MISC 92: Letter to the Chairman from Gillian Merron MP,

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office

 

 

I am writing to you as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, to draw your attention to the Written Ministerial Statement that the Foreign Secretary issued on Colombia today. I enclose a copy for your and the Committee's information.[1]

 

As you will see, we are improving and changing the way we deliver our objectives in Colombia. As well as continuing our important counter narcotics work, we are strengthening our work on human rights and supporting and developing civil society, and devoting new resources to tackling impunity. Our bilateral defence protect on human rights has ceased, and we are integrating our work on humanitarian demining with international and civil society partners.

 

I very much welcome Parliamentary colleagues' continuing interest in Colombia and Latin America more generally, including the Foreign Affairs Committee's comments on Colombia following the 2007 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights report. I hope this engagement will continue.

 

I hope this is helpful. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss it in more detail.

 

 

30 March 2009

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[1] HC Deb, 30 March 2009, col 40WS