Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 20 October, what assessment they have made of the position of (1) Bahrain, and (2) Israel, in respect of the obligation to respect human rights as being an essential element of any trade agreement with the United Kingdom.

The EU’s negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Bahrain, were suspended in 2008. Bilateral trade issues are discussed at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meetings, which also include a substantial discussion of human rights and reform issues. Bahrain continues to make steady progress with its political reforms, and the UK will continue to encourage Bahrain to do more.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement provides an important framework to discuss the EU’s human rights concerns, and work with Israel to address these. The EU regularly raises its concerns with Israel in meetings at all levels through the structures of the Association Agreement, including through an informal human rights working group and regular political level meetings. At the same time, as the terms of the agreement make clear, any upgrade in relations between the two parties depends on progress towards a two state solution.