The UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee has criticised the British government, accusing them of being inconsistent on issues of human rights in other countries.
The report particularly highlighted the case of Bahrain, criticising the decision to take no action over the Bahrain grand Prix, but boycott football matches in Ukraine for the Euro 2012 championships.
UK ministers to boycott Euro 2012 football in Ukraine (07 June 2012)
Former F1 Champion wants Bahrain Grand Prix rethink (05 April 2012)
Richard Ottaway, the MP who chairs the committee, told the BBC,
"What we're saying is, whichever side of the argument you're on here - and people in the human rights sector are on both sides of the argument - that there has to be some form of consistency."
"We think perhaps the government should make clear what their approach is to international boycotts and sanctions before going one way in one case and another in another case."
The report went on to state that Bahrain should be placed on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s list of "countries of concern". The list currently contains 28 countries which include North Korea, Sudan Iran and Sri Lanka amongst others. See here.
A Foreign Office spokesman responded to the report, commenting,
"Human rights are essential to and indivisible from our foreign policy objectives... They are part of our national DNA and are woven deeply into the decision-making processes of our foreign policy at every stage.
We cannot achieve long-term security and prosperity unless we uphold our values.
We promote human rights painstakingly and consistently. Our starting point for engagement on human rights with all countries is based on what is practical, realistic and achievable, although we are always ready to speak out as a matter of principle."
See the full text of the report here.
Also see:
UK Foreign Affairs Committee criticises asylum seeker removal to SL (17 October 2012)
