Slavery

My Lords, I shall speak very briefly in the gap. I had not realised that I would be able to be here but I am very glad that I am if for no other reason than to pay my tribute to the noble Baroness, Lady Cox, for her consistent and tireless efforts on this front, and for her courage which she has so frequently demonstrated in pursuing this matter. Reference has been made to human trafficking. If we are to have effect in the global policies—the noble Baroness, Lady Cox, spoke very well about the global dimensions—our credibility is related to what we are doing in the United Kingdom itself and the challenge of human trafficking cannot be overstated. I wasa member of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe when we worked on the convention. I never dreamt at that time that my own Government would be so complacent about the urgency of signing the convention. The Government themselves like to claim that the world looks to what we do. If we drag our feet on an issue like this, it is not just that we do so on a problem that affects the United Kingdom; it sends a message to the world about the urgency with which we treat the entire issue. For that reason I hope the Minister can bring us some encouraging news today. I am now a member of the Joint Committeeon Human Rights, to which the noble Lord, Lord Wedderburn, has made several references. I take great pride in his personal references, because my sister has married into the Wedderburn family, and therefore it is always interesting to hear this powerful record. Yesterday the committee was considering the Government’s response, and it was not encouraging on the urgency of signing the convention. It is necessary to mobilise pressure. If we had in our report one message to the Government, to the nation, to this House and to the other House, it was that human trafficking must be seen in the context of human rights and the people affected being victims. Over and over again, when we listened to the police and other witnesses—it was very moving to hear how the police themselves had been affected by their work—the lament was that this is seen as an extension of the immigration problem, not as an issue of victims. If we get no other message to the Government this evening, I hope we will get one that across strongly.