Bahrain: Overseas Aid

(asked on 10th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the hon Member for Glasgow East in the debate on the Transparency of the Integrated Fund on 22 October 2020, Official Report, col 475 WH that no Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment was carried out for the visits of officials from the Bahrain Ministry of Interior and judges from the Court of First Instance to the UK in March 2018 and August 2019, which were delivered under the Integrated Activity Fund, what assessment the Government has made of compliance of those matters with its (a) human rights safeguarding policies and (b) human rights obligations.


Answered by
James Cleverly Portrait
James Cleverly
Home Secretary
This question was answered on 17th November 2020

In helping Bahrain in the area of justice and security, we always consider when an OSJA assessment might be appropriate. The visits to the UK in 2018 and 2019 were arranged for Bahraini officials to meet, observe and ask questions of UK judges and officials about the approach to alternative sentencing by the UK's courts and National Probation Service. I am satisfied that both visits were consistent with our domestic and international rights and obligations and that OSJA assessments were not required.

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