Tuesday, January 19, 2016
UK Government take contradictory stance on human rights
Those of us who are strong supporters of the Human Rights Act will be bemused by this article in the Independent, which records that the Government is to double the Foreign Office budget for promoting human rights.
They say that Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond will announce the creation of a new £10.6m annual Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy to promote democracy and the rule of law in more than 60 countries.
They add that the new fund is expected to target projects in areas with poor human rights records such as Iraq, China and the Gulf.
This is a complete U-turn by the UK Government that had previously suggested that that human rights were no longer a “top priority”.
The Foreign Office has also been criticised for leaving Saudi Arabia off a list of countries to be targeted for its use of the death penalty.
So we now have a situation whereby the UK Government is promoting human rights abroad whilst remaining committed to repealing the Human Rights Act at home. A case of do what they say not what they do perhaps?
They say that Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond will announce the creation of a new £10.6m annual Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy to promote democracy and the rule of law in more than 60 countries.
They add that the new fund is expected to target projects in areas with poor human rights records such as Iraq, China and the Gulf.
This is a complete U-turn by the UK Government that had previously suggested that that human rights were no longer a “top priority”.
The Foreign Office has also been criticised for leaving Saudi Arabia off a list of countries to be targeted for its use of the death penalty.
So we now have a situation whereby the UK Government is promoting human rights abroad whilst remaining committed to repealing the Human Rights Act at home. A case of do what they say not what they do perhaps?
