Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 19
Sixth Report - Stolen years: combatting state hostage diplomacy
Published 4 Apr 2023
Paragraph 55
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Foreign Affairs Committee The FCDO’s approach to state level hostage situations All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The presumption that “quiet diplomacy” and family silence is always appropriate throughout cases of state detentions and state hostage taking is a false one, other than in the initial phases. Silence abets state hostage taking. We recommend the Government uses the strongest possible language to call out situations of state hostage taking as soon as it becomes clear detentions are being used for leverage.
From: Foreign Affairs Committee, Sixth Report - Stolen years: combatting state hostage diplomacy (HC 166), paragraph 55, 4 April 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 6 July 2023 (deadline 4 June 2023).