1 Introduction
1. Safeguarding democracy and human rights is a thread
which runs through every aspect of this country's external relations,
whether political, humanitarian, commercial or security-based.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) rightly treats it as
one of the most important aspects of its work. We, in turn, devote
part of our scrutiny each year to an assessment of the FCO's human
rights work, as summarised in its annual Human Rights and Democracy
Report. This committee is also one of the four which meet concurrently
as the Committees on Arms Export Controls, which consider the
Government's arms exports and arms control policies and their
implications for external trade and human rights overseas.
2. The FCO published its 2012 Human Rights and Democracy
Report[1] on 15 April 2013,
and we announced our inquiry and terms of reference on 17 April.
We invited submissions on any aspect of the UK's human rights
work for which the FCO held responsibility, although we sought
comment on three areas of particular interest:
· The FCO's efforts to strengthen the ability
of states to counter terrorism whilst working to protect human
rights in those states, as described by the Secretary of State
in his speech on 14 February 2013 on Countering Terrorism Overseas;
· The 11 April declaration by G8 Foreign
Ministers on the prevention of sexual violence in conflict, and
the impact of the FCO's Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative,
launched in May 2012; and
· Threats to freedom of expression through
the media, including the jamming of broadcasts and the growing
trend of imposing controls on access to the internet.
3. We held oral evidence sessions with Amnesty International
and Human Rights Watch, as two non-governmental organisations
whose activities range throughout the world and across every aspect
of human rights; with BBC Global Services, in order to explore
some of the more technical issues relating to freedom in broadcasting;
and with the Rt Hon Baroness Warsi, Senior Minister of State at
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We also received a number
of written submissions. Given the enormous scope of the field
and the limited time available to us, we have not been able to
take up all of the issues raised, but that should not be taken
to mean that we do not think them worthy of attention. We are
grateful to all those who have contributed.
4. Our Report deals principally with the three areas
of particular interest identified above, although we start with
a chapter on 'countries of concern', singling out three countries—Sri
Lanka, Burma and Russia—for closer examination. We expect
to comment on the UK's human rights work in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain
in a separate report, on the UK's relations with Saudi Arabia
and Bahrain, likely to be published later this year. The final
chapter of this Report deals briefly with business and human rights,
and the export of equipment which could limit or punish freedom
of expression on the internet.
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