The Fco S Human Rights Work 2010 11

The Foreign Affairs Committee believes the events of the 'Arab Spring' should stand as a reminder to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) that failing to take a stronger and more consistent stance against human rights violations by overseas regimes can carry risks for the UK. Any suggestion that the FCO downplays criticism of human rights abuses in countries with which the UK has close political and commercial links is damaging to the UK's reputation and undermines the department's overall work in promoting human rights overseas. The Committee is less confident than the FCO that there is little conflict between its simultaneous pursuit of both UK commercial interests and improved human rights standards overseas. The Committee heard concerns on this front with respect to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in particular. There should be a more robust and significantly more consistent position on human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa. On China, the Committee finds it difficult to support the Government's approach to human rights engagement with China in the continuing absence of any evidence that it is yielding results, and when the human rights situation in China appears to be deteriorating. The Government should engage in more explicit, hard-hitting and consistent public criticisms of human rights abuses in China. The Committee welcomes the FCO's continued production of an annual human rights report and the Government's recognition that the UK's own human rights practices affect its international reputation and ability to pursue improvements in human rights standards overseas.

Response to HC 964, session 2010-12 (ISBN 9780215560780). Dated September 2011

It is inevitable that the UK will have strategic, commercial or security-related interests overseas which have the potential to conflict with its human rights work, says the Foreign Affairs Committee in a report published today. The Government should not be trying to assert that the two can co-exist freely: it should instead be explaining publicly its judgments on how to balance them in particular cases. The Committee's recommendation comes in the light of the FCO's decision not to designate Bahrain as a "country of concern" in its 2011 report on its human rights work, despite the repression of demonstrations in Bahrain in 2011. The Committee recommends that the criteria for designation should be based purely on assessments of human rights standards and should not be coloured by strategic or other considerations. The Committee also challenges the Government for being inconsistent in not taking a public stance on the Bahrain Grand Prix but boycotting group stage games at Euro 2012 in Ukraine. On rendition, the Committee finds that the protracted police investigations had an unacceptable impact on the work of the Gibson Inquiry and of relevant committees. The Government should explain why current investigations into claims of rendition made by two Libyans are expected to take so long. The Committee accepts that enough progress has been made in Burma to justify some relaxation of the EU's sanctions regime, but it says that Burma's human rights record remains seriously blemished. It recommends that the UK should call for better access to those still detained as political prisoners, and should press the Burmese authorities to allow independent observers to visit Rakhine state, to assess the extent to which the rights of the Rohingya minority are being respected.

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This book explores the foreign and security policies of Germany, France and the UK vis-à-vis China. Despite the progress made by the Lisbon Treaty and notwithstanding the first EU Global Strategy, the European Union does not have a strategy to address the rise of China. Since this strategic deficit does not automatically reflect the level of EU member states, this book argues that the vacuum at EU level provides member states with an opportunity to fill this gap. By assuming that an increase in national policies on China would eventually lead to a comprehensive European strategy for China, the author focuses on the three biggest European countries and looks at the rise of China to understand the development of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy vis-à-vis the PRC. While the CFSP depends on the contribution of EU member states, their role in shaping the CFSP towards China has not been researched yet, and this book fills the gap.

The European system of human rights protection faces institutional and political pressures which threaten its very survival. These institional pressures stem from the backlog of applications before the European Court of Human Rights, the large number of its judgments that remain unimplemented, and the political pressures that arise from sustained attacks on the Court's legitimacy and authority, notably from politicians and jurists in the United Kingdom. This book addresses the theme which lies at the heart of these pressures: the role of national parliaments in the implementation of judgments of the Court. It combines theoretical and empirical insights into the role of parliaments in securing domestic compliance with the Court's decisions, and provides detailed investigation of five European states with differing records of human rights compliance and parliamentary mobilisation: Ukraine, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. How far are parliaments engaged in implementation, and how far should they be? Do parliaments advance or hinder human rights compliance? Is it ever justifiable for parliaments to defy judgments of the Court? And how significant is the role played by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe? Drawing on the fields of international law, international relations, political science, and political philosophy, the book argues that adverse human rights judgments not only confer obligations on parliamentarians but also create opportunities for them to develop influential interpretations of human rights and enhance their own democratic legitimacy. It makes an authoritative contribution to debate about the future of the European and other supranational human rights mechanisms and the broader relationship between democracy, human rights, and legitimate authority.

The revised and updated eighth edition of the bestselling textbook Politics UK is an indispensible introduction to British politics. It provides a thorough and accessible overview of the institutions and processes of British government, a good grounding in British political history and an incisive introduction to the issues facing Britain today. With contributed chapters from respected scholars in the field and contemporary articles on real-world politics from well-known political commentators, this textbook is an essential guide for students of British politics. The eighth edition welcomes brand new material from eight new contributors to complement the rigorously updated and highly valued chapters retained from the previous edition. The eighth edition includes: · Britain in context boxes offering contrasting international perspectives of themes in British politics. · A comprehensive 'who's who' of politics in the form of Profile boxes featuring key political figures. · And another thing ... pieces: short articles written by distinguished commentators including Jonathan Powell, Michael Moran and Mark Garnett. · Fully updated chapters plus new material providing excellent coverage of contemporary political events including: The Leveson Inquiry, the aftermath of the 2011 riots and the House of Lords reform. · A vibrant and accessible new design to excite and engage students as the work through a variety of political topics. · A new epilogue to the book offering a critical perspective of the trials and tribulations of the Coalition Government, including an overview of the major differences that divide the coalition partners.

Brice Dickson examines the engagement of the United Kingdom with international human rights monitoring mechanisms, in particular those operated by the United Nations and the Council of Europe since 2000. Dickson explores how these mechanisms work in practice and whether they have any identifiable impact on how human rights are protected in the UK.