A Letter to British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy

A call for the new UK government to advocate for social and economic justice on the global stage and stand with the world's most marginalised women and girls

As our vision is a future where there is safety and equality for all women and girls, we welcome Labour’s commitment to empowering women and girls in every part of the world.

However, time is tight. As the new government sets the new agenda for the coming years, it is critical that that we prioritise women and girls across the world.

We look forward to the UK increasingly being a champion of human rights, gender equality and the rule of law, in both word and deed.

Our key asks of the new government:

  • Return overseas development aid to the legally required level of 0.7% of gross national income and to increase funding to women’s organisations.
  • Renew efforts and to use all means at its disposal to push for an end to the conflicts in Sudan, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine.
  • Develop a foreign policy that prioritises feminist and human rights principles.
  • Introduce legislation that mandates companies operating in the UK to carry out human rights and environmental due diligence.

READ THE FULL LETTER SENT TO british foreign secretary, DAVID LAMMY

Dear Foreign Secretary, 

Congratulations on your recent appointment. We believe your long history in advocating for social justice will translate into strong leadership on these issues on the global stage and we look forward to the UK increasingly being a champion of human rights, gender equality and the rule of law, in both word and deed.  

We are writing from The Circle NGO, a global feminist organisation that we founded with other leading women, that supports the economic empowerment and ending of violence for the most marginalised and vulnerable women around the world. As our vision is a future where there is safety and equality for all women and girls, we welcome Labour’s commitment to empower women and girls in every part of the world.  

We believe that women and girls are the driving force behind transformative change and as such, should be fully supported. More funding is essential to that. We know from evidence that countries with the strongest feminist movements have more comprehensive policies on women’s rights and stronger delivery of services to keep women safe and empowered. We therefore hope that the government will return overseas development aid to the legally required level of 0.7% of gross national income immediately, not only when the fiscal situation allows, and will increase funding to women’s organisations.  

We hope too that the Labour government will keep its commitment to introduce a feminist international development policy that tackles deep-rooted gender inequality and violence and harassment against women and girls globally. This is so essential when women’s rights are facing a rollback across the globe. Challenging this rollback of gender equality – and human rights more broadly – should be a key priority of any new UK government. Developing a foreign policy that prioritises feminist and human rights principles will allow the Labour government to meet its aim of championing international law and universal human rights at home and abroad, as well as the multilateral treaties that uphold them.  

As global feminists, we know that it is women and children that suffer the most in war. Verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence rose by a staggering 50% over the last year. As such we urge the new Labour government to renew efforts – and to use all means at its disposal – to push for an end to the conflicts in Sudan, Gaza, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine and to ensure that adequate levels of humanitarian assistance are provided to affected populations. We also hope that the Labour government will continue to support and prioritise efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict. 

We welcome Labour’s ‘New Deal for Working People’, the recognition that work alone is not a route out of poverty and the commitment to make the UK minimum wage a living wage. We also ask the Labour government to commit to tackling economic injustice in global supply chains. As up to 80% of garment workers in some countries are women, the poverty wages endemic in the fashion industry’s global supply chains, and the appalling consequences for garment workers of such wages, is an issue that we hope the Labour government will be committed to tackling as part of its global commitment to the economic empowerment of women. Legislation – like that recently introduced by the European Union – is imperative to breaking the cycle of abusive practices in global supply chains by compelling global brands – that make vast profits in the UK – to do better.  

As such, we urge you as the incoming Foreign Secretary to: 

  • Return overseas development aid to the legally required level of 0.7% of gross national income immediately and increase funding to women’s organisations. 
  • Develop a foreign policy that prioritises feminist and human rights principles. 
  • Strenuously push for an end to the conflicts in Sudan, Gaza, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine and ensure that adequate levels of humanitarian assistance are provided to affected populations. 
  • Introduce legislation that mandates companies operating in the UK to carry out human rights and environmental due diligence and holds them to account when they fail to prevent human rights abuses and environmental harms. 

Congratulations again. We look forward with optimism to a re-energised foreign policy that has a commitment to women and girls at its core and look forward to engaging with you on these issues in future.  

Yours sincerely,

The Circle