Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2015 to Question 2508, what discussion his Department has had with UK companies about the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea and the use of national service conscripts by foreign-operated companies.

We have not spoken to any UK companies about the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, published in June. In line with the UK’s Business and Human Rights Action Plan (based upon the UN Guiding Principles) all UK businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights.

In the UK’s statement during the UN Human Rights Council discussion of the Commission’s report we made clear that Eritrea must take concrete action to improve the human rights situation in the country, and in particular to fulfil its commitment to limiting national service to 18 months.