Covid has changed the world. Everyone—rich or poor, black or white, north or south—has felt its impact. We are still in the midst of that global pandemic, and while it has changed the job of Governments on every continent, it has also changed how we go about our tasks in this place. Here, in this chamber, that change is immediately visible. We are socially distanced and our visitor galleries are—I hope temporarily—closed. We are learning how to vote from elsewhere. We have not only had to pass emergency legislation, but we are still, unfortunately, requiring our fellow citizens to restrict what they do.
Every bit of the Scottish Government’s work has been affected by Covid, including the vital work in international development. In that area, as in all others, we are faced with a renewed and unexpected challenge. We must rise to the occasion, take heed and respond by refreshing our approach, intensifying our commitment and making sure that we protect and, indeed, enhance Scotland’s contribution to those most in need. I am privileged to lead the debate, but it must be owned by all of us here today.
It is 15 years since the then Labour-Liberal Democrat Executive initiated the international development fund. That offer in 2005 was firmly rooted in the historical links between Scotland and Malawi. Since that time, Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan have joined as partner countries. I assure members at the outset of the debate that our group of partner countries remains unchanged. The review is very much focused on the wellbeing of those partner countries. As we reach the milestone of the 15th anniversary of our international development programme, we continue to be proud of the additional and unique contribution that Scotland makes.
Covid-19 has, understandably, impacted on our programme over the past six months. We have tried to mitigate the effects of that on our project partners, including by approving additional funding where we were able to do so. However, it is clear that Covid-19 will remain a global threat for some time. It is for that reason that it felt right to pause and reflect on the programme. That will allow us to consider how to future proof our programme and to consider the impact of movements such as Black Lives Matter in the context of international development.
Earlier this year, I listened to my colleague Humza Yousaf make one of the most powerful contributions in the chamber that I have ever heard. He spoke of the whiteness of Scotland’s judicial system and outlined the dire need for progress for Scotland’s black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. I left the chamber that day and thought about the vast and overwhelming number of white faces I have met in person, or virtually, since taking up office in February.
Writing in last weekend’s Scotsman, Susan Dalgety rightly asked:
“And what does Black Lives Matter, which emerged from the streets of America, mean to an African?”
I have been asking that question for many months now in my meetings with the sector. Last week, I asked it of an academic who works in one of our partner countries. She said:
“Black Lives Matter in America is not the same as in Africa. But if you come to my country and you put a white person in charge of a programme – when I could do that job, when I know my local community – that’s what Black Lives Matter means to me. That is white privilege.”
The problem of “white gaze” is clearly not one that the Scottish international development sector has to solve on its own; it is a global challenge for all Governments, but I believe that we should try to set an example in Scotland. Lauren Reese, writing in The New Humanitarian back in June, said:
“I want international development organisations to not just ‘do good’ in other countries, but to do better for their own employees and communities.”
She set out some key tests for the sector, including implicit bias and systemic racism training for all staff. That is a step in the right direction, but she argues that it should not be a tick-box exercise; rather, it should reflect the embedded structural inequality that racism creates.
The Malawi Scotland Partnership and the Scotland Malawi Partnership published a joint response to the Black Lives Matter movement earlier this year, stating:
“We acknowledge and greatly regret that racism has been perpetrated in Scotland’s 161 year relationship with Malawi, while also appreciating that there are a great many examples of Scots and Malawians working together to fight prejudice. Scottish missionaries, particularly in the early twentieth century, were by no means free from the prevailing racist assumptions of their day. Many Scots became deeply identified with the black community in Malawi but Malawians were, quite rightly, alert to elements of paternalism and racism that they experienced even in the best of them.”
I am intent that we learn from that powerful statement from two of our core funded organisations in the review.
Refreshing our approach for the maximum benefit of our partner countries means looking at our whole programme and reviewing all the areas that we fund under the international development fund, including our partner country programmes, our small grants programme and our core funding to networking organisations and the development education centres.
We will also consider any read-across from the review to our humanitarian emergency fund and fair trade in Scotland policy, both of which, along with the small grants programme, were recently reviewed.
If we are serious about truly tackling the charges of white gaze, amplifying global south voices and partner-led development, and if we are to build programme sustainability against the threat of Covid-19, we need to be open to and serious about change. I hope that members will agree with that sentiment.
The draft principles of the review are key to both the review and our future approach. Members will note that the overarching ethos of international solidarity is embedded in the principles. Through the principles, we have also reiterated our commitment to a human rights approach.
I have mentioned our on-going commitment to partner-led development. I have written to all four partner country Governments and held initial meetings with their representatives in Malawi and Zambia. I am also, however, keen to hear from civil society in our partner countries. That is important if we are to conduct the review and ensure that the refreshed programme is truly inclusive. I will be speaking to our Malawian partners next week and I look forward to having similar round tables with Rwanda and Zambia.
On engagement in Scotland, I am equally keen to hear views on the draft principles—I am sure that we will hear some of them today. In recent weeks, I have attended the Malawi cross-party group and Scotland’s International Development Alliance’s annual conference to discuss the review. At the end of the month, I will host a round table with the sector in Scotland and tomorrow, I will attend one of the alliance’s quarterly meetings to discuss some of the review principles in more depth.
I found the round-table discussion that I held last week with international academics, including some from our partner countries, hugely useful in informing my thinking.
Members will note that this is not a strategic review of the kind that we had in 2016, and if this were October 2019, I am sure that our approach would be different. However, we should all be cognisant of the new reality that Covid-19 presents. There is an urgency about our work that did not exist six months ago. That said, I want to use today to listen to members and to reach consensus, as can be evidenced by the spirit of the Government’s motion.
I am a white Scottish Government minister, serving in an almost completely white Parliament, in a country where systemic racism prevents the black, Asian and minority ethnic community from achieving their full potential. I come to the chamber from a position of privilege, which I recognise. I cannot turn the clock back, but I can take responsibility by ensuring that we refresh our international development offer in Scotland to take cognisance of that historical privilege and work with our partner countries in developing solutions that tackle inequality. I hope that I will have the support of the chamber in doing so.
I move,
That the Parliament welcomes the renewed commitment of the Scottish Government to make the maximum possible contribution to the wellbeing of its international development partner countries, and notes its intention to refresh that approach in co-operation with the Parliament, its partner country Governments and charities and other bodies in Scotland and overseas in order to take full account of the shared global challenge presented by the impact and effects of COVID-19.