch of the CPA, along with my colleagues, that attended the 51st British islands and Mediterranean region regional conference on the Isle of Man. The theme was how we can improve scrutiny in our legislatures, and there were sessions on finance, diversity in our legislatures, and how we can make our legislatures the effective democracies that our citizens and our constituents need, in which we can exchange best practice and innovation and work together, rather than things to be taken for granted. There were some fantastic discussions, and we all agreed that we need to think about how we feed back to colleagues, because not everybody is at those events. We agreed that we need to think about how we feed back to ministers and members of Parliament and about how we work together.

Elena Whitham and I were at a women’s branch meeting. She beamed in; I was privileged to be there in person. We discussed what more we need to do to ensure that delegations are gender balanced, for example. Even having women’s representation is not something that we take for granted. Much more work needs to be done.

We were able to report on the work that we are going to do in the Scottish Parliament to look at women’s involvement in the Parliament and to tackle gender inequalities. Even though we have our highest-ever level of representation, there is still much more that we need to do. We can also share knowledge and best practice with other legislatures, and learn about work that has been done elsewhere.

Climate change came up at the conference. I was privileged to chair an event, and that was really impactful for me because, in October, I was involved in an all-female panel of parliamentarians, with representatives from Bangladesh, Australia, Canada and Scotland, that looked at how we tackle climate change, whatever legislature we represent. We thought about the multilevel, multistakeholder and collaborative nature of how we need to tackle climate change. That is very much at the heart of the Commonwealth and the issue of loss and damage. Climate finance came up at COP26. Last week, it was really good to discuss what different countries and branches are doing in a practical sense.

If we think about the British, Irish and Mediterranean regions, we realise that there are a lot of seas and buildings and there is a lot of land out there. We got into a really practical discussion about our ambitions, what the challenges are, how we can share best practice, and the research. We have a lot of research in Scotland in particular. Work is being done in our island areas, and there are lessons that we could share with others. There are discussions about grid network challenges. A lot of the discussion was about things that we are working on here, as well.

It was really good to share those issues. Every one of us said that our legislature on its own will not solve the climate crisis. We all know that, and we all need to take a collective share in tackling the challenges that a lot of Commonwealth countries already face in respect of increased temperatures, sea level rises, storm surges, droughts and floods. We need to ensure that we use our expertise and knowledge to work with others.

That was a great session. It was about sharing our expertise and not just having ambitions but delivering in practice. I very much look forward to our conclusions being fed into the wider CPA network.

Commonwealth day gives all of us an opportunity to think about how we work on a cross-party basis and as Opposition members. One of the things that I found really interesting last week was that not all legislatures have party-political representatives. That would be a bit of a shock for us here. People who are not party-political representatives are very much the exception to the rule here, although there are people in some of our local authorities who are not in political parties. How do ministers, members of the Opposition and back benchers collectively use our own knowledge? How do we share that experience? How do we work together? How can we make the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association deliver for everybody across the globe?

I quite often think that we have a lot of work to do in the Parliament, as we have more responsibilities and more scrutiny issues. However, when we talk to colleagues in other legislatures, we realise that there are quite a lot of us in the Parliament. Our challenge is how we can use every minute that we have to the best effect.

I take the hint from the Presiding Officer: I will finish there. I very much look forward to the contributions of other members.

17:30  

I am delighted to speak in this debate, and I thank Sarah Boyack for securing it.

As Sarah Boyack said, she, Jeremy Balfour and I were in the Isle of Man last week for the regional conference of the CPA, and I note that we are also the executive members of the Scottish parliamentary branch.

All three of the Scottish members actively participated in the conference and I am sure that colleagues will agree that the opportunity to meet, engage and learn from one another across the region is an excellent way for us to evaluate our strengths and weaknesses in comparison to other Parliaments and Assemblies. It is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all set-up, and some of the activities that happen in our Parliament might not be suitable elsewhere. Notwithstanding that, there are parts of scrutiny that we undertake that certainly can help others to consider their actions in their Parliaments and Assemblies.

One of my contributions at the conference centred on what work has the highest impact and why. I discussed the recent inquiry by the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee into the use of the made affirmative procedure during the Covid pandemic. It is fair to say that, sadly, not every parliamentarian gets excited when delegated powers are discussed, but our committee inquiry certainly highlighted the importance of the procedure and its use over the last two years. After the presentation, I spoke to various delegates, and one of the Tynwald members was genuinely very interested in the procedure and will examine our report. Irrespective of our political leanings—or lack of them, which I mention because, as Sarah Boyack noted, many of the members of Commonwealth Parliaments and Assemblies are independent—we all agree that effective scrutiny and continual appraisal of procedures is absolutely important.

As the motion indicates, many of the meetings over the past 12 months have taken place virtually—in fact, that has been the case for the past two years. As a member of the CPA international executive committee, I know that every member of the committee certainly has had some time slots that either involved starts early in the morning or late in the evenings in order to continue to meet. The work has still happened but clearly in a very different way.

At one of the executive committee meetings a few years ago there was a proposal to cease the £10,000 expenditure on developing the parliamentarian with disabilities network, which I argued against. At that time, our branch took a unanimous decision to keep the network and investment, which certainly was important, and—if memory serves—our current Presiding Officer was then on the branch executive and took part in that discussion. I had no problem with taking the fight to the executive meeting, because I was the convener of the cross-party group on visual impairment—which I still am—and was also, at that point, the deputy convener of the cross-party group on disability, of which Jeremy Balfour is the convener. Thankfully, the network was continued and has gone from strength to strength, although there is still a lot of work to be done.

Every Parliament and Assembly in our region and across the Commonwealth should have a focus on improving outcomes for every citizen and should also become more representative of its population. Our Parliament has made progress, but we still have work to do and we can never take anything for granted. The work of the Commonwealth women parliamentarians and the Commonwealth parliamentarians with disabilities network is crucial in the delivery of making positive changes across the Commonwealth. I am genuinely delighted to support them.

The theme for this year’s Commonwealth day was “delivering a common future”, and the motion explains its aims. I have always had an international outlook in life and I have studied in three European nations as the concept of engaging and working with others is something that is natural for me. Undertaking that in the Commonwealth is absolutely no different to that. The more that people can engage, the better we can understand each other and also our cultural differences. Being a member of the Commonwealth certainly helps in that regard. Crucially, working on shared goals is one way that certainly can bring people and Parliaments together. Clearly, the key shared goal now is tackling climate change. Our actions have an impact on others and we play a leading role in that regard. However, once again, we cannot rest on our laurels—we must always strive to deliver more.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is a force for good. It consists of more than 17,000 parliamentarians, and the more members of Scottish Parliament that are engaged in it the better. That will certainly help the other members of the association understand our Parliament and also what we can bring to the Commonwealth.

17:35  

I thank Sarah Boyack for securing this debate, and note the all-party support that it has received.

Like you, I am sure, Presiding Officer, I was given lots of advice when I arrived in this place—some of it positive, some of it less so. One of the points of advice that I was given very early on was to get involved in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in this Parliament and across the Commonwealth. That was a positive decision for me, as I have learned a great deal in the past six years from colleagues in other parts of the world. If I can give one bit of advice to any member who is not yet engaged in it, I would urge them to do so. We need members’ support, and I think that they will also benefit from it. We can learn lots from other countries and jurisdictions, but we can also pass on good practice that we have learned here.

As has been mentioned, last week, I and my two colleagues who have already spoken in this debate spent a couple of days on the Isle of Man, and it was interesting to talk to colleagues about the elected office fund, to which disabled people here in Scotland can apply for help to seek election to this Parliament or to local authorities. I think that we are the only jurisdiction within the Mediterranean branch that has such a fund, but I am pleased that quite a number of people from various Parliaments said that they are going to think about that, which will help people with disabilities at least to stand for election, even if they do not get elected.

In the brief time that I have, I want to reflect on two issues that stood out for me. The first is in regard to how we run ourselves in this Parliament. I think that, too often, we react or do things retrospectively rather than looking ahead to see what kind of needs we have. We are fortunate that this Parliament is accessible to most individuals with most disabilities. It was interesting to talk to people from another jurisdiction that thought about the issue of wheelchair access only after someone with a wheelchair had been elected. That sort of thing can often happen with regard to how we run ourselves and the practices and procedures around how we interact with each other. Perhaps we should, every five years, stop and collectively think about how open we are to all agendas and to people with disability.

The second thing that I found interesting was the reflection on digital technology and the hybrid system that we use in this Parliament. Again, I think that we would all agree that, during the pandemic, that was helpful, particularly for those who found it difficult to come to the city. However, a number of delegates from other Parliaments pointed out there is a danger that, if someone is not in the room, they are not making the decisions. Whatever the reason for someone needing to stay at home more--whether it is because of gender or disability—they can take part in debates and ask questions, but they are not in the room making the decisions. I think that we have to carefully reflect on how we are going to use hybrid technology so that we do not inadvertently exclude people from being here and that we do not get to the stage where people do not come because it is more complicated to get here because of a disability or family reasons. Yes, we need to give people flexibility and choice, but we do not want to exclude them inadvertently from doing taking part.

Does Jeremy Balfour agree that the predicament that he describes exactly fits the theme of this Commonwealth Day, as we aim to deliver a common future that is available to everyone irrespective of either their disabilities or gender, and that it has to be a common future that everyone can participate in equally?

Absolutely, that is why we need to be a far more representative Parliament across different protected characteristics, and we need to work together on that.

In conclusion, I think that this motion explains where we want to go, and Commonwealth Day gives us an opportunity to reflect not only the past but, more importantly, to look to the future of how we can work together with parliamentarians across the world.

17:39  

I congratulate Sarah Boyack on securing the debate.

I recall my early years at primary school, many decades ago, when school atlases had huge areas denoted in orangey red showing all the countries that then comprised the British empire. Over the years, countries of the empire won their independence. For example, India won its independence in 1947, but it was partitioned, forming Pakistan, with that division resulting in a huge number of conflicts.

There is no doubt that the legacy of the British empire is hard to avoid, and it is with us here and now, as the recent uncomfortable visit of the royal couple to Jamaica demonstrates. Memories remain fresh there of the capture and shipping, in horrific conditions, of slaves, many of whom died to provide cheap and expendable labour for the profitable sugar market.

The merchant city in Glasgow, one of our main cities, has fine buildings that are memorials to the riches of assets that were plundered from the empire and enforced slavery. The merchants of Glasgow traded in slave-grown produce. In effect, they cut out the Africa leg of what was known as the triangular trade, buying slaves in Africa with exported goods, shipping them in horrific conditions to the likes of the West Indies and further enslaving them as forced labour. They went instead directly to the plantations. Plantations were given Scottish names such as Hampden, Montrose and Dumbarton. Many slaves were given the surnames of their masters: Buchanan, Dundas and so on, which are names that people carry to this day. Buchanan Street in Glasgow was named after Andrew Buchanan, a plantation owner from Virginia who was believed to have owned more than 300 slaves.

Why do I say that? Like all empires, the British empire’s reach declined as it collapsed from within when nation after nation demanded self-determination. However, British influence was kept with the formation of the British Commonwealth of Nations with five members; it is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations. This is better. Members have common values and goals, including democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, equality before the law, free trade, multilateralism and world peace. Those are still promoted through multilateral projects and meetings, the most obvious being the Commonwealth games, which are held every four years.

As other members have said, the Commonwealth now has 54 members and is a voluntary association with no legal obligations. All members are of equal status and are linked by their historical use of English and historical ties that I have already mentioned. The Queen is retained as head of the Commonwealth countries but, for most of them, she is not monarch. However, even that is under challenge, not just in Jamaica but, for example, in Canada. It will be interesting to see whether, once Charles succeeds, the final few remaining retain her as a titular monarch.

All is not lost for the Commonwealth, which has had its up and downs, with countries being expelled and allowed back in—South Africa—and others suspended, including Fiji, Nigeria, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe, of course, is still out of the Commonwealth.

Does Christine Grahame agree that it is remarkable that, because of the values that she extols in her speech, countries that were never part of the British empire have applied to join the Commonwealth?

Absolutely. It is not a pre-condition that a country was part of the empire. It is a voluntary arrangement.

Our connections with the Commonwealth are also through family and friends. There was a spate of emigration in the 1950s, and I recall working-class neighbours on all sides seeking a better life, ironically. They took advantage of assisted passages and left for Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Like many people, I have Grahame family members in all those countries. Indeed, one of my sons has just emigrated with his family to Nova Scotia. It was not a family fall-out, by the way; it was a friendly departure.

We have inherited and, rightly, must acknowledge the bad and good of the once empire. We must hope that the Commonwealth, in its many and continuing transitions, and with its goals of promoting human rights, equality before the law and so on, continues in one form or another. I fully support the relationships that this Parliament has with the Commonwealth family of nations, which, like any family, will have its disagreements but has more in common with its aspirations. We must all work together now, particularly as we look at the challenges of poverty, climate change, the rights of women and, of course, Covid.

I gently remind members who wish to speak and who have made an intervention that they will need to press their request-to-speak button again.

17:44  

I thank Sarah Boyack for securing this evening’s members’ business debate, which pays tribute to the Commonwealth and keeps it alive in the Scottish Parliament.

Our debate is especially appropriate today, as Her Majesty the Queen celebrates the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne as head of the state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the crown dependencies and the British overseas territories and as head of the Commonwealth.

On 14 March, the Commonwealth day theme of delivering a common future came to the fore. The vision is to highlight how the member countries of the Commonwealth family are collectively invoking, connecting and transforming. To achieve common goals, the ambitious boosting of trade, essential promotion of good governance and grasping of the nettle when it comes to climate change are all being actively promoted by the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth day theme works perfectly hand in hand with Her Majesty’s simplified jubilee message of hope closer to home to bring families, friends, neighbours and communities closer together. Although the Commonwealth family is incredibly diverse, its members have many common ties and a shared history. The Commonwealth helps to strengthen those bonds, and its member states work together as a global force for good around the world.

The values of the Commonwealth charter, which we share as member states of the Commonwealth, are values that we can all adhere to and share. Human rights, the rule of law and democracy are the fundamental building blocks of a free and tolerant society.

I concur with many of my colleagues today in paying tribute to the work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. I have regularly been impressed by the collective effort to act as a voice for parliamentary democracy across the Commonwealth nations. That is in addition to the CPA’s endeavours to ensure that we play a more active role in developing member states.

I concur with the CPA’s desire to share experiences and best practice in how parliamentary work should take place by effectively and rightly holding governments and administrations to account on behalf of the people who they serve. With my background in local government prior to becoming an MSP, I know only too well the importance of looking for examples of best practice in local authorities, and I feel passionately that the desire for scrutiny must exist at parliamentary and international levels. The enhancement of information and sharing of experiences among members from different legislatures in the Commonwealth can have a profoundly positive impact on parliamentary democracies.

Each day, the work of Commonwealth nations truly enriches our lives and promotes stability in these times of great uncertainty that we face at present. Following this year’s Commonwealth day, I am sure that members across the chamber will welcome the massive contributions that the entire Commonwealth and the CPA have achieved over time, especially having heard, in recent days, a clue about how the royal family wants to go forward, when His Royal Highness, Prince William said, “Relationships evolve. Friendship endures.”

17:48  

Like other members, I congratulate Sarah Boyack on her motion. I also congratulate the members of the CPA executive in the Scottish Parliament. I look forward to hearing feedback, even if it is in the context of a hybrid meeting of the Parliament, so that parliamentarians can better understand what is happening.

I thank the members who have spoken already, because they have successfully covered a substantial part of my speech. I know that the Presiding Officer will be glad to hear that, because it means that I can jump to the heart of my speech, which is about the Commonwealth youth programme and, in particular, the Commonwealth secretariat’s youth development work.

There are 54 members of the Commonwealth—that is 2.5 billion people, of whom 60 per cent are under 30. The Commonwealth sees its young people as an asset to their country’s development, who should be empowered to realise their own and, indeed, their country’s potential. Young people have the proven capability to lead change and are a vital and valuable investment, for now and for the future. We know that only too well in Scotland through the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Through the secretariat, the Commonwealth youth programme has developed a number of strategies to assist. It supports the effective participation of young women and men in development processes and promotes engagement with the decision makers, including heads of Government. It showcases and celebrates the achievements of young people in driving democracy and development, and demonstrates their capabilities to inspire others further.

The programme provides technical assistance for national and regional youth policies to create youth development frameworks and guidelines. It advocates for increased investment in youth ministries and programmes. It brings a professionalism to youth work by supporting youth work education and training and setting competency standards that now exist around the world.

Above all, the programme does what we do here in Scotland, and which so many adults say that they do: it celebrates the good practice and advocacy that young people bring to their national and international associations. The secretariat places special emphasis on supporting young people to design and drive youth-led initiatives.

The language is slightly different but the dream, the hope and the promise of our young people for the future is the same around the Commonwealth, and I think that we should celebrate that.

17:51  

I thank Sarah Boyack for bringing the motion to the chamber this evening, particularly where it refers to the Scottish Parliament continuing

“to share ideas, thoughts, experiences and best practice on how to make parliaments work effectively in holding governments to account on behalf of the people that they serve.”

I know that Commonwealth day was on 14 March, but it seems rather fitting that we are holding this debate in the Scottish Parliament today—a day on which we have come together as a country to remember and celebrate the life of Prince Philip, His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh. Earlier today, it was, I think, quite moving to see the Queen in public for the first time in many months; it was also inspiring to listen to the life achievements of Prince Philip and the record of the 700 charitable organisations to which he dedicated his life.

In this platinum jubilee year, it is appropriate to focus a little on the massive contribution that Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip have made to making the Commonwealth what it is today in its ever-evolving state, remembering that, on her 21st birthday, Princess Elizabeth devoted her life to the Commonwealth. In that famous radio address from Cape Town, she said:

“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.”

She has been true to that vow, which she made so long ago. The Queen has indeed demonstrated consistent devotion to her leadership of the Commonwealth over the past 70 years.

There has been a lot of change in the Commonwealth; Christine Grahame covered that well. Rather than just being an extension of the British state, the Commonwealth is now a community of equals that work together to pursue common interests and the common good. We are striving continually to create common values as well. Such transformative change, in my opinion, could not have been achieved without the dedication and diplomatic skills of Her Majesty the Queen and, indeed, the late Duke of Edinburgh.

As the world has become further globalised, Britain’s relationship with our Commonwealth partners has had to change as well. I honestly believe that the Commonwealth is too often undervalued by our political leaders in general. The Queen has consistently and unfailingly grasped and appreciated what the Commonwealth—the family of nations—stands for and its potential for good in the world. In truth, the people of the Commonwealth have always been the focus of her service.

By creating historical, social and cultural ties around the world, one of the greatest benefits of the Commonwealth is that it forces us to escape a Eurocentric perspective on the world. With the enforcement of social distancing and self-isolation over the past couple of years, we have, individually, become more accustomed to coming together through the use of technologies. It is my hope that long after the pandemic has passed—may that come soon—the UK Government, the Scottish Government and the Governments of all Commonwealth nations will work to make those technologies bring our Commonwealth family closer together. I think that that would be entirely feasible.

I have just a minute left, so I conclude with a comment about the Duke of Edinburgh. He made 229 solo visits to 67 Commonwealth countries. That statistic alone shows something of Prince Philip’s personal vocation when it came to the Commonwealth. He had many Commonwealth appointments and many affiliations across the breadth of the Commonwealth.

In 1956, Prince Philip founded the Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth study conferences, bringing together emerging leaders in Commonwealth countries. Driven by a belief that humanity flourishes when we co-operate and work together, he had a deep commitment to the Commonwealth and a vision of its global importance. Through their personalities and ground-breaking initiatives, the Duke of Edinburgh and Her Majesty the Queen have brought about the Commonwealth that we celebrate today: a worldwide family, not just of nations but of people.

As the world becomes increasingly fractured, we should be looking to build on the work of the Duke of Edinburgh and deepen the relations between the nations and the peoples of the Commonwealth.

17:55  

I start by thanking all members who have participated in this afternoon’s debate. This year in particular, Commonwealth day was a timely reminder of the importance of friendship and community between nations, and the importance of upholding values that we share and hold dear. I am grateful to Sarah Boyack for lodging the motion.

As members have already noted, Commonwealth day was marked earlier this month with celebrations taking place in Commonwealth nations across the globe. My colleague Keith Brown, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, was honoured to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth day service at Westminster abbey.

Today, I am particularly appreciative of the Commonwealth’s key role in fostering dialogue and promoting peace and prosperity around the world. I would also like to recognise the important work that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is doing to promote good governance, parliamentary oversight and accountability.

As many members have noted, the Commonwealth is a family of nations that have committed to the values that are set out in the Commonwealth charter: values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Those are the same values that underpin the Scottish Government’s international approach to being a good global citizen.

Multilateral organisations, such as the Commonwealth, which gives an equal voice to member states of all sizes, provide the ideal forum for likeminded nations to come together to share ideas and experiences, endeavouring to find shared solutions to shared challenges, and, indeed to deliver a common future. The Scottish Government looks forward to the day when we can engage with multilateral institutions, including with the Commonwealth and its members, as sovereign equals.

Just last year, though we were not at the negotiating table, the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—gave us the opportunity to see at first hand the major convening power and unparalleled international prominence that such multinational events carry with them.

COP26 also served to highlight the global inequality that is still all too real. That is why the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the developed world realises its commitments to help developing countries reduce emissions, adapt to an already changing climate and address the losses and damages that are already being suffered. Scotland committed to trebling our climate justice fund and put £2 million on the table for loss and damage, showing solidarity with those who are most impacted by climate change. That, of course, echoed the Commonwealth’s contribution at COP26, championing and amplifying the voices of members, including climate-vulnerable small states.

I have been pleased to hear about the important work that the Commonwealth women parliamentarians network is doing to enshrine women's full and equal participation in political and parliamentary leadership at all levels. At COP26, the First Minister, in partnership with UN Women, launched the Glasgow women’s leadership statement on gender equality and climate change. I hope that women leaders from across the Commonwealth will join those from Tanzania, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Canada and Pakistan in adding their names to the statement.

This year, it is really encouraging that the postponed Commonwealth heads of Government conference will go ahead, hosted by our partner country Rwanda, in the beautiful city of Kigali. This Parliament knows how highly we value our close relationship with partner countries: Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan, all of which are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. International development is a key part of Scotland’s global contribution within the international community. It encompasses our core values, historical and contemporary, of fairness and equality. We are, for example, funding 11 projects through the Malawi development programme. Those projects cover the themes of health, education, renewable energy, civic governance and sustainable economic development. With specific regard to the Covid-19 response, in February, we announced a further £1.5 million to support equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics in three African countries. That follows support that we have made available throughout the pandemic, including funding for UNICEF, to meet specific needs in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia.

Parliament also knows the fantastic work that our international network is doing, including GlobalScot and Scotland Development International. Across the world, they help us boost ties and further Scotland’s economic, cultural and policy visibility, including in Commonwealth members such as Australia, Canada, Singapore and India.

The Scottish Government is committed to promoting international human rights standards in a manner that has practical impact. I would, therefore, like to recognise the important work of the Commonwealth secretariat's human rights unit, which helps Commonwealth countries to establish and strengthen their own national human rights institutions.

Scotland is a proudly inclusive nation, and we continue to work hard to ensure that nobody is denied rights or opportunities because of their sexuality or gender. We understand that ensuring that internationally recognised human rights having a meaningful, everyday effect is a core function of Government, and Scotland stands ready to play its part in assisting others where we have knowledge and good practice to share.

As members will remember, in 2014, Scotland welcomed Commonwealth members from across the world when we successfully hosted the Commonwealth games—our largest-ever multisport and cultural event. As active champions for LGBTI equality, we supported Pride House Glasgow, which was the first ever pride house at any Commonwealth games to receive Government support.

With 2022 marking Her Majesty the Queen’s platinum jubilee, a special focus of Commonwealth day celebrations was rightly placed on the role of service in the lives of people and communities across the Commonwealth. Although we might not always agree, members across this chamber are united in our service to our constituents and to the people of Scotland.

I again thank Sarah Boyack for lodging today’s motion, which I am pleased to support.

Meeting closed at 18:02.