Tuesday Volume 508 6 April 2010 No. 67 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 6 April 2010 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2010 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through the Office of Public Sector Information website at www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/ Enquiries to the Office of Public Sector Information, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; e-mail: [email protected] 797 6 APRIL 2010 798 David Miliband: I am sorry that this will be the last House of Commons occasion on which my hon. Friend asks a question in this House; she has raised a very important point. On education, one can point to a qualitative shift. There are Tuesday 6 April 2010 now, after all, about 6 million to 7 million children in school in Afghanistan, nearly half of them girls, which is The House met at half-past Two o’clock a complete revolution in comparison with a decade ago. In other areas, however, as we heard from the civil society representatives at the London conference, progress PRAYERS has been much slower, including in areas such as political representation and health care, which my hon. Friend mentioned. [MR.SPEAKER in the Chair] Mr. William Hague (Richmond, Yorks) (Con): Amidst all the debates that we will have in the coming election campaign, should we not all remember that throughout Oral Answers to Questions every hour of it we have 10,000 British servicemen and women in real battles in Afghanistan and that their role must be a paramount concern for whoever is elected on FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 6 May? Is it not true that the military advances made on the ground will be of long-term benefit only if the The Secretary of State was asked— Afghan political processes also succeed and are seen to be legitimate? When the Prime Minister announced Afghanistan UK strategy for Afghanistan in November last year, he pledged that President Karzai would ensure that all 1. Andrew Selous (South-West Bedfordshire) (Con): 400 Afghan provinces and districts had a governor free What assessment he has made of developments in Afghanistan from corruption and appointed on merit within nine since the London conference of January 2010. [325349] months—by August this year. Is the Foreign Secretary The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth confident that such benchmarks will still be met? Affairs (David Miliband): Since the London conference, the Government of Afghanistan have made progress on David Miliband: Perhaps you will allow me, Mr. Speaker, some of their commitments, including the Afghan Cabinet’s to say that I thought it completely appropriate for the decision to approve the sub-national governance strategy Prime Minister when he spoke in Downing street this and President Karzai’s recent decree boosting the high morning—and for the Leader of the Opposition when office of oversight’s powers to tackle and investigate he made his response and for the leader of the Liberal corruption. In other areas, progress is slow—too slow. Democrats, who I think took time out from the hurly-burly We continue to work with the Afghan authorities to and political battles that the right hon. Member for encourage similar progress to be made in those other Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) mentioned—to say that areas. this election campaign provides a chance not to forget what is going on in Afghanistan, but to discuss with and Andrew Selous: One area of our policy in Afghanistan— engage the British people on that issue. That is something where, tragically, another British soldier lost his life at that I—and, I hope, other right hon. and hon. Members— the weekend—on which I believe the Government have will be keen to do, because this is the time to engage the failed very badly is explaining to the public why we are British people on the sacrifice being made and the there. Does the Foreign Secretary believe that that is the purposes behind it. case and, if so, what is he going to do about it? As to President Karzai’s commitment, I believe that it David Miliband: Every death of a British soldier in was in his inaugural speech in the third week of November Afghanistan is a tragic event, and I think that the hon. when he made the commitment to the transfer of security Gentleman’s attempt to link this to a particular Government leadership and to extend governance issues in respect of decision is unwise and not worthy of him. There is unity corruption. The Prime Minister’s commitment remains. across the House that the border lands of Afghanistan Early signs, over the three or four months since the and Pakistan are the gravest terrorist threat to this announcement, have been positive and a number of country and that stability in Afghanistan is absolutely provinces have had replacement governors who are, I essential not only to countering the threat that al-Qaeda think, an improvement on their predecessors. might re-establish itself there, but to achieving stability Mr. Hague: In light of all that, should we not all in Pakistan. That is the fundamental reason why we are accept how alarming it is to those who support the there, and it is why all three major political parties efforts of British forces in Afghanistan to read so many support our presence there. We all know, however, that reports in recent days of apparent division between there will not be a military solution in Afghanistan—the President Karzai and western nations? Given that steps combined military and civilian effort will create the to reduce corruption and to improve local government conditions for a political settlement, which is, after all, are vital for the counter-insurgency effort, is the Foreign the only way to provide stability in that country. Secretary absolutely confident that relations between Mrs. Ann Cryer (Keighley) (Lab): What assessment this country and the US on the one hand and President has my right hon. Friend made of developments in Karzai on the other hand are as they should be, and Afghanistan regarding the well-being of women and that there is a clear enough mutual understanding of their health, education and ability to work for their the approach needed to handle the situation in Kandahar, families? to conduct the elections well in September and to make 799 Oral Answers6 APRIL 2010 Oral Answers 800 progress on the integration and reconciliation process? European Security and Defence Assembly Is he happy that all that is as it should be? Is not agreement on such things indispensable to our success 2. Mr. Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con): in Afghanistan? What his policy is on the future of the European David Miliband: Agreement on such things is, indeed, Security and Defence Assembly. [325350] indispensible, but verbal agreement is, of course, only one step in the process. I am absolutely confident that The Minister for Europe (Chris Bryant): Following since the London conference there has been renewed the lead we in the UK gave last week, as laid out in my unity not only between Britain and the United States written ministerial statement, all 10 member states have but across the international coalition about the military agreed to close the Western European Union. We believe and civilian strategy that is needed and the political that future arrangements for inter-parliamentary dialogue settlement that can be generated. In respect of the should reflect the intergovernmental nature of European Afghan Government, as I said in Kabul in November, security and defence policy, should involve all EU and words must be turned into deeds. That is the case both non-EU European allies and should be cost-effective now and in the run-up to the Kabul conference, which is for the British taxpayer. the moment when the international effort generated in London and the Afghan effort mobilised locally by a Mr. Chope: I thank the Minister for that response, new Government—whose Cabinet has not yet been but is he not closing down one organisation without fully appointed, which points to some of the problems clearly setting out the arrangements that he wishes to that exist—will need to be joined. That will be a very put in place for the proper scrutiny of international important moment to judge progress and how much defence issues? confidence we should have. It would be unwise at this stage to say anything other than that we must continue Chris Bryant: That was not a unilateral decision, to press very strongly on the agenda that President although the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that Karzai set out in November and that we have committed Britain took the lead. Many countries said that they to—and we want to see it matched. wanted further action and that the architecture for Finally, if you will allow me, Mr. Speaker—I apologise examining common security and defence policy in Europe for talking at such length, but the Afghan issue is so was no longer sufficient, but they did not want to do important—the right hon. Gentleman has referred to anything about it. We took the courageous step of comments made at the weekend. It is very important saying that we wanted to withdraw. We now have a year that we say very clearly that any suggestion that Britain, during which we can negotiate precisely what the future or any other country, has irregularly interfered in the structure should look like. I pay tribute to the hon. election processes of Afghanistan is completely without Gentleman and others who have sat on the Assembly, but foundation.