What’s just happened?
On 16 March 2021 the Huffington Post published a leaked recording in which Dominic Raab, the holder of one of the Great Offices of State the Foreign Secretary, told officials that Britain will seek trade deals with countries around the world that violate international standards on human rights. [1][2]
What does this mean?
This statement has worrying implications for where the UK sees itself in the world. For generations “the UK Government has sanctimoniously lectured foreign governments and trumpeted a strong commitment to matters such as female equality, LGBT rights or the abolition of the death penalty whilst simultaneously being quite content to do business with regimes such as North Korea, Syria and Saudi Arabia”. The UK Government’s position was perfectly summed up on 16 October 2020 by Andrew Tettenborn when he said, “If you are going to make the world a better place by only dealing with people whose morals you approve of you will quickly find that you don’t have many friends, or for that matter much influence. He added, “The UK by and large recognises that it does not do to be too moralistic” [3]
Director of Amnesty International, Kate Allen is among the chorus of critics of this strategy. In response to the recording of the Foreign Secretary she has expressed concerns about the UK’s eagerness to jump into trade deals with countries such as Malawi, Indonesia, Mexico, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Myanmar and Zimbabwe where human rights protections are fragile and basic rights are under threat. [4]
The UK Government also appear to be turning a blind eye to the industrial scale neglect of the rights of children across developing countries. This is not breaking news and has been well documented. On 25 June 2018 following a visit to an Indonesian tobacco farming community in Lombok, Sarah Bosely expressed grave concerns about the plight of children. She interviewed several child workers, including a 14-year-old, who had complained of debilitating chest problems linked to working in tobacco fields.[5]
Boseley also cited examples in Malawi and Mexico; on a visit to the Nayarit region of Mexico the Guardian witnessed first-hand children working in a staggering 70% of plantations visited.
In Malawi the poverty situation is so dire that the Guardian reported children being ejected from schools across the country, their education barbarically cut short to weed the tobacco fields. All of this suffering is in a desperate attempt to heal the major deficits in family finances due to poverty pay and the failing Tobacco Industry.
Bosely revealed the extent of the child labour issues sweeping across the globe, acknowledging the organisation Human Rights Watch report which documented child labour in the tobacco fields in Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Brazil and Zimbabwe. [6] [7]
This statement clearly demonstrates a willingness to continue down the road of ignoring the suffering of children and definitely indicates the direction of travel set by the UK Government in a post Brexit and pandemic world.[8].
These worrying words will definitely come back to haunt the Foreign Secretary in future years. Children will inevitably continue to be exploited during the pandemic and the inflicted colossal economic damage to follow.
Written by Adam Green
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References:
[1] Singh, Arj -Exclusive: Raab Says UK Wants Trade Deals With Nations That Violate Human Rights | HuffPost UK (huffingtonpost.co.uk)
[2] Raab: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)- Questions and Answer Session – 16 March 2021
[3] Tattenborn, Andrew – The Critic Magazine – 16.10.2020- What’s the point of the ECHR?-Social policies have become issues of human rights
[4] Ibid
[5] Boseley, Sarah – Guardian – Child labour rampant in tobacco industry - Child labour rampant in tobacco industry | Tobacco industry | The Guardian
[6] Wurth, Amon, Raqib & Co – Human Rights Watch – 24.05.2016 – The Harvest is in My Blood – Hazardous Child Labor in Tobacco Farming in Indonesia
[7] Child labour and human rights breaches in Zimbabwe tobacco farms - Action on Smoking and Health (ash.org.uk). 27 April 2018.
[8] Ibid.
Disclaimer: This article (and any information accessed through links in this article) is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.