15.1 | Civilian
personnel
656.
In 2011,
Mr William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, told the Foreign
Affairs
Committee
(FAC) inquiry into the role of the FCO in UK government that he
wanted
language
expertise and regional knowledge to be “re‑accentuated” in the
FCO.428
657.
Two witnesses
to the FAC inquiry argued that there was a disjuncture
between
Mr Hague’s
emphasis on language skills for UK diplomats and decisions to
cut
government
support for the teaching of modern languages in UK
universities.429
658.
Dr Christian
Turner, FCO Director Middle East and North Africa, informed the
FAC
that the
FCO had taken a number of steps to improve Arabic language
skills:
•
restoration
of the length of full time Arabic training to 18
months;
•
more
opportunities for staff in London to learn Arabic and maintain
existing
skills;
and
•
a 40
percent increase in “Arabic speaker capacity” in Middle East and
North
Africa
posts compared to 2010.430
659.
In its 2012
report on British foreign policy and the Arab Spring, the FAC
concluded
that the
FCO had “significantly degraded” its language capacity by 2010, but
had since
recognised
the need to improve Arabic language skills.431
660.
At the opening
of the new FCO language school on 19 September 2013,
Mr Hague
described
expertise in a foreign language as “one of the fundamental skills
of our
diplomats”:
“It makes
them vastly more effective at communicating the viewpoint of the
United
Kingdom.
And it is vital to understanding the political mood in different
countries and
to spotting
trends or anticipating crises.
…
“It helps
us, for example to identify and influence individuals and groups
playing a
significant
part in shaping events, such as in the context of the Arab spring.
Arabic is
the fastest
growing language on social media platforms globally, and we need
good
language
skills to tap into this rich conversation and to put across the UK
position.
“Language
skills are invaluable when trying to understand and predict the
behaviour
of
countries that do not have transparent, democratic political
systems, and where
reliable
information is harder to come [by] but vitally important to British
companies
or to our
security interests.
428
Seventh
Report from the Foreign Affairs Committee, Volume I, Session
2010‑2012, The Role of
the
FCO in UK
Government, 12 May 2011,
page 70.
429
Seventh
Report from the Foreign Affairs Committee, Volume I, Session
2010‑2012, The Role of
the
FCO in UK
Government, 12 May 2011,
page 70.
430
Foreign
Affairs Committee, Session 2012‑2013, Written
Evidence from Dr Christian Turner, Director,
Middle East
and North Africa Directorate, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office, 7 July
2011.
431
Second
Report from the Foreign Affairs Committee, Session
2012‑2013, British
Foreign Policy and the
‘Arab
Spring’, 19 July
2012, pages 22‑23.
357