Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench) on Monday, 19 April 2021, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 4 May 2021. It was answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative) on Thursday, 29 April 2021 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Turkey: Human Rights

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the bipartisan letter signed by 170 members of the US House of Representatives in March, urging the government of the United States of America to address alleged human rights violations in Turkey; and what actions the UK Government will take in response to those allegations.

Answer: We share many of the concerns highlighted in the US House of Representatives' letter to Secretary of State Blinken, not least around freedom of expression and political debate. We are clear in our expectation that Turkey, like all countries, should live up to its human rights obligations towards all its citizens. The Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas raised a range of human rights issues on 21 April with her Turkish counterpart and urged swift implementation of the Human Rights Action Plan published in March. Working with the US and other international partners, we will continue to encourage Turkey, including at Ministerial level, to act in line with the conventions of the Council of Europe and to make greater progress on wider human rights reforms.

Secondary information