Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 31
31
Rejected
Paragraph: 91
The FCDO’s failure to have maintained robust travel advice on the front page of the...
Recommendation
The FCDO’s failure to have maintained robust travel advice on the front page of the website for Iran between 2016 and 2018 is a significant error which may have made UK nationals less safe in Iran and likely other countries too. We welcome the renewed commitment in the “Consular and Crisis Strategy” to making travel advice readily available and renewed campaigns to make travellers aware of it. However, there is more the FCDO could do, either directly or via third-party experts, to ensure organisations and individuals operating in high-risk countries are aware of times of particular vulnerability, steps to take to prevent arrests for minor infringements escalating and how to keep safe.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of travel advice but declines to give tailored advice beyond what is already available, citing a commitment to avoid 'double standards' and directing individuals to existing travel advice resources.
Paragraph Reference:
91
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
59. FCDO travel advice provides information to help British nationals make informed decisions about foreign travel. Travel Advice remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks to British nationals. The safety of British nationals is our overriding concern when determining our travel advice. We advise against travel when we consider the risks to British nationals to be unacceptably high, including where we judge there to be a serious risk of arbitrary detention. Travel advice is advisory. It is for individuals to decide whether they feel it is safe for them to travel to a particular country taking into account their particular circumstances. 60. Giving tailored advice, or advice that goes beyond our Travel Advice, to individuals or organisations, including those travelling against FCDO advice, would breach our parliamentary commitment to have no ‘double standards’ in the provision of FCDO Travel Advice. The advice we provide British nationals orally and in writing must always be consistent with our Travel Advice. Through our Travel Aware campaign, and via travel industry stakeholders, we consistently push messaging to raise awareness of Travel Advice. We recommend travellers sign up to email alerts for their destination country so they can be notified of any changes. 61. FCDO advises against all travel to Iran due to the significantly high risk that British and British-Iranian dual nationals could be arbitrarily detained in Iran, among other risks. This is clearly stated in our current Iran travel advice. We follow the same approach for other high risk states. We have to consider how to represent this risk in travel advice alongside all other risks to British nationals so that we set out all the relevant risks, including that of arbitrary detention, proportionally. Through our Travel Advice, we will continue to ensure we are providing robust and timely information to British nationals about the risks of foreign travel.