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Overseas Territories
3.31 pm
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Robin Cook): With permission, Madam Speaker, I shall make a statement on the dependent territories.
We have completed a major review of the relationship between the United Kingdom and the dependent territories. Its objectives were to establish better and more effective communication between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Governments of the dependent territories; to improve the status of the residents of the dependent territories; and to ensure that the United Kingdom could discharge its international responsibilities in respect of those territories.
During the review we consulted widely. We listened to the Governments, Opposition leaders and governors of the dependent territories.
I am today publishing the White Paper "Partnership for Progress", which sets out the results of that review. It provides the basis for a renewed contract and a modern partnership between the United Kingdom and the dependent territories.
It is a striking measure of the degree to which the dependent territories value that partnership that none of their Governments expressed any desire during the review for independence. They all want to preserve the constitutional link with the United Kingdom, which has provided all of them with security, and most of them with a high level of prosperity.
The review has already led to a series of improvements in the arrangements within Government for our relationship with the dependent territories. The Secretary of State for International Development and I have established parallel structures to deal with the dependent territories in our Departments. We have established a ministerial liaison committee to ensure that our activities and policies are fully co-ordinated.
Within the Foreign Office, my noble Friend Baroness Symons has been appointed Minister with specific responsibility for the dependent territories. That responsibility was previously split between a number of geographic departments. The changes we have made will ensure a unified ministerial responsibility for policy on all the dependent territories except Gibraltar and the Falkland islands.
In order to improve liaison with the dependent territories, as well as within Whitehall, we will be establishing a Council of the Territories, which will include the Chief Minister or equivalent of each dependent territory and will be chaired by the Minister for the territories. Its first meeting will be convened later this year in advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, in order that the UK can fully reflect their views, particularly in the discussions on the special challenges to small island states.
The White Paper confirms our commitment to drop the title "dependent territories". It is the wrong name for today's territories, which are energetic, self-governing, and anything but dependent. It is also does not fit the concept of partnership on which we want to build our relationship. We will be introducing legislation to rename
the territories "United Kingdom overseas territories", and in the meantime we will adopt that title in all Government communications.
There is a strong sense of grievance in many overseas territories that the right of abode in Britain was taken away from them; that is felt particularly strongly in St. Helena. The residents of the overseas territories are proud of their connection with Britain, but are often puzzled that Britain appears not to be proud to have them as British citizens.
I can announce today that we will be offering British citizenship to all residents of the overseas territories who wish to take it up. That improved status will be welcomed throughout the overseas territories. It will give their residents the right to travel freely throughout the European Union and enable their young people to support themselves through work experience while they study in Britain.
We do not expect that change of status to result in any substantial number of people taking up permanent residence in the United Kingdom--70 per cent. of the citizens of the overseas territories have a higher per capita income than citizens of the United Kingdom, and their residents have no incentive to leave on a permanent basis.
The offer of right of abode will be made on a non- reciprocal basis. The unanimous view in consultations with the overseas territories was that they were anxious that their small communities did not have the capacity to absorb uncontrolled numbers of new residents. Our decision on that follows the precedent set by Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, whose existing right of abode is also non-reciprocal.
We are not extending the offer of citizenship to British dependent territories citizens who were associated with the British Indian Ocean territory and the sovereign base areas in Cyprus, all of whom have alternative nationality.
Although most overseas territories have prosperous economies, the United Kingdom recognises its obligations to promote the development of those territories thatneed assistance. In the Department for International Development, my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State has been appointed Minister responsible for the sustainable development of the overseas territories. The White Paper on international development confirmed:
The White Paper demonstrates that the United Kingdom is fully committed to meeting its obligations to the overseas territories. Any partnership, though, must have obligations on both parties. The United Kingdom accepts its responsibility for the defence of the overseas territories and for their international representation. In return, we have to insist on the Governments of the overseas territories fulfilling their obligations to meetthe standards of international organisations in which the United Kingdom represents them.
There are two issues which are of priority in meeting those obligations. The first is to match the best international standards in financial regulation. Many overseas territories have made substantial progress in proper and transparent regulation of their large financial sectors. They have recognised that a sound reputation for financial regulation is a prime asset in maintaining the prosperity of a sound financial sector.
Nevertheless, some overseas territories do not yet fully meet international standards. We will therefore be requiring all overseas territories, by the end of this year, to meet in full international standards on money laundering, transparency and co-operation with law enforcement authorities, and independent financial regulation. The globalisation of international finance means that we cannot tolerate a weak link anywhere in the chain without exposing investors everywhere to risk.
The second area of priority is in human rights. Those overseas territories that choose to remain British must abide by the same standards of human rights and good governance that we demand of ourselves. We require our overseas territories to maintain legislation that fully complies with the European convention on human rights and the international convention on civil and political rights, to which the United Kingdom is a party.
Specifically, we require changes in the law in a minority of overseas territories which retain corporal punishment and criminalise consensual homosexual acts in private. Our strong preference is that the overseas territories should enact the necessary reforms themselves, but we are ready to make such reforms by Order in Council if they fail to do so.
One important duty of the United Kingdom, as the sovereign authority for the overseas territories, is to preserve their rich and unique environment. Taken together, the overseas territories contain 10 times as many species of animals and plants as the United Kingdom. The British Antarctic territory acts as a barometer for climate change and atmospheric pollution--it was there that British scientists discovered the hole in the ozone layer. Coral reefs in the Caribbean territories and Bermuda are as beautiful as they are fragile.
We propose to develop an environment charter between the United Kingdom and our overseas territories. That will help the overseas territories to build their capacity to protect their environment, and will ensure that the United Kingdom can fully reflect their interests in international agreements. As support for work under that environment charter, the United Kingdom will provide funding of £1.5 million over the next three years.
The White Paper sets out the basis for a modernised and strengthened partnership between the United Kingdom and our overseas territories. We already have a firm basis for that partnership founded on three centuries of shared history. I believe that the proposals in the White Paper will give us a confident basis for our future partnership in the next century.
Mr. Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe):
Anyone who read this morning's newspapers or listened to the "Today" programme will have had a feeling of deja vu listening to that statement. BBC radio reported not only that a White Paper would be published today and that it would extend British citizenship to 150,000
Will the Foreign Secretary therefore follow the example of the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the right hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark), who apologised to the House for the premature disclosure of his White Paper on freedom of information--and earned your gratitude in the process, Madam Speaker? Can the Foreign Secretary assure the House that neither his office nor any of the offices of his ministerial colleagues briefed the press prior to this statement? Does he share the annoyance of the right hon. Member for South Shields at such press reports, and does he agree with him that details of White Papers emerging in this way does a disservice to the House?
On the substance of the White Paper, there is much in it that we would welcome and support--the provisions on aid, defence, financial regulation and many other issues. The House will, of course, recall that the review that led to the White Paper was initiated on 27 August 1997 at the height of the golden elephants farce, when Montserrat was the subject of an unedifying tug of war between the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development.
On citizenship, as the Foreign Secretary said in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee report, the extension of full British citizenship to the citizens of overseas territories who do not at present have it raises significant and complex questions. For example, the Foreign Secretary will be aware of the need to ensure that citizens of third countries cannot secure a right of abode in Britain by becoming citizens of an overseas territory. In his discussions with the Home Office, what reassurances could he offer on that issue? How does he intend to allay such concerns from this House and from members of the public?
"The reasonable assistance needs of the Dependent Territories are a first call on the development programme."
It is not possible for all the smaller overseas territories to promote development on their limited resource base alone. We will therefore be maintaining a programme of development aid for the poorer territories to support their economic infrastructure, their social provision and their good government. In the case of the two least developed territories, Montserrat and St. Helena, we will be continuing budgetary aid.
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