Sahel: Human Rights

(asked on 26th March 2019) - View Source

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 prioritise respect for human rights and the rights of minorities when working in partnership with countries of the Sahel.


Answered by
Harriett Baldwin Portrait
Harriett Baldwin
This question was answered on 1st April 2019

​We regularly raise these issues with the countries of the Sahel and in multilateral fora. This includes through the EU's "Article 8" political discussions with these countries, the Universal Periodic Review and the Human Rights Council – where most recently the UK called on the Government of Mali to denounce and tackle human rights abuses, including all forms of violence against women, girls and members of other vulnerable groups.

We also press partners on the importance of compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law in security operations and provide funding for the establishment of a compliance framework for the G5 Sahel Joint Force.

To help improve protection of civilians in the Sahel in the context of growing instability, the UK is also providing funding to the International Committee of the Red Cross to ensure humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict, and to promote respect for international humanitarian law in the region

Reticulating Splines