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Human Rights Annual Report 2005

In fact, I had such a meeting in advance of the first council meeting this Monday. We will also have a wash-up meeting following the council to discuss the next two sessions that will take place before December. I do not want to be a hostage to fortune, but I am hoping that the first council meeting will go smoothly. There is no guarantee of that, of course, but the next two councils may be more difficult, as that is when we will put the meat on the bones and discuss how the council will operate, the roles of the commissioner to the council and the members, and all the issues around that and around greater involvement of NGOs. I want to be absolutely clear about this. From my perspective, NGOs are a critical factor in the success of the political outcomes that we want the new council to achieve, but at the same time I want to ensure that the NGOs that operate in the United Kingdom are clear about my role and that there is open dialogue not just with the Minister but with the skilled negotiators who operate regularly with the council. The meeting that I had was an excellent opportunity for constructive input in advance of the first session, which will be held on Monday and Tuesday next week. That is why it is a two-way process. I greatly value NGOs’ input into this policy area. In return, it is important to ensure that civil society, including trade unions, for example, are regularly briefed on our objectives. We may not always see eye to eye, but a frank and honest exchange on what we each seek to achieve should promote greater understanding in both directions. There is not time to cover all the issues, but I made two offers at the beginning of the debate and I hope that they are acceptable to the Committee. In its report, the Committee suggested that the Government risk downgrading their human rights work by including human rights responsibilities in my portfolio. I hope that I have dealt with that. I have no problem with raising human rights issues in any of my meetings. In the past two days, I have met representatives from four countries: China, Egypt, Singapore and Panama. I will refer to another country later in my speech and explain why. Those occasions involved different issues, but for different reasons I raised human rights issues with all of them. We discussed the role and engagement of NGOs in the region and how they can assist us in the process. Some have thanked them for the role that they are playing quietly and effectively behind the scenes in diplomatic terms. Others have asked them to up their game in respect of what they need to do to influence Governments on human rights. I intend to be very proactive in my approach to human rights. The first meeting of the Human Rights Council is next week. I intend to be proactive in the council’s work, both at meetings and between them, to ensure that discussion with NGOs and other countries is effective in trying to influence outputs at the council and more effective than in the past. We have a moral and political responsibility to tackle all the issues seriously. I will also ensure that our key partners regularly discuss issues of mutual interest. I believe that the Human Rights Council has the potential to be better than its predecessor: the UN Commission on Human Rights. It has a broader mandate, including addressing violations of human rights; it will meet more frequently, allowing for a more systematic approach; it retains the best of the old commission—a system of special procedures, an individual complaint process and an expert advice body. The NGOs will continue to make their vital contribution to the council's work, as I outlined. In addition, the Human Rights Council will have a new universal periodic review system. If agreement cannot be reached, with a balanced, transparent and effective mechanism, the review function has the potential to improve the council's consideration of every country's record. The Government's view is that the universal periodic review mechanism must be fair, impartial and efficient, as well as positive and practical, and allow for all parties to have their say. That will help to counter the charges of politicisation and double standards that dogged the commission. Yesterday, I spoke with NGOs to try to reach agreement with them on the practicalities of discussions with other countries to make that mechanism more effective. I have asked the NGOs for their views on how to do that. Success is not guaranteed, but as a founder member the UK will do its utmost to ensure that the Human Rights Council is effective. Country resolutions will remain necessary for the worst offenders, but we would like the council to develop a broader range of tools to support states that are trying to improve their human rights performance. We would also like to preserve the role of the special procedures and to integrate that work more closely with that of the council. There will not be time to secure progress on all those issues in June, but we hope that the council's first session will conduct its business in a spirit of constructive dialogue and pave the way for effective action on specific issues in the months to come. In its report, the Committee devoted a lot of attention to issues connected with the fight against terrorism and I would like to address some of those issues now. The Government are committed to defending and promoting human rights at home and abroad without reservation, but effective counter-terrorism measures are part of that and essential to help us to preserve a democratic and free society. They support the most basic human right of all—the right to life, which the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling mentioned—and protect people's ability to enjoy fully their other rights. Equally, it is vital that the fight against terrorism is conducted in a way that respects and promotes human rights, because not only is that the correct thing to do but it is one of the most effective ways of undermining terrorists. Human rights have also been an integral part of our approach. Some hon. Members raised rendition and allegations that terrorist suspects may have been transferred through airports in the UK. The Government have taken those allegations very seriously. At the beginning of this year, relevant Departments carried out an extensive review of files and found no evidence of detainees being transferred through the UK when there were grounds for believing that there was a real risk of torture. The review found only four occasions, all in 1998, when the United States requested permission to transfer detainees through the UK. Two of those requests were granted. Both were for terrorist suspects to be transferred to the US to stand trial by due legal process on charges on which they were subsequently convicted. Two were refused. As that small number of cases shows, when the UK is requested to assist another state, we would not do so if it would put us in breach of UK law or our international obligations. In particular, we would not facilitate the transfer of an individual from or through the UK to another state where there were grounds to believe that the person would face a real risk of torture. In recent months, we have also co-operated in full with the secretary-general of the Council of Europe and the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly. As part of the Government's commitment to transparency, the Secretary of State for Transport has also published flight information received from Eurocontrol on transits through the UK by aircraft alleged to have been involved in rendition. We have always been clear that US aircraft regularly transit the UK, as do aircraft from many other countries. That is perfectly normal and despite the allegations in the Council of Europe’s latest report, there remains no evidence that any of the flights were involved in rendition. We will study the Council of Europe’s report, but we see little that is new. If there are new facts, we will be happy to look into them, but investigation has not thrown up any new evidence. As the Foreign Secretary told Parliament, the Government have made it clear to the United States authorities, including in recent months, that we expect it, as well as all other countries, to seek permission to render detainees via UK territory and airspace, including overseas territories. We will grant permission only if we are satisfied that the rendition would accord with UK law, our international obligations and our obligations under the UN convention against torture and the European convention on human rights. We are also clear that the US would not render a detainee through UK territory or airspace, including overseas territories, without our permission. As I have just noted, the US has sought such permission in the past. The Intelligence and Security Committee takes the lead on intelligence matters. Some information cannot be made public and under the Intelligence Services Act 1994 Parliament decided that it is a matter for the Intelligence and Security Committee, which is a committee of parliamentarians and does an effective job of holding agencies and Ministers to account.