Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent Human Rights Watch report on alleged senior military involvement in false positive cases in Colombia.

On 25 June, our Ambassador in Colombia hosted a lunch for other ambassadors from EU Member States at which the Americas Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), José Miguel Vivanco, presented HRW’s report ‘On Their Watch’. We take seriously the allegations in this report pertaining to false positives and I welcome President Santos’ pledge to ensure that they are investigated thoroughly. We attach importance to his firm commitment that there will be no impunity for human rights abuses in Colombia.

The UK works with the Colombian government and military as part of our joint efforts to improve the country’s human rights situation. We regularly discuss human rights and already have clear criteria in place to guide all bilateral defence engagement. We will, of course, continue to monitor this case as investigations proceed.