Dear Colleague,

You will shortly receive a letter from Peter Lilley containing details of the Globalisation and Global Poverty Policy Group which is being launched this week. He will also enclose a letter from Oxfam which indicates their support for the Policy Group process, and presses us on a number of policy issues. Obviously the Policy Group will be considering carefully their suggestions for longer term policy development, but I thought it might be helpful if I set out our stance on the substantive issues that Oxfam raise in their letter, not least because you may well receive letters on a similar theme from constituents who take a keen interest in these important matters.

We do not always agree with Oxfam, but they are an immense force for good in the developing world, as William Hague and I saw recently in Darfur.

Arms Control

The Conservative Party supports the principle of the proposed International Arms Trade Treaty. We believe that the proposed Treaty is a step forward that will ensure that suppliers of arms are made accountable and will not contribute to brutal and destabilising wars around the world. We also recognise that there must be adequate and fair mechanisms to enforce the treaty. This includes provisions against the illegal transfer of arms which contribute to the continuance of civil war.

This is an area where Britain shows strong leadership. The British arms industry already operates to some of the highest standards in the world. Any measure that would make other countries live up to higher standards would be of great benefit to us and to international security in general.

Aid

We have re-iterated our commitment to achieve the UN's target of spending 0.7% of GNI on aid by 2013. This is the same timetable as the Government. However as Conservatives, we are interested in outputs, not just inputs. A central thrust of Conservative aid policy in Government will be to deliver the greatest possible reduction in poverty and suffering with our finite aid budget. This means rigorous independent evaluation of the effectiveness of our aid projects, and focussing resources on the most cost-effective programmes and policies. We will focus on results, not just headline spending figures.

Trade

We have joined with Oxfam in robustly criticising the failure of the Government, to persuade the EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, to deliver a meaningful offer on agriculture to unlock the present round of global trade talks. Poor people should be free to trade with each other, and they should be free to buy and sell from us in the West. As long as the exchange is voluntary, no trade will take place unless both parties benefit from it. That is the beauty of trade: it is not a zero-sum game, in which one party must win at the expense of the other.

Northern Uganda

Oxfam are right to highlight the appalling situation on Northern Uganda. Mark Simmonds MP, Shadow Minister for International Development, travelled to Northern Uganda last year and saw conditions there at first-hand. I visited Uganda in June 2005, and raised these concerns over the situation in Northern Uganda during our meeting with President Museveni.

Darfur, Sudan

Earlier this month William Hague and I travelled to Darfur, Sudan on a joint visit, courtesy of Oxfam. We have argued that the existing AU force should be transformed as soon as possible into a UN-led operation with a beefed-up Chapter Six mandate, backed by extensive logistical help, including air support as necessary, from NATO.

Further, we have called for asset and travel sanctions against individuals responsible for planning and assisting ethnic cleansing in Darfur to be robustly applied. We believe the UK Government should insist on Sudan's co-operation with the special investigations of the International Criminal Court in Darfur in accordance with UN resolution 1593. We have every intention of keeping the pressure up over the coming months.

I hope that this brief summary of our policies on these issues proves useful. There are many colleagues who have expertise and interest in this area through their connections in individual developing countries or through charitable involvement. If there is any advice or opinion you would like to pass on please do let Peter Lilley or myself know.

In this connection, may I mention that the next open meeting of the International Development team will be held on 8th May at 4pm in the Shadow Cabinet Room. All colleagues are welcome to attend.

With best wishes,

Andrew Mitchell MP
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development

PS I will be sending out a detailed update on Fairtrade next week.