The Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill was being taken through its report and third reading stages today by Sally Keeble MP after the bill’s promoter Andrew Gwynne, became ill.  A cross party consensus had been agreed at committee stage of the bill with the acceptance of a sunset clause that put a time limit on the bill. A last minute objection from Phillip Davies, MP for Shipley, was withdrawn, so the bill should have completed its passage through the Commons today. Baroness Quin had agreed to take it through the House of Lords.

The bill, which stopped secretive off-shore investment funds from profiteering out of third world debt, was the result of years of international campaigning on the subject.  It protected heavily indebted poor countries which benefit from UK taxpayers support   -  effectively stopping tax payers money being siphoned off by the so-called “vulture” funds.

The three Tory MPs  -  two of them Tory front benchers  – sat with bowed heads in the Commons Chamber and refused to admit which of them had objected to the private members bill. Their move effectively brought an end to the bill. Sally Keeble called their actions “abject cowardice.” We think that’s a fairly measured way to describe their actions.

We’re pretty disgusted by this, and we want to know whether this important bill was stopped on David Cameron’s instructions. Please co-sign our letter urging David Cameron to come clean now.

Here is a statement from Sally Keeble we’d like to publish:

“This action today gives the lie to the Tories’ pretence of supporting international development. This bill was a small, but significant step in helping the most impoverished countries deal with their debts. It also protected British taxpayers’ money.

The Tories obviously think that developing countries are good enough to use as tax havens from which to get funding. But they are not prepared to protect the poorest developing countries from the most blatant profiteering.

The Tory front bench  - the Tory Leader and   the Shadow International Development -  must own up if it was one of their team was responsible for scuppering this bill. Was it their deputy chief whip Andrew Robotham MP, the whip Simon Burns MP, or the chair of the bill committee, Christopher Chope? They are abject cowards who sat and hung their heads as one of them objected to a measure to help combat world poverty.

The Tories have given a green light to the vulture funds that make profits out of the debts of the poorest people on the world.”

Sign the letter to David Cameron urging him to come clean on whether this important bill was stopped on his instructions.

Speakers included Frances O’Grady, Maria Eagle, Bonnie Greer and Hariyatu Bangura, an inspirational women’s leader for the Western Region of Sierra Leone Teacher’s Union.

The evening jumped between hip hop, soul, poetry, an ironing board keyboard and the charming comedy of Josie Long in a surprisingly fluid manner. Despite being a celebration it was clear the day was not simply about celebrating women’s progress but also a day to look at what still needs to be achieved in both the developed and developing world.

There seems to be a general consensus in the media and popular opinion that equality now exists and that the women’s movement is a thing of the past. Events like International Women’s Day draw attention to the fact that not only do women still have far to go but that even these basic rights many women take for granted do not extend to many parts of the world.

It is not a coincidence that one in three women across the world will be raped, sexually abused or suffer domestic violence in their lifetime nor is it a coincidence that there is still a 16% gender pay gap. Gender equality leaves much to be desired and whilst I was personally inspired and encouraged by the event at the TUC I was glad there was a serious tone to the evening and a sense that this was a movement that was only just getting going.

by Lucy Inmonger, LCID

We have all heard harrowing tales of infection being passed through rape in armed conflict, or from promiscuous partners in relationships that still value wives as personal chattels. These stories effect us deeply, but the effects on women in the developing world are often beyond our comprehension. HIV/AIDS does not just affect the person it infects: it cuts down people in their prime, it kills breadwinners and it makes full-time carers out of those who could otherwise work to earn money for food, clothing and schooling. In many cases, it can be a death sentence for a whole family. Children are orphaned and developing countries stagnate whilst their workforce dies.

Speaking for the Chief Executive of the National AIDS Trust, Deborah Jack said:

“Women are disproportionately affected by HIV globally, yet they still do not have a widely accepted prevention method they can initiate and control.  Whilst existing prevention strategies are essential, new tools such as microbicides or a vaccine, could offer women a powerful new way to protect themselves against HIV.”

That is why this Government, through DfID has committed itself to fighting the tide of HIV/AIDS. As one of the first Governments to fund research into microbicides and antiretroviral therapies, the UK’s track record is strong. Going forward, the Global AIDS Strategy commits the Government to a 50% increase in funding of vaccines and microbicides during the 2008-2013 period.

There is no question about continued support for the fight against HIV/AIDS by a Labour Government. More funding for prevention, more funding for microbicides and vaccines, ensuring treatment: these commitments are solid.

It is all too easy to focus on the medical effects of HIV/AIDS. Although these are devastating to individuals, the social effects on families, communities, even whole nations are greater still and especially hard on women.

By Tim Nicholls

With the election just around the corner, LCID is putting on a number of events to help support Labour MPs. We’ll be supporting MPs who have done a lot on development, as well as MPs in seats where development may be an important electoral issue.

Please put the following dates in your diary.

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Phone canvassing, on Thursdays

Dates:

• 18th March
• 1st April
• 8th April
• 15th April

The venue is likely to be Labour Party HQ in Westminster. We will provide details of who to use the Virtual Phonebank for anyone outside of London!

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Action days

More details to follow, but please put these dates in your diary!

• Saturday 20th March – East London
• Saturday 10th April – Worcester (possibly)
• Sunday 25th April – International Development Day (activity TBC)

Labour has shown real leadership on international development over the last 13 years – we cannot let the Tories put that at risk, so please do help how you can.

We will be setting up Facebook events shortly with more details. If you’ve never been canvassing before don’t worry, it’s actually really rewarding to engage with people on the doorstep and address their issues, and we’ll be on hand to help answer any questions you might have. You can also email Nick with any questions at nick@lcid.org.uk.

Thanks very much!

The LCID Team.

To celebrate this, Sarah Brown’s White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood are encouraging people around the world to wear white and hold a dinner party in March for the 100th year of International Women’s Day on the 8th. Please get together with your friends, have some fun and join this global celebration of women and newborns saved and also to remember those lost.

“Together women around the world can really show governments and national leaders that we won’t be ignored and that all women in every country deserve access to basic healthcare. We can save so many lives by refusing to be ignored. Please Play Your Part to prevent the needless deaths of women and newborns in childbirth.”

- Naomi Campbell, White Ribbon Alliance Global Ambassador

WRA Members in over 140 countries will be holding marches, dinners and events in celebration of International Woman’s Day.

To find out more information and put on a dinner party yourself, please go to whiteribbonalliance.org

The Prime Minister and Sarah Brown welcomed President Zuma and his wife to Number 10. During the visit they met representatives from the charity 1Goal – education for all – including Steven Gerrard and South African Football Captain Aaron Mokoena.

It was announed at the meeting that South Africa will host a global summit on education during the World Cup this summer.

Join 1Goal here.

While noting the progress made by successive Labour Governments, we call for Labour to meet and exceed its commitments to the world’s poor, noting that a global downturn is exactly when Labour’s values are needed most.

In addition to meeting existing aid commitments, we strongly call for Labour to commit to introducing a Financial Transaction Tax – the Robin Hood Tax – to fund development and climate change adaptation, as well as invest in public services in the UK.

And we want Labour to ensure that the interests of the world’s poor are central across Government policy, whether in trade, energy, security or global governance. The responsibility to fight poverty should not  land solely at DfID’s door.

Read the LCID policy paper here.

As a petition is handed to the speaker of the Ugandan parliament today against an anti-gay bill what else can Britain do to stand up for LGBT rights across the globe?

Eight years ago I fell in love with a country that now threatens to imprison and even execute those that fall in love with another person.

In 2002 Uganda, a country emerging from a horrendous past, felt hopeful. It was the first African country to have slashed its HIV rate – an apparently invincible disease made beatable by good policy, social mobilisation and political will.

And since then, despite some serious political hiccups and an ongoing civil conflict, it has posted economic growth averaging seven per cent a year and made the eradication of extreme poverty look eminently doable.

Which makes the current battle over a proposed private member’s bill to imprison and even execute homosexuals all the more challenging, albeit sadly not rare.

In the struggle for the human rights of LGBT communities, Uganda is just one episode in a bigger story where 86 countries still criminalise consensual sexual relations between those of the same sex. 86 countries who criminalise love. Eight who make it punishable by death.

Obviously, these abuses matter first of all for the safety and dignity of those persecuted. The Gay Rights Uganda blog provides a distressing catalogue of offences, while a more personal blog by a gay Ugandan provides a more mundane, but just as powerful, human dimension.

But it matters for the broader cause of poverty reduction too. You won’t tackle an HIV epidemic by excluding the most vulnerable groups from accessing vital services. You won’t ensure good governance by failing to protect minorities from abuses of power. You won’t harness the potential of a population if you treat one tenth like they are sub-human.

But how do we go from moral outrage to effective action?

As individuals, we have options. We can stand alongside organisations in Uganda fighting for rights from within, where ultimately the long-term battle will be won. And we can support global campaigns, such as the petition launched by Avaaz, to shine a light on repression.

It can work. Already international pressure has led the bill to be reviewed, further pressure could have it shelved. Today, church leaders, human rights activists and HIV/AIDS service providers will present the Avaaz petition to key Ugandan legislators, signed by over 450,000 people across the world.

But relying on citizens’ campaigns alone won’t always be enough. So what can a progressive government do to protect the rights of those beyond its jurisdiction?

Theoretically, we should have tools. We have diplomatic and trading relationships with every one of the 86 countries in question, and most of these receive aid from the British taxpayer. Uganda itself gets £70 million a year.

But using these tools effectively and legitimately is far from easy. Private and public criticism from officials, world leaders and human rights bodies is important, but may lack teeth. Isolating countries from groups like the Commonwealth risks equating the cause of human rights with the dynamics of colonialism.

Withholding aid is an obvious and powerful option, and one that Sweden says it will use. Yet the problems are obvious too – it would be Uganda’s poor, not those preaching hate, who would suffer most. Redirecting aid outside national budgets is a less dangerous option, but still developmentally regressive. Supporting civil society groups financially and politically is a must.

The dilemmas are real and the apparent limits to one’s power are frustrating, but such a realisation has to become a clarion call for new thinking. If we want Labour to get real about its ethical foreign policy, we have to get serious about devising the means to achieve it.

I’m not quite sure what those tools will be, but I can imagine few more worthwhile projects than thinking up innovative ways to open up a new global front in the battle for equalities, and carve out a more progressive role for Britain in the world. And in the meantime, we need to stand by our friends in Uganda, and in the other 85 countries where to love is neither a joy nor a right, but a crime.

Support the Avaaz petition
Learn more about the Labour Campaign for International Development
Read the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s ‘Programme for Promoting the Human Rights of LGBT People’

Steve Cockburn is an anti-poverty campaigner and member of the Labour Campaign for International Development.

But what, exactly, has the Labour Government done for Fairtrade?

Since 1997, the Labour Government has supported Fairtrade with DfID funding and from this year, even during the recession, funding will be quadrupled to £12m over the period 2010-13 as part of a joint effort with donors and Fairtrade Labeling Organisations International. This will help bring 1 million more producers into the movement, which in turn means higher wages and better lives for 7 million people across the globe.

Additionally, through “Fairtrade Premiums”, twice as much money will be invested directly into local organisations. These can provide improved irrigation, or medical clinics, which will make a profound differnce the lives of people in developing countries.

The Fairtrade movement is vital because no country has managed to tackle poverty in the last 30 years without also increasing trade. Trade can be the great leveller of the world and help millions out of poverty, raise living standards and increase global prosperity: if it is done right. Fairtrade ensures that producers get the returns they deserve for their products. What we need is fairer, more equitable international trade rules. The Labour Government has been pushing for this for the last 13 years and is providing at least £1b every year for the next 3 years in aid for trade and growth, as well as seeking to enshrine a promise to provide 0.7% of national income in aid every year.

Labour believes in the values of the core of Fairtrade: that everyone across the globe should receive a fair price for their goods and a fair wage for their work. This belief in equity and fairness is shared by countless millions of people: over the last decade, every year we have doubled the amount of Fairtrade produce we buy. Already, 7.5 million people benefit from Fairtrade, which is crucial to development. With continued support from the public and the Labour Government, this can only increase.

Please visit the Fairtrade Fortnight website choose what you will swap for Fairtrade.

By Tim Nicholls

10:30 am at Hill House, Walpole Road, BN2 0LS on both days.

Come along and help out the campaign to keep Brighton and Hove Labour!

We’ll be helping out Labour & Co-operative candidate Simon Burgess in Brighton Kemptown, and Labour candidate Nancy Platts in Brighton Pavillion.

Please email nick@lcid.org.uk if you are able to come on either day. For more information, check out the Facebook event page.