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 November (HL2762), whether the substantial discussions on human rights issues with the government of Bahrain have included any discussions of the alleged use of torture; and what success the European Union has had in getting Israel to address the human rights concerns which it regularly raises.

Our Ambassador in Bahrain and his team regularly discuss human rights and political reform with the Government of Bahrain at the highest levels. Most recently on 9 November, our Ambassador called for the Special Investigation Unit to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the death of Hasan Al-Shaikh at Bahrain’s Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre. The Government continues to work closely with the Government of Bahrain to share best practice on torture prevention measures and to address allegations of torture and mistreatment.

The EU raised human rights issues with Israel in the informal working group on human rights on 20 November and will do so again in a political dialogue on 8 December.