Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect people who defend human rights across the world.
Answered by Mark Field
In 2017 the then Foreign Secretary issued a revised version of the UK Guidelines on Working with Human Rights Defenders to the diplomatic network. In addition, all Human Rights Priority Countries are required to have a Human Rights Strategy which includes working with human rights defenders. The Guidelines give guidance to our diplomatic network on how to support and promote the work done by human rights defenders. Depending on the local context, this might involve making public statements, attending trials, or working privately with host governments. The UK also supports human rights defenders through programmes within the Magna Carta Fund. Officials in London regularly meet human rights defenders to understand how we can support them best. Working at the multilateral level, in November 2017 the UK helped forge consensus on the UN General Assembly Resolution on Human Rights Defenders, bringing countries together to recognise and support the excellent work done by human rights defenders around the globe.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has taken steps to determine the reasons for his Department being ranked 40 of the 45 major aid donors in the Aid Transparency Index, published on 20 June 2018 by Publish What You Fund; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
As a major donor, the FCO has been included in the Aid Transparency Index since 2013. We were disappointed to receive a poor rating this year and are undertaking a review of FCO performance. In discussion with Publish What you Fund, and other Whitehall Departments, we have identified a number of areas for improvement including around the timeliness of publications and our programme documentation.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had any recent discussions with the Government of Bangladesh with the objective of either (a) promoting the human rights of female migrant workers and (b) promoting the need for more safeguarding for female migrant workers against exploitation and trafficking; and if he will list the outcomes of recent discussions he has had with that Government.
Answered by Mark Field
The British Government works closely with the Government of Bangladesh on these critical issues. Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking were discussed at the UK-Bangladesh Strategic Dialogue, and at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, this April which Prime Minister Hasina attended. The Secretary of State for International Development, raised these issues with Government of Bangladesh and met female migrant workers when she visited Bangladesh in November 2017. Bangladesh was also among the first group of countries to endorse our Prime Minister's Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking at the UN General assembly last year.
The UK supports Bangladesh to provide greater access to justice for survivors of abuse and trafficking, for example through an online complaints system and legal advice. We also support the Government of Bangladesh to ensure safe migration and prevent trafficking; in December announced a £13m funding package for the second phase of the Work in Freedom programme that will continue to tackle these issues across the region.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that those responsible for civilian deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo are held to account for their actions in the international courts.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The UK is deeply concerned by the continuing violence in many parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo that is leading to civilian deaths. We frequently raise our concerns with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo since it has primary responsibility for bringing those responsible for unlawful killings to justice. Alongside our international partners we have called on the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to investigate these crimes swiftly and bring the still unidentified perpetrators before national courts. The International Criminal Court is an independent body and a Court of last resort, which is complementary to national legal systems. It investigates potential crimes only when the domestic authorities are unwilling or unable to bring perpetrators of the most severe crimes to justice themselves.