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I will pose a number of questions that I hope the Minister will be more courageous in answering than has been the case in response to my Written Questions.

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Is J D Bowers, the international authority and respected American professor of genocide studies at Northern Illinois University, correct when he openly confirms that Greek Cypriots and EOKA-B, under the leadership of Nikos Sampson, were guilty of the genocide of Turkish Cypriots within the 1963 United Nations definition of "genocide"? Did the Akritas and Ifestos 1974 plans not spell out the means and methodology for that genocide? Was Turkey justified in its intervention in 1974 that brought an end to the killings, when we had turned our backs on our treaty obligation? Have the Greek Cypriots rejected every potential settlement for the past 35 years? Did the Blair promises of 2004 to Turkish Cypriots, following their acceptance of the Annan Plan, run totally and completely into the sand? Unless the Government and the EU face up to the truth of these questions no progress will be made and we will have to face up to a two-nation island; perhaps that is inevitable.

Finally, did not Defence and Foreign Affairs Ministers snub those 371 of our troops who died during the Cyprus emergency of 1955-59, their families and comrades, by failing to attend the unveiling of the memorial to them-more than 300 of them travelled to Cyprus for the occasion-on Armistice Day this year? I acknowledge and appreciate that the high commissioner attended, but it was unforgivable that no Minister attended this unique occasion-and we all know why.

If the answers to my questions are in the affirmative-and they must be-will the Minister at least tell us why Prime Minister Brown even considered signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Greek-Cypriot President Christofias on 5 June 2008, in the midst of the Cyprus talks process? It was a memorandum that further fuelled and underpinned the aggression of the Greek Cypriots towards the Turkish Cypriots.

The Minister may not like it, but she will know that every word I have uttered is true. Otherwise, let her say so now. In the final analysis, I have to ask: is there any honour left in my country or are there any values left worth defending? Which is more important to this Government-the next election or the next soldier who dies in the belief that this nation is worthy of his sacrifice?

4.20 pm

Baroness Young of Hornsey: My Lords, I shall speak on the international development targets set out in the gracious Speech. I am tempted, given the range of the debate and its depth, variety and erudition, to steer into different territory from that which I had originally planned-given the comments, in particular, of the noble Lord, Lord Luce, about re-engaging and re-energising the Commonwealth and his support for the work of African diaspora people around the world in helping to support Africa, and given the comments of my noble friend Lord Cameron about agriculture. However, I should stick to my script.

As I shall focus on culture and creativity, I should declare an interest as a member of the Culture Committee of the UK National Commission for UNESCO. I am the chair of the Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development, set up by the Commonwealth

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Foundation and tasked with writing a declaration to be given to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad next week. I work also with the Ethical Fashion Forum as an ambassador. It is an organisation that, among other things, has initiated a number of projects, including Made in Africa, which seeks to provide trade opportunities in the design and manufacture of fashion clothing and textiles on the continent.

Alongside the task of conducting international dialogue about, and acting co-operatively on, development issues, three major challenges preoccupy Commonwealth Governments and other Governments: first, the current global economic crisis, involving the persistence and growth of inequality and devastating, deep-rooted poverty; secondly, dealing with climate change and its consequences and the need to create a model of sustainable development that is holistic and culturally aware; and, thirdly, the negative impact of globalisation on cultural diversity, cultural identities and social cohesion, including the loss of traditions, histories and the move towards cultural homogeneity, which is driven by the cultural production of rich and powerful countries and the encouragement of unsustainable consumerism.

The 2007 Commonwealth People's Forum, held immediately prior to the last CHOGM, called for culture to be a central pillar of the Commonwealth, alongside development and democracy. Current models of development have failed to make the progress that they should have done, given the resources put into them. The millennium development goals will not be met and poverty and inequality continue to blight the lives of millions. A fresh approach is called for, which demands a new narrative of progress and a creative look at how development is practised. Because progress towards development is usually described in quantitative terms, important concepts such as human dignity, mutuality and respect, as well as fulfilment and aspiration, are downplayed or omitted altogether. It is vital to humanise development.

Culture and creative expression are crucial when considering cultural resources, connections and values, but they have often been left out of development analyses, with the consequence that too many interventions have foundered. The potential of culture to help to achieve the millennium development goals has not been realised in the past, nor has the human right to cultural and creative expression been taken seriously. The current economically focused development paradigm pays insufficient attention to the achievement of emotional and intellectual well-being alongside the fulfilment of physical needs. Sustainable, balanced growth can be ensured only by integrating cultural, economic and social development, whether investment comes from the public or private sector, or ideally from both working together.

Cultures, identities and different values have been viewed as a cause or accelerator of conflict by some politicians, sometimes with good reason. Is culture the bricks and mortar of walls or of bridges? How can we develop spaces where tradition, global modernity and intercultural dialogue can be juxtaposed without the spilling of blood?

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In the face of these enormous problems, many of which have been outlined this afternoon, some may think that it is frivolous to bring into the picture the issue of culture and creativity, but I assure noble Lords that it is not. Investment in, for example, the development of local craft skills can empower people to articulate their needs and identify their own solutions. Examples from the work of the Ethical Fashion Forum are indicative of the potential in Africa, in particular in the clothing industry. Work in fashion and the clothing industry is labour-intensive, requires limited capital input and, with good design and traditional skills, generates a high premium. Particularly in Africa, but also in India and elsewhere in the developing world, there is an enormous reservoir of creative skill, which is evidenced in textiles, clothing and other products.

In Kenya, statistics show that every job in the garment sector generates five other jobs. In Lesotho, 94 per cent of merchandise exports were from the clothing industry; GDP per capita increased from $558 in 2001 to $3,000 in 2004. DfID notes of Bangladesh:

"The garment sector is one of the most important industrial sectors in Bangladesh, about 10 million people benefiting from the industry. The sector provides employment opportunities for approximately 2.3 million workers, of whom 80% are women. The sector contributes about 7% to the overall GDP and generates more than 75% of overall export earnings".

A lot of that is generated by becoming a kind of sweatshop for the West, which is not the kind of development that we want to see. We need to skill up the producers so that they can produce material that is generated in those places for export and to boost trade. There are opportunities for this-in particular, because of the high participation rates of women, for promoting their advancement and employment, as was so ably expressed by my noble friend Lady Flather. This is particularly important and generates more than just the woman's job.

While the economic impact is important, without other benefits its worth is diminished. As one Rwandan put it to me earlier this year: "I need to eat, but I also need to feed my soul". Culture and creative expression are well placed to disseminate messages about health, develop community pride, raise educational standards and provide jobs, but more recognition in the form of strategic investment and interventions is needed in this sphere.

Through creative expression, other fundamental human needs, such as individual and collective pride in skilled labour, are satisfied, educational aspiration and ambition are boosted, local and regional cultures grow to challenge the dominance of western aesthetics and cultural hegemony, and traditional, sustainable practices that have limited negative impact on the environment are modernised. Creative expression can make a contribution to sustainable social, cultural and economic development.

DfID has launched a number of initiatives in this area that show a welcome recognition of the issues. However, a number of organisations and individuals with whom I have spoken-and I myself at times-have been frustrated by the seeming reluctance of DfID to accept fully the role that culture and creativity can play and to see how vital they are to development agendas in a systematic and engaged way. The benefits

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that relatively small amounts of investment in building the infrastructure of the creative and cultural sectors in many developing countries will bring to democratic ideals, environmental strategies, community building, civil society and the achievement of the millennium development goals urgently need to be recognised.

4.30 pm

Lord Grenfell: My Lords, when I was on my way to the House this morning, I spotted a Daily Mail headline at a newsstand that said, "Sharks off the English coast". I thought, "Here we go again. Another attack on the European Union". I therefore felt that I had some justification in speaking about the European Union in the House today. A lot has already been said but, as we near the end of the debate, I hope that noble Lords will indulge me if I add a few thoughts about the European Union, and I think that they will probably not be surprised that I do so.

I am glad that the noble Lord, Lord Howell, is coming to take his place because my first point may be somewhat relevant to what he said earlier. Regardless of his motives, the leader of the Conservative Party did both the European Union and the United Kingdom a considerable favour in deciding not to go ahead with a post-ratification referendum. Whether he has done himself anything more than a rather temporary favour, given the fractious mood of his party and of his rank and file, only time will tell, and only time will tell whether "avoiding a bust up", as he put it, with our European partners will survive the lifetime of a Parliament during which, if he were to become Prime Minister, he would hope to achieve his programme of six reforms to Britain's relations with the European Union.

For a fleeting moment-and it was only a fleeting moment-I was tempted to focus on those reforms, or pledges of reform, in my remarks today, but frankly they are irrelevant to the current debate on Europe. Some of them, like the so-called "referendum lock" and the proposed sovereignty Bill, can be quite easily legislated-that is not the problem-but wherever their provisions imply amendment to the treaties, and most of the six do, not least in the complete and totally unnecessary opt-out from the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, then the Government will run into the buffers.

The ratification of the Lisbon treaty was the culmination of nine years of hard work, often very bitter wrangling, of unsuccessful negotiations and, ultimately, successful negotiations, leaving everyone physically, mentally and intellectually exhausted. Only someone living in cloud-cuckoo-land could count on the other 26 member states agreeing for at least a decade to reopen the treaties amended by Lisbon and embark on another round of wrangling over Britain's special pleading. However, because we are a highly respected nation, it may be that at the margins a few concessions can be wrung from our partners by a Conservative Government, possibly in the form of political declarations which sound reassuring but carry no legal value and which would be scorned anyway by the more militant Eurosceptics.

So why irritate our European partners when there is so much that a British Government of whatever political colour can and should do to help to design and take

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forward an agenda for Europe that meets today's challenges? Let us look at what those challenges are: global security, climate change, nuclear proliferation, energy security, economic co-operation, financial regulation, tackling cross-border crime and enlarging the European Union to the east. I could go on. Our European partners know that we have much to contribute to the meeting of these challenges, so let us not undermine their confidence in us by testing their patience with backward-looking demands and pointless provocations. As David Miliband has said, what Europe needs from us is our hard-headed pragmatism and global mindset. We can and should provide that.

I want to say a word about the presidency of the European Council, or chairman as I prefer to call it, and the post of the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, both of which posts may be decided tonight at a heads of state and government dinner in Brussels. What a bizarre procedure for deciding who will be the candidates for the two very important posts on which the Council will have to vote. One would not select a village cricket team with as much awkwardness and opacity.

It is also ridiculous that the search for the right man or woman for either job should be constrained by the need to balance the centre-right for the chairman's post with someone from the centre-left for that of high representative. Why can we not look for the best persons available for the jobs regardless of their political positioning? Why should people of the calibre of the noble Lord, Lord Patten of Barnes, a former EU Commissioner for external affairs, or Carl Bildt, Sweden's immensely experienced Foreign Minister, be excluded from consideration for the post of high representative simply because they are not from the centre-left? Meanwhile I greatly regret that our very able Foreign Secretary has declared himself not available. This is the really hard post to fill as long as the choice is confined to someone from the centre-left. I read with great approval, in this morning's Financial Times,Jacques Delors' appeal for less bargaining and a little more sobriety in the process. I do not think that is in particular reference to the working dinner that is about to be served, but you never know.

The Conservative Opposition, of course, do not want a chairman or president of the European Council anyway but they are wrong. The present system of a six-monthly presidency rotating among heads of government has not worked as well as it should have done. The Lisbon treaty's creation of a two-and-a-half-year once renewable full-time chairmanship will make the Council more effective at creating direction and action.

My reading of the treaty-I have read it an awful lot as it has been bedside reading for the past year-convinces me that the intended role for the chair of the Council is, first, to prepare the Council meetings, set the agenda, chair the meetings, report to the European Parliament on the outcomes and monitor the follow-up on the actions decreed by the governments in Council. He or she will also ensure the external representation of the Union on issues concerning the common foreign and security policy but-this is crucial-without prejudice to the powers of the high representative. In other

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words, the chairman's role is to supplement the role of the high representative in external affairs, not substitute for it or compete with it. Would one really need a traffic stopper to fulfil those functions?

We have been witnessing misguided efforts in some quarters to create an upgraded perception of the job to suit a particular personality rather than looking for a person to suit the job as envisaged in the treaty. I find that unacceptable and I have hidden my feelings from neither my own party nor the House at large. There are occasions when tribal loyalty just has to give way to principle. I also feel strongly that the first chair should come from one of the smaller member countries where there are a number of qualified candidates. This is not just of symbolic significance. The larger member states downplay the importance of the smaller states at their peril. The Union is not the plaything of the big European powers and must never be if the peoples of Europe are to be brought closer to the Union and the Union closer to the people.

I have one more point to make on the filling of posts. I share wholeheartedly the concerns expressed in the letter published in Monday's Financial Times written by European Commissioners Margot Wallstrom and Neelie Kroes and European Parliament Vice-President Diana Wallis. Why are only men likely to be nominated for the top two posts when there are excellent women candidates available? And why is it that the new Commission is likely to have fewer women than the outgoing one? I am delighted that they mention my noble friend Lady Ashton in their letter as someone spoken of as a good candidate for the post of high representative. The Council should heed the words of the Commission's President Barroso when he calls for a better gender balance in appointing commissioners. Do not forget that women make up more than half the population of Europe; so why on earth are they so inadequately represented?

That is enough of posts and candidates. Those of us who believe passionately in the European project must admit that not all is well at the moment. Armand Clesse, the director of the Luxembourg Institute for European and International Studies, recently put it this way:

"The European project is now typified by uneasy bargaining, unstable arrangements and a constant search for some provisional fix. It is a triumph of 'sacro egoismo'-sanctified self-interest".

Recent indications of rising economic nationalism and a decline in the popular legitimacy of the EU and its institutions risk reinforcing each other. The citizens of Europe are asking whether the EU has the will and the means to deliver on its earlier promises. Popular consent for liberalisation was purchased with promises of solidarity. Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the Union, said nearly 60 years ago that Europe would not happen in one go, nor as a whole construct; it would happen through concrete achievements and, first, by creating a de facto solidarity.

However, there is too little evidence of that solidarity today. If we want an effective European Union, it must have the full support of Europe's citizens, and it will not have that unless they are convinced that the grand bargain of liberalisation in return for solidarity

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has not been abandoned. The implementation of the Lisbon treaty will do much to enhance the Union's efficiency and democratise its procedures. God knows that we need an effective European Union if we are not to wake up one day to find ourselves in a G2 world in which the United States and China shape the major decisions that affect us all and the European Union stands by begging for an audience.

What no treaty can ensure is the political will to put solidarity among and within the member states at the heart of its raison d'être. A thoughtful French politician recently wrote that Lisbon was a treaty content with clearing pathways rather than creating new visions and new horizons. He was right. Those pathways lead away from the idea of a federal superstate and towards the clear recognition that the political authority of the member states remains the motor for European policy-making. Although the Tory Opposition hate to admit it, the federalist tendency has lost the battle of ideas and has faded from the European scene. It is therefore the political authority of the member states-the motor for European policy-making-that must be collectively mobilised to respond to the needs of Europe's citizens and the demands placed on the Union as a crucial player in a globalised and multipolar world.

A Tory Government will bear a heavy responsibility in that. At present, the Tories' leaders seem not to understand the principle of proportionality. Their planned assault on the treaties is out of all proportion to the gains that they can hope to make for themselves, the country or the British people. Perhaps, in a rather more light-hearted manner, I can explain to them what proportionality is. During the Belle Epoque in France, there was a famous writer of theatrical comedy called Tristran Bernard. One day, walking down a Paris street, a removals man came out of a house carrying a grandfather clock on his shoulder. Turning as he came out, he knocked the playwright into the gutter. Bernard got up, dusted himself off and said: "Why can't you wear a watch like everybody else?".

I hope that the Conservatives will get themselves a watch and stop blundering about on the fringes of Europe like a man with a grandfather clock on his shoulder. Will they? I have my doubts, but one can live in hope for another Labour Government.

4.45 pm

Viscount Waverley: My Lords, I see the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, in his place. He will be missed from participating in this debate due to his missing the opening speeches. He was unavoidably detained as a result of his responsibilities this morning with London 2012. I know that he wishes to offer his apologies to your Lordships for not being able to participate this evening.

The situation in Afghanistan, while ominous, does present opportunities. Before offering some thoughts, however, I wish to underline the following. An outright Taliban victory would be disastrous for the region and the world at large. We are doomed if we lose the good will of the Afghan people and if they cease to perceive our help as being in their interest. They must know that this war is also for them. Our soldiers are dying for them.

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I just wish to make a brief point and I do so having returned from Tajikistan yesterday, where time was spent considering the contribution of central Asian states to a peace process. Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan are key in carrying messages to the broader Afghanistan. There is now a recognition of the need to run a set of parallel approaches; a military-only option is wide of the mark and damaging long-term interests, with anti-western feelings being exacerbated in the Islamic world. Al-Qaeda is already considered a reality in many Muslim countries and the perception is that it is provided with a justification for its actions.

We in the West will never succeed in imposing our will. In addition, western support for-some suggest-a corrupt Afghan Government must end. However, since support is a reality, we must work to alter the manner in which they conduct their affairs. It is exactly that, and that alone, which gives the impetus to the Taliban to be accepted by the poverty-stricken country. Simply put, the support for the Taliban is a result of a sense of hopelessness existing throughout Afghanistan, where the Government are seen, for all the recent election process, as corrupt and imposed.

The UK and the US are looking at options to resolve and extricate themselves. I was therefore heartened by reading of the Clinton-Miliband proposals in Kabul this week. This runs exactly along the thinking of northerly neighbouring states. Three initiatives must go hand in hand: first, continue military options with well executed targets; secondly, an essential parallel programme of economic development should be immediately implemented-it should be remembered that Afghanistan was once rich in agricultural terms and that energy opportunities abound; thirdly, conduct a strategic-only dialogue with the-call them what you will-moderate Taliban and their supporters.

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