Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Monday, 18 January 2010.

Libya: Human Rights

Question: My Lords, I am grateful for that welcome reply from the Minister, which I am sure will be greeted with great gratitude by Hisham and his family, who will no doubt wish to come and discuss the matter. Will the Minister give an assurance that no EU framework agreement will be entered into with Libya until it can be demonstrated that Libya, which has made only small progress so far in human rights, will comply fully with its international human rights obligations?

Answer: I thank the noble Lord for making that important point. The UK is a strong supporter of the EU’s attempts to negotiate with Libya the framework agreement to which the noble Lord alluded, which in our view will provide a platform for dialogue and co-operation on areas including human rights and fundamental freedoms. Establishing a human rights dialogue is a key part of the ongoing negotiations for that framework agreement between the European Union and Libya. The last round of negotiations took place in Tripoli in December and another round is due to take place in Brussels in March. We support a rapid conclusion to the negotiations in 2010, but within the parameters that the noble Lord has described.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 716 c769-70
Session: 2009-10
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Human rights Prisoners EU external relations Libya Matar, Jaballa Khanfoor, Hamed
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk