Central and East Africa — House of Commons, 2016-01-25
Topic: International Affairs
Stuart Blair Donaldson (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I congratulate the hon. and learned Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Stephen Phillips) on securing the debate I, too, want to focus on Kenya, a country that I had the privilege of visiting for the first time last year. During my visit, I went to see a number of projects supported by DFID in collaboration with other organisations. They included—please excuse my Swahili—Utu Wema primary school, a school in the middle of one of Nairobi’s informal settlements which is funded jointly by DFID and the United States Agency for International Development. Although the school was barely a quarter of the size of the Chamber, there were more than 300 children in attendance. Despite the lack of space, the children seemed to be happy and enjoying their education We were also shown an education tool, funded by DFID, called Tusome, which means "Let’s read" in Kiswahili. It is an early-grade reading resource for English and Kiswahili, and it provides teachers with real-time resources and teaching tools which they use to support and monitor children’s early development. It was good to see at first hand what international development spending can achieve. However, I was acutely aware that what I saw during my visits were good examples, and that not everywhere could be like that While I was in Kenya, I also visited a wellness centre in Nakuru. It was run by Hope Worldwide, with support from the Kenyan Red Cross and the Global Fund, and was set up to provide services for Kenya’s most at-risk populations, including commercial sex workers, MSM—men who have sex with men—and intravenous drug users. The centre primarily offers HIV prevention services, but we were able to sit in on an MSM peer counselling group session As Members may know, existing Kenyan law criminalises same-sex conduct with up to 14 years’ imprisonment, so it was with some anxiety for our hosts—the men who were attending the session—that I sat in on that informal session with at least 10 Kenyan Government officials while the men discussed the causes and disadvantages of erectile dysfunction. I commend the bravery of those young men in, first, admitting to being gay—people must refer to themselves as being MSM—and, secondly, taking the opportunity provided by our visit to lecture the Government officials on what more they could be doing to assist the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex population As many Members will know, criminal sanctions against same-sex conduct exacerbate abuse by police and other state agents who subject LGBTI persons to harassment, extortion, arbitrary arrest and detention without charge on trumped-up charges of denial of services, sexual assault, and even rape. Along with members of the all-party parliamentary group on global LGBTI rights, I recently met a Kenyan man who campaigns for justice for LGBTI persons in Kenya. He told us that, because of the work that he did, he was subject to phone-tapping, interception of mail, and general harassment and intimidation. Given the security concerns outlined by the hon. Member for North Warwickshire (Craig Tracey), one would think that those agencies would have better spending priorities. That demonstrates that, although the hon. Gentleman described Kenya as one of the more stable countries, it still has some distance to travel to protect some of its most vulnerable people The 10th of the global goals for sustainable development is the reduction of inequalities. One of its aims is, by 2030, to empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic status. That is why it is so important for us to support LGBTI communities in central and east Africa. In their policy paper "Leaving no one behind", published by DFID on 24 November 2015, the Government pledged to ensure that every person had a fair opportunity in life, no matter who or where they were. People who are the furthest behind, who have the least opportunity and who are the most excluded will be prioritised. Every person counts. Specifically, the Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Baroness Verma, said in a written answer that the Government "will prioritise the interests of the world’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged people including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people." Along with, I am sure, many Members on both sides of the House, I shall wait with interest to see what support and protection the Government will give LGBTI people in Kenya, in Africa as a whole, and around the world.