Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 38
38
Accepted
Denounce human rights abuses by autocracies and coordinate UNSC action to end them.
Recommendation
The Government must not be silent on human rights abuses, including state hostage- taking, by autocracies like the PRC and should use its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to denounce such abuses and coordinate action to end them. (Paragraph 110) Capacity building
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to the recommendation and states it remains committed to using its UN Security Council seat to denounce human rights abuses, work with international partners, and make its position on human rights clear, citing a recent joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government agrees. The UK remains committed to using its seat on the UN Security Council to call out human rights abuses wherever they occur. The UK is clear that all states must respect their obligations under international law, including the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The UK opposes state hostage-taking wherever and whenever it occurs. We will continue to work with international partners to secure the release of all those arbitrarily detained and to hold accountable those responsible for such acts. The Government continues to make its position on human rights in China clear, both in public and in private, at all levels. In October 2023 at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK delivered a joint statement on human rights in Xinjiang on behalf of 51 countries. This underlined the UK’s ongoing concern regarding China’s human rights record, including the widespread and systematic human rights violations that continue to take place in Xinjiang, and the curtailment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Tibet and Hong Kong. We also urged China to implement the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Office’s assessment of Xinjiang and to cooperate fully with UN human rights mechanisms.