Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of the report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe entitled OSCE Human Dimension Commitments and State Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic, published on 17 July 2020.

The UK welcomes this report published by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). We strongly support the work of ODIHR, including the efforts it has made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is vital that all participating States take responsible action in line with the OSCE's comprehensive body of principles and commitments.

The challenges the world faces in responding to COVID-19 are unprecedented and the exceptional measures needed to combat it will have profound effects on individuals and societies. But it is vital that any exceptional measures are lawful, proportionate, limited and time-sensitive; both as a matter of international human rights law and national law. States' response to the COVID-19 pandemic must also take into account the specific needs and experiences of marginalised and vulnerable groups, on whom the pandemic has the greatest effect, and it is imperative that States respect their commitments to the core values of human rights, democracy and rule of law as they address this crisis. The UK Government is committed to protecting and respecting human rights and we have a longstanding tradition of respecting these values and fulfilling our domestic and international human rights obligations.