Hilary Benn MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, commenting on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee report, ‘The FCO’s administration and funding its human rights work overseas’, said:

“When the FCO’s Permanent Secretary says that human rights are “not one of our top priorities” there is clearly a problem. Tory ministers need to realise that Britain’s standing in the world is diminished if we fail to speak out against the death penalty and abuses of the rule of law or fail to speak up for the rights and freedoms that all human beings are entitled to. David Cameron should be using Britain’s influence to stand up to repressive regimes rather than letting human rights slip down his Government’s list of priorities.”

Ends

Notes

1.      The Chairman of the Committee, Crispin Blunt MP, said:

“The actions and words of Ministers in the Foreign Office have undermined the excellent human rights work carried out by the Department. This needs to be remedied.

We recommend that the FCO is more mindful of the perceptions it creates at Ministerial level, especially when other interests are engaged such as prosperity and security—as is the case with China, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Perceptions, and the symbols that reinforce them, matter, particularly in the context of the UK’s soft power and international influence.”

2.      Full press release from Foreign Affairs Select Committee - http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2015/human-rights-report-published-15-16/