The FCO's administration and funding its human rights work overseas Contents

Conclusions and recommendations

The FCO’s apparent deprioritisation of human rights

1.Whilst the Minister strongly rejected the suggestion that the FCO has deprioritised human rights, the written evidence that we received indicates that there is plainly a perception that this has occurred. (Paragraph 8)

2.Perceptions and symbols matter, particularly in the context of the UK’s soft power and international influence. 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. (Paragraph 9)

3.The decision by the current Foreign Secretary not to fly the Rainbow Flag at FCO buildings for Pride 2015 signalled an apparent change in FCO policy and sent a message that contradicts much of the actual work and objectives of the FCO. We recommend that the FCO reverses its decision not to fly the Rainbow Flag for national Pride events. In the absence of such events due to host nation intolerance of equality around sexuality, the FCO should fly the Rainbow Flag from Missions abroad alongside the Union Flag on IDAHOT Day (International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia). (Paragraph 11)

Operation of the FCO’s new human rights priorities

4.The embedding of human rights across the FCO’s network would be welcomed if it did not coincide with a perceived lack of Ministerial priority. Plainly the actual effect of a change of approach could be to decrease focus on the specific human rights issues that were formerly included within the narrower thematic priorities. We recommend that Posts should be encouraged to develop specific human rights objectives in their business plans under the three themes, taking into account local assessment of the most relevant issues and needs. Given that human rights work has been mainstreamed across the FCO network, we seek reassurance from the FCO that the three human rights themes are incorporated in staff and team objectives and performance assessments, even for those whose focus is not specifically on human rights. (Paragraph 18)

Support for local human rights programmes

5.The current administration of the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy acts against an intelligent deployment of resources which takes into account a clear assessment of in-country human rights priorities. The FCO should change its policy on the mandatory registration of organisations which apply for funding from the Magna Carta Fund to enable those which have been suitably vetted but face genuine restrictions to proceed to the next stage of the application process. (Paragraph 20)

6.We welcome the doubling of the FCO’s annual funding for its dedicated human rights and democracy programme (renamed the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy) to £10.6 million. (Paragraph 21)

The FCO’s monitoring and evaluation practices

7.We recommend that the FCO should continue to address how it evaluates its human rights work. It should consider publishing headline targets for the outputs of its human rights policy in its Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy, including assessment of progress against these targets in the biannual updates on Human Rights Priority Countries and Annual Reports which follow. (Paragraph 24)

Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy

8.We recommend the FCO consider if elements of DfID’s Development Tracker could be replicated presentationally (with allowances for security considerations) on the human rights section of the FCO’s website. (Paragraph 26)

Human Rights Priority Countries

9.The failure to include Egypt and Bahrain amongst the list of Human Rights Priority Countries contributes to the perception that the FCO has become more hesitant in promoting and defending international human rights openly and robustly notwithstanding the importance of private diplomacy. We recommend that Egypt and Bahrain be included on the list of Human Rights Priority Countries in the FCO’s 2015 Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. (Paragraph 27)

Committee plans for future scrutiny

10.The Committee’s work on human rights over the course of this Parliament will entail:

a)As has previously been the case, consideration of the FCO’s Annual Reports on Human Rights and Democracy, but also the changes being made to the Report’s content, length and format

b)Specific thematic and country inquiries on areas of immediate concern

c)Reviews of the FCO’s contribution and progress in specific individual cases, issues and countries to be revisited on a yearly basis: (Paragraph 28)

The FCO’s work in support of individuals who have suffered, or are at risk of suffering, human rights abuses:
Individuals that the FAC will monitor over this Parliament	Background
Waleed Abu al-Khair	A prominent Saudi activist and lawyer who has completed a year of a 15-year prison term that stems from his peaceful criticism of the Saudi government and human rights advocacy
Muhammad Anwar	A Pakistani national arrested in 1993 when we was 17 years old and who has been on death row for over 23 years even though the execution of juveniles is prohibited under international and Pakistani law
Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala	Pro-democracy activists from the Democratic Republic of Congo arrested in March 2015
Lee Bo	A British bookseller associated with the sale of books critical of senior Chinese figures who disappeared in Hong Kong in December 2015 and is suspected of having been involuntarily removed to the Chinese mainland
Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani	A Saudi economics professor, who co-founded the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA). He was sentenced to ten years in prison and a ten year travel ban
Kamal Foroughi	A 76 year old British man arrested in Iran in 2011 and in 2013 sentenced to seven years in jail for alleged espionage
Ibrahim Halawa	A young Irish man awaiting a mass trial and potentially the death penalty following his arrest in Egypt during the protests in Cairo of August 2013
Khizar Hayat	A Pakistani national with paranoid schizophrenia. Despite evidence of his mental illness, there have been a number of warrants issued for his execution in the last year
Dawit Isaak	One of a group of journalists arrested in Eritrea in 2001 and imprisoned since then without trial
Andy Tsege	A British citizen and prominent figure in Ethiopian politics given an in absentia death sentence in 2009 and rendered from Yemen to Ethiopia in 2014 where he is now imprisoned
Selected causes as exemplars of FCO policy, to be revisited annually to assess progress:
LGBTI rights in the Commonwealth
Ratification and enforcement of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Selected countries, and an annual assessment of the FCO’s performance in promoting human rights in each:
Egypt
Eritrea

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Prepared 30 March 2016