APPENDIX 1
Letter from the Chairman to the Foreign
Secretary concerning the Government Response to the Committee's
First Report, Session 1998-99, Foreign Policy and Human Rights,
13 July 1999
The Committee this morning considered the Government's
repose to its report on Foreign Policy and Human Rights. We recognise
that there are a number of issues arising from our recommendations
which can best be addressed following the publication of the Government's
Annual Report on Human Rights for 1999, which we understand will
appear in the near future. Once the Annual Report is published,
the Committee will of course wish to take evidence from the Minister
responsible, and I shall be writing to Tony Lloyd about this in
due course.
There were a number of instances, which I outline
below, where the Committee felt the Government had not addressed
its recommendations in an adequate fashion.
1. RECOMMENDATION
11: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL
COURT
The Committee is most disappointed that time
has not been found to bring forward the appropriate legislation
to ratify the Court's statute in the current Session. It urges
the Government to bring legislation before the House at the earliest
opportunity in the next Session.
2. RECOMMENDATION
19: EU REPORTS ON
HUMAN RIGHTS
The Committee continues to believe that the
strongest representations should be made for the release of the
full texts of EU reports in the field of human rights. The Committee
recommended that the reports should be placed in the public domain:
it does not regard the offer of their release to members under
controlled conditions as adequate. Other human rights organisations
are able to publish detailed reports of human rights abuses without
endangering the safety of named groups or individuals: indeed,
such disclosure often affords a degree of protection.
3. RECOMMENDATION
27: COUNTRY STRATEGY
PAPERS (CSPS)
The Government's reply did not make it explicit
that such papers would include the core issues specified by the
Committee, viz. the status of ratification of core UN human rights
instruments, the strategy to be adopted to achieve full ratification,
and monitoring of the extent to which the obligations under these
instruments are being carried out.
The Committee would find it helpful to be updated
regularly with a list of the countries for which CSPs are current,
and to be supplied with copies of the relevant paper before it
visits a country for which a CSP is in force. In particular the
Committee would be grateful for a copy of any CSP on Russia before
its visit in October. We expect that the role of the British Council
in promoting human rights should be an integral component of each
country strategy.
4. RECOMMENDATION
35: INTERNATIONAL LABOUR
ORGANISATION CONVENTION
138
The Committee is concerned that no announcement
has yet been made on the Government's position of ratification
of Convention 138, despite its undertaking in the Response that
such an announcement would be made "in the near future".
5. RECOMMENDATION
36: REPORTING FROM
POSTS
The Committee would appreciate an assurance
that a report on the human rights situation should be a specific
feature of every Head of Mission's regular reporting discipline.
I hope that you will be able to provide an early
response to the points outlined above.
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