​We have called for Turkey to engage with the recommendations by the Council of Europe and other international bodies, including addressing allegations of mistreatment in detention. We have no plans to ask the Turkish government whether it will invite the International Committee of the Red Cross to have access to its prisons.

The British Government’s view on the importance of the rule of law is clear, consistent and well known in the Philippines. Our Ambassador has repeatedly raised the Government’s concerns over drug-related killings with the Philippine Administration, including the Foreign Minister, Interior Secretary and Defence Secretary. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma), spoke of the importance of democratic accountability, human rights and the rule of law at a UK-Philippines trade and business event in London on 7 September.

Members of the Philippine Administration and Supreme Court have highlighted a lack of capacity within the courts and prisons to handle those newly arrested on suspicion of involvement in illegal drugs. We share this concern. The British Government supports the right to a fair trial and the humane treatment of detainees. The Government of the Philippines is taking some steps to increase the functionality of the justice system, including by increasing the number of specialist drug courts. Our Ambassador has conveyed the Government’s willingness to share its own experience of delivering a proportionate criminal justice response to illegal drug use and trafficking.

The British Government unreservedly condemns torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and it is a government priority to combat it wherever it occurs. We are aware that there have been allegations in Bahrain, and we raise concerns with the authorities. Our support to Bahrain’s reform programme focuses on strengthening independent oversight bodies such as the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman and the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC) who provide oversight of police behaviour and detention standards. In May, the PDRC released an independent report which included testimonies of detainees and highlighted a number of key concerns in respect to prison conditions at Jau Prison. We welcome the transparent approach taken by the PDRC, and the Ministry of Interior’s commitment to implement all recommendations made in the report. We continue to call upon the Government of Bahrain to agree a visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

We have not raised this issue with the Government of Israel. However, the UK has repeatedly made clear to Israel our longstanding concerns about the manner in which the Israeli Defence Forces police non-violent protests. We are clear that protection of the freedom of the media is an important part of respecting human rights.

In January 2016 the Tunisian authorities said that their prisons and detention centres were holding around 170 per cent of their capacity. The UN reported in March 2014 that Mornaguia prison was 25 per cent over its capacity. We have raised with the Tunisian authorities the importance of introducing reforms to the Penal Code. These would help address prison overcrowding.

We have no current plans to assist the Government of Tunisia in processing cases or providing defence counsel: the focus of our minimum £8 million support in this financial year is on Tunisia’s transition, security capacity building, governance and the economy.

We are not aware of any Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded projects that take place within one hundred miles of Kyo-hwa-so camps, Kwan-li-so camps, Ku-ryu-jang centres, Jip-kyul-so prisons or Ro-dong-dan-ryeon-dae centres. Together with other EU member states resident in Pyongyang, our Embassy has requested access to these camps on numerous occasions, and will continue to do so. However, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues to refuse access by independent observers.

While we have not made any representations on this specific case, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are following this case and those of the other hunger strikers closely and have spoken to Amnesty International about them. Officials from our Consulate General in Jerusalem maintain a dialogue with the relevant Palestinian organisations about the condition of the hunger strikers. The EU in Jerusalem recently issued a local statement on administrative detentions, including the case of Mr Al Qeeq. We have been informed that Mr al-Qeeq is in a stable condition and has not been forced-fed as alleged.

We remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary rather than as routine practice, and as a preventive rather than a punitive measure. We also have concerns about mistreatment of Palestinian detainees and about Israel’s respect of its obligations in this regard as an Occupying Power under applicable international law. We have raised concerns over treatment of Palestinian detainees with the Israeli authorities on many occasions, including at Foreign Minister, Attorney General and National Security Adviser levels.

While the British Government has not made an assessment of the level of involvement of G4S in the running of Israeli prisons, we have made clear in meetings with G4S our concerns about Israel’s conduct of the occupation. In April 2013, G4S publicly confirmed that they would not renew a number of security contracts in the West Bank ‘to ensure that G4S Israel business practices remain in line with our own business ethics policy’. These include the servicing of security equipment at Ofer Military Prison, at West Bank checkpoints and at a police station in the contentious E-1 area of the West Bank.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) progress report of October 2013 noted that Israel has taken some positive steps towards addressing the recommendations in the 2012 report by updating the existing Standard Operating Procedures and policies in relation to the arrest of minors. These updates included changing the policy on methods of restraint and the use of blindfolds. Israel also increased the age of majority for Palestinian children. The Israeli military committed to conducting a pilot of using written summons instead of night-time arrests.

We welcome the steps taken to date, but we continue to call for further measures, including the mandatory use of audio-visual recording of interrogations, investigation into continued reports of single-hand ties being used, and an end to solitary confinement for children.

We are also funding a follow up mission by the British lawyers who conducted the report in February.

While we have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities concerning the welfare of children in specific prisons in Israel run by G4S, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised our concerns about the treatment of Palestinian minors in Israeli military detention with the Israeli Chief Military Prosecutor on 23 November 2015.

We continue to push for further measures to ensure that international standards are upheld in regards to the treatment of Palestinian children detained.

The UK remains deeply concerned by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s use of political prison camps and by the severe and systematic violations of human rights within the DPRK penal system. During the last UN Universal Periodic Review of human rights in the DPRK the UK called for the closure of all prison camps. Together with other EU member states resident in Pyongyang, our Embassy has requested access to these camps on numerous occasions, and will continue to do so. However, the DPRK continues to refuse access by independent observers.