World Poverty — 19 Jun 2002 at 18:50

I beg to move,

That this House shared the concerns of the Trade Justice Movement about the plight of the poorest people in the world, and congratulates them on bringing these matters to the attention of the public; notes with great concern the increasing levels of hunger and poverty in many developing nations; further notes that international development targets are not being met in Africa; recognises the depth of public concern on this issue; believes that increasing levels of international trade offer the greatest hope for the alleviation of hunger and poverty in history; further believes that the removal of trade barriers will promote economic growth, trade and investment in poor nations; supports the liberalisation of trade; is concerned that the Common Agricultural Policy is failing both British farmers and consumers, and harming farmers in poor countries; is also concerned at the rising levels of farm subsidies in America; and calls on the Government to use the forthcoming G8 Summit in Canada, the EU Heads of Government Meeting, and future World Trade Organisation meetings to further the liberalisation of international trade to promote the alleviation of poverty and combat hunger and starvation amongst the poorest people on earth.

I beg to move, To leave out from "House" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:

"welcomes the lobby of Parliament by the Trade Justice Movement and increased recognition of trade as a key component to reducing global poverty; welcomes also efforts made to draw public attention to these important issues; recognises trade has an important role to play in helping countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); is aware that to achieve this a multilateral trading system is needed giving developing countries a fair deal; recognises that the Government is committed to working with developing country partners, and other bilateral donors and multilateral organisations to achieve this; believes that the development challenges faced in Africa require the international community, working together with African countries, to make additional efforts to secure progress towards the MDGs; welcomes the Government's commitment to turning the agreement reached at Doha in November last year into a meaningful 'Development Round' and to achieving real progress on market access and in areas of importance to developing countries; will continue to support efforts to reform the Common Agricultural Policy and reduce trade-distorting subsidies; will support preferential access to developing countries through the Generalised System of Preferences aid to least developed countries through the Everything But Arms initiative; recognises developing countries themselves must undertake effective policy measures to integrate into the global trading system; supports these efforts and engagement in a broad range of activities to help countries participate more effectively in the multilateral trading system; and further welcomes the Government's commitment to doubling support for trade-related capacity building from £15 million in 1998–2001 to £30 million in 2001–04.".

The House having divided: Ayes 180, Noes 319.

Debate in Parliament | Historical Hansard | Source |