Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions the Government’s Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment for the Counter Terrorism Associated Prosecutorial Reforms Initiative programme in Pakistan has been reviewed; how many times the risk assessment for that programme has been revised; and on how many occasions a Minister in his Department has approved the continuation of this programme.

This question was answered on 31st July 2019
The Counter Terrorism Associated Prosecutorial Reform Initiative programme does not manage cases through the Anti-Terrorism Courts in Pakistan. The programme supports the reform of the criminal justice system and the Government is confident it has been delivered in a way that is consistent with our opposition to the death penalty.

All our capacity building work is carefully considered using our Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) Guidance, which ensures the assistance being provided is properly assessed against a comprehensive range of human rights risks, including possible indirect outcomes of our activity and what mitigations are being put in place. The Guidance instructs when OSJAs are prepared, that they should be regularly updated and when Ministers must be consulted. The OSJA checklist continues to be a live document and updated as necessary. Mr Field, the former Minister for Asia and the Pacific at the time, received regular updates on the risks associated with the Rule of Law programme’s activities.