Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

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Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights
         & Democracy

Cp 104   The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights & Democracy
               The 2018 Foreign &
            Commonwealth Office Report
                             Presented to Parliament
          by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
                           by Command of Her Majesty

                                    June 2019

Cp 104
Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

© Crown copyright 2019

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Cover image: Young Bangladeshi woman with candle (Getty Images)
Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

Contents

Preface by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.................................................................................. iv

Foreword by Minister for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Prime
Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and Special Representative on
Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict......................................................................................... v

CHAPTER 1: Human Rights and Democracy Priority Themes....................................................... 2
  Democracy and Democratic Freedoms........................................................................................................................... 2
   The Community of Democracies............................................................................................................................................. 3
   Westminster Foundation for Democracy................................................................................................................................. 3
  Civil Society.................................................................................................................................................................... 4
    Freedom of Expression............................................................................................................................................................ 4
    Media Freedom...................................................................................................................................................................... 4
    Human Rights Defenders........................................................................................................................................................ 5
    Civil Society Engagement........................................................................................................................................................ 6
    Restrictions of Civil Society Space............................................................................................................................................ 6
  Gender Equality............................................................................................................................................................. 6
   Women and Girls’ Rights......................................................................................................................................................... 6
   Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative....................................................................................................................... 7
   Women, Peace and Security.................................................................................................................................................... 8
   Violence against Women and Girls.......................................................................................................................................... 9
   Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.............................................................................................................................................. 10
   Children and Armed Conflict................................................................................................................................................. 10
   Girls’ Education......................................................................................................................................................................11
   Women’s Economic Empowerment........................................................................................................................................12
  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Rights.................................................................................................................. 12
  Modern Slavery............................................................................................................................................................ 13
  Human Rights and the Private Sector.......................................................................................................................... 14
   Business and Human Rights.................................................................................................................................................. 14
   Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights............................................................................................................... 15
   Private Security Companies................................................................................................................................................... 15
   Responsible Sourcing............................................................................................................................................................ 15
   Transparency and Open Government.................................................................................................................................... 16
  Freedom of Religion or Belief....................................................................................................................................... 16
  Post-Holocaust Issues.................................................................................................................................................. 17
  Death Penalty and Torture Prevention......................................................................................................................... 18
  Overseas Security and Justice Assistance..................................................................................................................... 19
  Export Controls............................................................................................................................................................ 20
  Migration and Human Rights....................................................................................................................................... 20
  Economic and Social Rights......................................................................................................................................... 20
    The Rights of People with Disabilities.................................................................................................................................... 20
Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

     The Rights of Older People.................................................................................................................................................... 21
     Water and Sanitation............................................................................................................................................................ 21
     Rights to Health.................................................................................................................................................................... 21
     Social Protection................................................................................................................................................................... 22
  The Overseas Territories............................................................................................................................................... 22

CHAPTER 2: Human Rights and the Multilateral System............................................................ 23
  Human Rights at the UN.............................................................................................................................................. 23
   Human Rights Council........................................................................................................................................................... 23
   Country issues....................................................................................................................................................................... 23
   Thematic issues..................................................................................................................................................................... 25
   Universal Periodic Review...................................................................................................................................................... 25
   Treaty Monitoring Bodies and Special Procedures................................................................................................................. 25
  UN Security Council..................................................................................................................................................... 26
   The Security Council.............................................................................................................................................................. 26
   Mass Atrocity Prevention and Responsibility to Protect.......................................................................................................... 26
   Peacebuilding........................................................................................................................................................................ 26
   Peacekeeping........................................................................................................................................................................ 26
  Commonwealth........................................................................................................................................................... 27
   Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting................................................................................................................... 27
   Commonwealth and Human Rights Institutions.................................................................................................................... 28
   Protecting and Promoting Democracy................................................................................................................................... 28
  Europe......................................................................................................................................................................... 28
    The European Union............................................................................................................................................................. 28
    The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe..................................................................................................... 28
    Council of Europe................................................................................................................................................................. 29
  International Criminal Justice....................................................................................................................................... 29
  Sanctions..................................................................................................................................................................... 30

CHAPTER 3: Human Rights Programme Funds.......................................................................... 31
  Human Rights and Democracy Programme Spending.................................................................................................. 31
  Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy................................................................................................. 31
  Supporting the Rules-Based International System........................................................................................................ 31
  Case Studies of Programme Work supporting Human Rights and Democracy............................................................. 31

CHAPTER 4: Consular—Human Rights and Assistance.............................................................. 33
  Consular Cases............................................................................................................................................................. 33
  Death Penalty.............................................................................................................................................................. 33
  Torture and Mistreatment............................................................................................................................................ 34
  Overseas Detainees...................................................................................................................................................... 34
  Forced Marriage........................................................................................................................................................... 34

CHAPTER 5: Human Rights Priority Countries............................................................................ 35
  Afghanistan................................................................................................................................................................. 35
Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

Bahrain........................................................................................................................................................................ 36
People’s Republic of Bangladesh.................................................................................................................................. 37
Burma (Myanmar)........................................................................................................................................................ 38
Burundi........................................................................................................................................................................ 39
Central African Republic............................................................................................................................................... 40
China............................................................................................................................................................................ 41
Colombia..................................................................................................................................................................... 42
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea........................................................................................................................ 43
Democratic Republic of the Congo.............................................................................................................................. 44
Egypt........................................................................................................................................................................... 45
Eritrea.......................................................................................................................................................................... 46
Iran.............................................................................................................................................................................. 46
Iraq.............................................................................................................................................................................. 47
The State of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories......................................................................................... 48
Libya............................................................................................................................................................................ 49
Republic of Maldives.................................................................................................................................................... 50
Pakistan....................................................................................................................................................................... 51
Russia........................................................................................................................................................................... 52
Saudi Arabia................................................................................................................................................................ 54
Somalia........................................................................................................................................................................ 54
South Sudan................................................................................................................................................................ 55
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka................................................................................................................... 56
Sudan........................................................................................................................................................................... 57
Syria............................................................................................................................................................................. 58
Turkmenistan............................................................................................................................................................... 60
Uzbekistan................................................................................................................................................................... 61
Venezuela.................................................................................................................................................................... 62
Yemen.......................................................................................................................................................................... 63
Zimbabwe.................................................................................................................................................................... 64
Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

Preface by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt

Three decades ago, the world stood on the brink of the fastest advance of human
rights and democracy in modern times. During the annus mirabilis of 1989, the Iron
Curtain crumbled before our eyes and six European countries seized their liberty.
At that moment, it seemed possible           to the United Nations. Another 348         allow a misguided sense of political
that democracy and liberal values            were jailed by governments and 60          correctness to inhibit our response.
would sweep the world. Sure enough,          taken hostage by non-state groups.
                                                                                        So I have asked Rt Rev’d Philip
another eleven countries would
                                             In summer 2019, I will join my             Mounstephen, the Anglican Bishop
escape from dictatorship by 1999.
                                             Canadian counterpart to host an            of Truro, to conduct an independent
But from the vantage point of today,         international conference in London         review of the FCO’s efforts to
we know the optimism of that era             on media freedom. We have                  help persecuted Christians and
was misplaced. Since the turn of the         decided that democratic countries          report back to me in 2019.
millennium, the worldwide advance            need to stand together to make it
                                                                                        In this report, you will learn about
of human rights and democracy                a taboo to murder, arrest or detain
                                                                                        the FCO’s efforts to promote human
has slowed and, in some respects,            journalists just for doing their jobs.
                                                                                        rights and democracy in 2018. You
gone into reverse. Freedom House
                                             Our aim is to shine a spotlight on         will read of the countries where
reported that 2018 was the 13th
                                             abuses and raise the price for those       we have particular concerns.
consecutive year of “global declines
                                             who would act to silence the media.
in political rights and civil liberties”.                                               In an imperfect world, we will not
                                             We can only achieve this if countries
                                                                                        always be able to respond identically
All this makes it even more important for    with shared values work together.
                                                                                        to the same abuses in different
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
                                             I was deeply disturbed to learn that       settings. But protecting human rights
to strive to uphold the values that define
                                             215 million Christians faced persecution   and safeguarding Britain’s national
our country. Since becoming Foreign
                                             in 2018, according to a study by the       values are not optional extras for the
Secretary, I have launched a campaign
                                             campaign group Open Doors. Christians      FCO. They are part of who we are.
to defend media freedom and a review
                                             faced harassment in 144 countries in
of the FCO’s support for Christians who                                                 I am determined that British diplomacy
                                             2016, according to the Pew Research
suffer persecution because of their faith.                                              will continue to uphold the principles
                                             Centre, compared with 128 in 2015.
                                                                                        of humanity and fairness that our
If there is one essential quality of an
                                             I am not convinced that our efforts        country has always stood for.
open society, it is the freedom of
                                             have always been commensurate
journalists to hold the powerful to
                                             with the scale of the problem or the
account without fear of retribution.
                                             empirical evidence that Christians
Yet the overall picture is bleak. In
                                             often endure the greatest burden
2018, no less than 99 journalists were
                                             of persecution. We must never
murdered around the world, according
Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

Foreword by Minister for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq)
Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Prime Minister’s Special
Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and Special
Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict

Human rights matter because it is only when our rights are respected that each
of us has the freedom to make the most of our talents and our industry.
I work with a committed team of                    many inspiring people who have                     activist and sexual violence survivor,
ministers, officials and diplomats across          dedicated themselves to fighting for               Nadia Murad, and the dedicated
the globe, all determined to extend                the rights of others, showing incredible           humanitarian and phenomenal
that freedom and champion the rights               courage, often at great personal                   surgeon, Dr Denis Mukwege.
of people, no matter where they live               risk or in the face of overwhelming
                                                                                                      In 2018, the UK increased our funding
or who they are, or what their belief.             adversity and opposition.
                                                                                                      of initiatives[1] to support survivors of
We take a three-pronged approach:                  On International Human Rights Day,                 sexual violence and to hold perpetrators
we challenge states which violate                  I met Wanjeri Nderu, the inspiring                 to account. We also shone a spotlight
or fail to protect human rights;                   human rights defender from Kenya,                  on the need to tackle the stigma
we work constructively with those                  who has created a network of civil                 associated with innocent victims of
that are open to change; and we                    society volunteers, including lawyers              sexual violence. The greatest obstacle
collaborate with governments,                      and professionals, who use social                  to success is silence; film is a great
international organisations and civil              media to stand up for the rights of                medium for breaking the silence. That
society groups that share our aims.                those who are less able to defend                  is why we hosted ‘Fighting Stigma
                                                   themselves. We are proud to support                through Film’, the first ever film festival
2018 was the 20th anniversary
                                                   many brave human rights defenders                  dedicated to raising awareness of
of the UN Declaration on Human
                                                   like her around the world, from                    the issue in November last year.
Rights Defenders. This report rightly
                                                   Sri Lanka to Colombia and beyond.
recognises their contributions                                                                        As part of our efforts to protect the
towards strengthening human rights                 In my role as the Prime Minister’s                 rights of people of all faiths or beliefs
protections, and details the strength              Special Representative on Preventing               and none, I was honoured to be granted
of our partnerships with them. Over                Sexual Violence in Conflict, I was                 an audience with His Holiness the
the last twelve months, my role and                humbled to discuss the next steps in our           Pope, and in my new role as the Prime
our prioritisation of human rights                 global campaign with the 2018 Nobel                Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom
has brought me into contact with                   Peace Prize winners—human rights                   of Religion or Belief I met with leaders

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lord-ahmad-announces-funding-boost-for-preventing-sexual-violence-in-conflict
Human Rights & Democracy - The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

of many different faith communities           of expression and information as a             campaign and our ‘Year of Preventing
to discuss what more we can do                journalist in Honduras led Fortune             Sexual Violence in Conflict’, which
together to tackle the discrimination         magazine to name her one of the                will culminate in a major international
faced by religious minorities across          world’s 50 greatest leaders of 2018.           conference in November. One
the world. It is important to recognise                                                      of the specific outcomes of that
                                              The UK also continues to show global
that faith in all its different reflections                                                  conference will be the launch of the
                                              leadership in the fight against modern
is part of finding solutions to the                                                          Murad Code on documenting and
                                              slavery in all its forms, a priority for our
many global challenges we face.                                                              investigating crimes of sexual violence.
                                              Prime Minister, Theresa May. I heard
                                                                                             Named after the courageous Nadia
In the autumn I launched the                  harrowing accounts from victims of
                                                                                             Murad, it will encourage greater
government’s new £12 million                  slavery when I visited a safe house
                                                                                             adherence to international standards
development programme through                 here in the UK last year. They made
                                                                                             and best practice, with the aim of
DFID to support Freedom of Religion           me all the more determined to work
                                                                                             achieving greater accountability,
or Belief. The independent review             with like-minded states, businesses
                                                                                             and justice for survivors. There will
of Christian persecution announced            and civil society groups around the
                                                                                             also be a declaration of humanity
by the Foreign Secretary, Jeremy              world, to eradicate this hideous crime.
                                                                                             against stigma by faith and belief
Hunt, in December is a further                I am very encouraged that more
                                                                                             heads from across the world.
important new strand of our work.             than 80 governments have signed
                                              the Prime Minister’s Call to Action,           I look forward to continuing to
The Foreign Secretary has also launched
                                              but there is so much more to do.               develop these plans, delivering our
an ambitious global campaign in
                                                                                             key programmes and to working
support of media freedom, and                 As I write, our plans are already well
                                                                                             with partners across the globe within
over the course of last year I met a          advanced for our major human rights
                                                                                             a strong rules-based international
number of courageous journalists and          initiatives of 2019—our review into
                                                                                             system to promote, defend, and
activists working to strengthen free          the persecution of Christians; the
                                                                                             strengthen human rights and
expression. People like Dina Meza,            prioritisation of Freedom of Religion
                                                                                             freedoms for everyone, everywhere.
whose work defending freedom                  or Belief; our ‘Defend Media Freedom’
CHAPTER 1: Human Rights and Democracy Priority Themes    2

CHAPTER 1: Human Rights and Democracy Priority Themes

Democracy and                                      39% of the world’s population. The              Constitution promised the devolution
                                                   remaining 61% lived in a country                of powers, funding and decision
Democratic Freedoms                                designated as partly free or not free.          making to local leaders, to increase
The promotion of democracy and                                                                     accountability and the quality of service
                                                   It is the right of all people to be able to
democratic freedoms is at the heart                                                                provision. The FCO and DFID worked
                                                   choose, freely and fairly, those whom
of the UK’s foreign policy. We believe                                                             to support this change by lobbying on
                                                   they want to govern them; and it is
that democratic institutions and                                                                   constitutional issues, and by providing
                                                   the right of all people to be able to put
accountable government are the                                                                     capacity-building programmes for
                                                   themselves forward to contest elections
foundations on which open, stable,                                                                 officials in local government.
                                                   peacefully. The UK government
and prosperous societies thrive. The
                                                   continued to support free and fair              Through our Embassies and High
Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, set
                                                   elections around the world by providing         Commissions, the UK continued
out his vision for the UK’s role in
                                                   technical and financial assistance to           to promote good governance
supporting the values of democracy. In
                                                   international organisations which carry         and support democratic political
a speech in October he said the UK’s
                                                   out election observation missions.              institutions to create the foundations
relationships with international partners
                                                   These included the Commonwealth,                where democracy might take root
were underpinned by the values of
                                                   the Organisation for Security and Co-           and grow. For example, in Burma,
democracy; rule of law; separation of
                                                   operation in Europe, and the EU. But the        the Departmental Policy Programme
powers; respect for individual civil and
                                                   political environment around elections          supported civil society projects tackling
political rights; a belief in free trade.
                                                   continued to pose challenges. Freedom           hate speech, and worked with former
His vision is to see strong relationships
                                                   House calculated in their report entitled       political prisoners on mental health
to help “build that invisible chain
                                                   ‘Freedom on the Net 2018’ that                  issues. The UK funded the NGO Mon
between those who share our values.
                                                   elections were the catalyst for almost          Youth Progressive Organisation to
And make it as strong and resilient as
                                                   half of the countries where internet            create a forum for young people to
it needs to be as new nations rise and
                                                   freedom declined. During elections,             engage in civil society and politics. In
the world order is challenged anew.”
                                                   there was often a sharp increase in the         India, our network worked closely with
Together with other government                     number of cases of censorship, technical        the media, including by funding an
departments, the FCO participated                  attacks, or arrests of government               annual South Asia Journalism Fellowship
in the inaugural National Democracy                critics.[3] We followed closely the             Programme under our flagship
Week in July. The week celebrated                  presidential election in Egypt (26 to 28        Chevening brand. Last year we funded
progress but also championed future                March). The election was marked by              17 fellows, including seven from India.
participation in the democratic process,           international concerns about restrictions       We have also provided project funding
particularly by members of under-                  on freedom of expression and assembly.          to Thomson Reuters in Karnataka to
registered groups. Our Embassies and               In Zimbabwe, the UK worked with                 run workshops for journalists to report
High Commissions used the week to                  international partners through the multi-       violence against women and girls. In
demonstrate the UK’s commitment to                 donor Transparency, Responsiveness,             September, in support of social cohesion
strengthening our own democracy,                   Accountability and Citizen Engagement           and diversity in Macedonia, the UK
while at the same time working with                (TRACE) programme. The TRACE                    initiated a new project through UNICEF
other countries to strengthen theirs.              programme set up an election situation          entitled ‘Foundations for the Future’.
                                                   room, which was the main civil society          The project aims to strengthen the
We saw a number of challenges to
                                                   vehicle for observation and analysis            delivery of quality pre-school education,
democracy in the world in 2018. Figures
                                                   of the 2018 elections. TRACE funded             embedding values, social and emotional
released by the non-governmental
                                                   civil society organisations for the             competencies, awareness, and
organisation Freedom House, which
                                                   deployment of 6,600 local observers             cross-cultural skills in children. The
tracks democratic trends, showed that
                                                   through the Zimbabwe Election Support           project also supports institutions in
2018 saw the 13th consecutive year
                                                   Network, together with an additional            modelling community-based services
of democratic decline. While some
                                                   8,000 human rights monitors. In Nepal,          for disabled children, to enable their
countries took steps to strengthen
                                                   following the December 2017 elections,          improved inclusion in society.
democratic freedoms, many more
                                                   the FCO and DFID worked with the
moved backwards.[2] The number
                                                   government to fulfil the promises of
of countries designated as ‘free’
                                                   the new federal system. Nepal’s 2015
stood at 85 out of 195, representing

[2]   https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world-2018-table-country-scores
[3]   https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2018/rise-digital-authoritarianism
3 Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

The Community of
Democracies
The UK took up a six-month term
as chair of the Executive Committee
of the Community of Democracies
(CoD) on 15 September. As chair, the
UK worked to implement the CoD’s
five-year strategic plan, adopted in
June. In November, the CoD launched
the UK-funded publication, ‘Best
Practice in Community of Democracies’
member states engagement with,
and protection of, civil society’.[4] The
publication reported on the work of
CoD member states to engage with
civil society, and to encourage others
to do so also. The CoD Working Group                                    Wafa Bani Mustafa, Jordanian MP, addresses Westminster Foundation
for Protecting and Enabling Civil Society                                         for Democracy’s ‘Stop Violence against Women in Politics’
                                                                                      conference, London March 2018. Andy Aitchison / WFD
issued its first Call for Recognition (to
Uzbekistan), to highlight the positive            the world also supports the UK’s               more inclusive politics to overcome
steps taken to advance civil society and          security and prosperity objectives.            the serious obstacles, including
democratic freedoms. The working                                                                 violence, which women face when
group recognised improvements in                  WFD partners with UK political parties,
                                                                                                 they seek and attain public office. WFD
Uzbekistan’s regulatory environment for           parliaments and assemblies, and
                                                                                                 continued to work with the Coalition
civil society organisations. The British          electoral and financial audit institutions
                                                                                                 of Women MPs from Arab Countries
Embassy is strengthening democracy                to increase the effectiveness and
                                                                                                 to combat violence against women
in Uzbekistan through projects which              accountability of their counterparts in
                                                                                                 and to advance the Arab League’s
support engagement on a range of                  over 30 developing countries. It also
                                                                                                 Convention to End Violence Against
issues between civil society, media               provides assistance to help ensure
                                                                                                 Women in the region. WFD supported
and the government. We are also                   credible and inclusive elections.
                                                                                                 the Arab Women Parliamentarians’
building capacity through training,               In May, the Office of the UN High              Network for Equality’s adoption of a
for example on anti-corruption, the               Commissioner for Human Rights                  regional policy paper calling for changes
delivery of services to the vulnerable,           published a report entitled ‘Contribution      to political party structures in its 14
and with the media on developing                  of parliaments to the work of the              member countries, which would make
objective, impartial content.                     Human Rights Council and its universal         it easier for women to be elected.
                                                  periodic review’. The report included
                                                                                                 WFD became the lead partner of
                                                  guidance, based on the work of
Westminster Foundation                                                                           a £4 million programme, as part
                                                  WFD and others, for parliaments to
for Democracy                                     help them enhance their protection
                                                                                                 of the Commonwealth Partnership
The Westminster Foundation for                                                                   for Democracy, to help include
                                                  and promotion of human rights.
Democracy (WFD) is the UK public body                                                            more members of minorities and
dedicated to supporting democracy                 Promoting and protecting women’s               vulnerable groups in policy-making
around the world. Established in 1992,            rights was central to WFD’s work in            in 18 Commonwealth countries.
WFD is mainly funded by the FCO                   2018. In March, UK political parties
                                                                                                 At the Global Disability Summit in
(which is the sponsoring department)              convened an international summit
                                                                                                 July, WFD committed to help create
and by DFID. WFD is a key delivery                to address the issue of violence
                                                                                                 more inclusive political environments
partner for the UK government,                    against women in politics. While the
                                                                                                 for persons with disabilities. In
through which the UK shares its                   testimonies from women politicians
                                                                                                 Mozambique, WFD partnered with
democratic experience and expertise.              about the abuse they had suffered
                                                                                                 the University of Pretoria’s Centre
                                                  was shocking, their courage and
WFD’s work is an important and                                                                   for Human Rights and the National
                                                  determination were inspiring. A report
distinctive part of our diplomatic and                                                           Association of People with Disability
                                                  from the summit was submitted to the
development effort to strengthen                                                                 to improve the social, political, and
                                                  UN’s Special Rapporteur on Violence
respect for democracy. Strengthening                                                             economic inclusion of persons with
                                                  against Women. In November, WFD
democratic systems in developing                                                                 disabilities in policy-making, ahead of
                                                  supported a conference of women
and transition countries around                                                                  the general election in October 2019. In
                                                  MPs from over 100 countries held in
                                                                                                 Kenya, WFD supported local disabled
                                                  the House of Commons calling for

[4]   https://community-democracies.org/?docs=best-practice-in-community-of-democracies-
      member-states-engagement-with-and-protection-of-civil-society
CHAPTER 1: Human Rights and Democracy Priority Themes       4

persons’ organisations in developing
ways to ensure that persons with
disabilities were included in policy-
making. Following the March elections
in Sierra Leone, where WFD promoted
the inclusion of persons with disability,
WFD worked to ensure that parliament,
local councils, and political parties
continued to mainstream disability
inclusion policies throughout their work.
In sub-Saharan Africa, young people
make up half the population but are
often excluded from political decision-
making. In Uganda, WFD worked
with the Parliamentary Youth Forum
to ensure that young people’s interests
were represented in parliament. In
Nigeria, WFD worked with local
partners such as the Nigerian Women’s
Trust Fund to educate underrepresented
groups, including young women,
about their right to participate freely
in the upcoming general elections.
In Sri Lanka, WFD presented an
introductory briefing on business                  In 2018, press freedom came under          prisoners and prisoners of conscience
and human rights to a cross-party                  unprecedented attack around the            were held in longer-term detention.
parliamentary oversight committee                  world. According to the NGO Reporters      In Tajikistan, through social media,
and to the heads of the business                   without Borders, 63 journalists, 13        open letters, and lobbying, we actively
and commerce ministries.                           bloggers and other citizen journalists,    campaigned for and secured the
                                                   and 5 media assistants were killed,        release of an activist imprisoned for
New counter-terror legislation was                 and 332 journalists were imprisoned.[5]    reporting on local corruption. We also
passed in May in the Indonesian                    The high-profile case of two Reuters       lobbied for family members to leave
House of Representatives, following                journalists arrested under Burma’s         the country to join exiled Tajik activists,
extensive support from WFD in                      official secrets act for investigating     which the government then permitted.
2017/18 to bring the legislation in                a massacre in Rakhine State drew
line with international human rights                                                          In 2018, we continued to work
                                                   attention to the deep deficiencies
principles. The laws incorporate                                                              with Access Now, a key partner in
                                                   of Burma’s legal system, specifically
many of the suggestions from civil                                                            our work to support freedom of
                                                   with regard to press freedom.
society organisations which WFD                                                               expression. Through its #KeepItOn
                                                   Embassy officials lobbied the Burmese
connected with the parliament,                                                                campaign, Access Now fought
                                                   government, and on World Press
to ensure an evidence-based                                                                   internet shutdowns—which were on
                                                   Freedom Day held a joint roundtable
approach to law-making.                                                                       numerous occasions ordered during
                                                   with Dutch Embassy colleagues, to
                                                                                              elections or public protests, and which
                                                   highlight the work of local journalists.
                                                                                              undermined human rights, disrupted
                                                   Freedom of expression was tightly
Civil Society                                      constrained in South Sudan. Many
                                                                                              democratic processes, and risked
                                                                                              the safety of everyone affected.
                                                   reporters exercised self-censorship in
Freedom of Expression                              order to protect themselves and their
The UK believes that freedom of                    families from persecution. Human rights    Media Freedom
expression is both a fundamental                   defenders, civil society activists, and    To mark the International Day to End
right and an essential element                     political opponents of the government      Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
of any functioning democracy.                      suffered violence and intimidation, and    on 2 November, the Foreign Secretary,
Freedom of expression enables                      a number disappeared or were killed.       Jeremy Hunt, gave an interview to
media practitioners, civil society                 In Cuba, a number of journalists and       Thomas Hughes, Chief Executive
representatives, and ordinary citizens             dissidents were arbitrarily detained       of freedom of speech campaign
to challenge and ultimately improve                for exercising their rights to freedom     group Article 19. Reflecting concern
the work of their governments                      of expression, assembly, and political     about the deteriorating situation for
through open discussion and debate.                association. A number of political         journalists across the world, the Foreign

[5]   https://rsf.org/en/barometer?type_id=233#list-barometre
5 Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

Secretary went on to announce in                  for journalists across Iraq to promote
November that Media Freedom would                 media freedoms and to contribute to           Profile: A human
be his priority campaign for 2019.                tackling issues such as hate speech.          rights defender
The aim of the campaign would be
                                                  We have championed freedom of                 To mark Human Rights Day on
to shine a spotlight on the issue, and
                                                  expression and the safety of journalists      10 December, the UK highlighted
to raise the cost for those targeting
                                                  in multilateral fora throughout the           the work of human rights
journalists for their work, with the
                                                  year. We made statements on media             defenders around the world.
aim of restoring the international
                                                  freedom at the UN Human Rights                Here is the account of one brave
taboo on attacks against journalists.
                                                  Councils in March and September. We           HRD who participated in the
Throughout 2018, UK Embassies                     have sought to protect international          FCO’s Human Rights Day event,
continued to raise media freedom                  commitments by co-sponsoring a                Wanjeri Nderu from Kenya:
with host governments as part of                  resolution on the safety of journalists
                                                                                                “It was a pleasure to celebrate the
ongoing discussion on human rights                at the Human Rights Council, building
                                                                                                International Human Rights day at
and democracy. We have shown our                  on the Third Committee resolution we
                                                                                                the Foreign Office in London, upon
support in individual cases where media           had already co-sponsored at the UN
                                                                                                the invitation of the UK Minister
professionals have been threatened or             General Assembly in 2017. We have
                                                                                                of State UN and Commonwealth,
intimidated, as well as raising concerns          continued to raise media freedom in the
                                                                                                Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon.
with those governments who have                   Council of Europe and the Organisation
                                                                                                The recognition by Lord Ahmad
introduced laws and policies that restrict        for Security and Cooperation in Europe
                                                                                                of the challenges faced by human
media freedom further. We continued               and used our membership of like-
                                                                                                rights defenders, especially
to work with media organisations                  minded groupings such as the Freedom
                                                                                                women, from all over the world
and civil society around the world to             Online Coalition and the Community
                                                                                                and the need to have a universal
deliver projects to protect and enable            of Democracies to promote media
                                                                                                conversation about it, was highly
journalists, including through the FCO’s          freedom and safety of journalists.
                                                                                                appreciated. Being an activist in
Magna Carta Fund for Democracy and
                                                  Looking ahead, we will be                     a country like Kenya is difficult.
Human Rights, the cross-Whitehall
                                                  putting the resources of the FCO              We risk arrest, physical attacks,
Conflict, Security and Stability Fund and
                                                  behind a major campaign on                    threats, trumped-up charges, and
other funding streams. For example, in
                                                  media freedom throughout 2019,                enforced disappearances. This
Ethiopia we have provided training to
                                                  including holding an international            environment makes it very hard
journalists through the Departmental
                                                  conference on 10 to 11 July.                  to fight injustice, especially for
Policy Programme. We also assisted
                                                                                                volunteer activists who are not
the Mexican government in the
                                                                                                attached to organisations, who
development of Policy Prevention                  Human Rights Defenders                        are not funded, and who do not
Plans that eliminate territorial and              2018 was the 20th anniversary year of         have international support. The
social risks that create violence against         the UN Declaration on Human Rights            commitment by the UK Foreign
journalists, and we hosted workshops              Defenders (HRDs). HRD Memorial[6],            Office to focus more on the welfare
                                                                                                of activists is a welcome move.”
[6]   https://hrdmemorial.org/about-the-project

                                 Human rights defenders Dina Meza and Wanjeri Nderu, with Lord (Tariq) Ahmad and Amnesty International
                                          UK Director Kate Allen, on Human Rights Day, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, December 2018
CHAPTER 1: Human Rights and Democracy Priority Themes    6

a partnership of international                      Through multilateral fora, the UK              Restrictions of Civil
organisations, estimated that more                  continued to champion HRDs and to              Society Space
than 3,500 human rights defenders                   push for strong language in statements
                                                                                                   Restriction of civil society space
had been killed since the declaration               and resolutions. We co-sponsored
                                                                                                   continued in a number of countries.
was adopted. According to Frontline                 a new UN resolution on freedom
                                                                                                   In China, civil society continued
Defenders, 321 human rights defenders               of assembly and association. This
                                                                                                   to be seriously restrained. Russia
were killed in 2018 alone.[7] Many                  urged states to take concrete action
                                                                                                   continued to use its ‘Foreign Agents’
other HRDs were threatened, harassed,               to put an end to the arbitrary arrest
                                                                                                   and ‘Undesirable Organisations’ law to
arbitrarily detained, placed under                  and detention of peaceful protestors
                                                                                                   reduce civil society’s work. Restrictions
surveillance, or simply disappeared.                and human rights defenders for
                                                                                                   on civil society in Egypt continued in
At the FCO’s Human Rights Day on                    exercising their human rights and
                                                                                                   2018, with a series of laws impinging
10 December, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad                     fundamental freedoms of expression,
                                                                                                   on freedom of expression. A number
of Wimbledon, Minister of State for                 peaceful assembly, and association.
                                                                                                   of independent media outlets and
Human Rights, said “that we commit                  Additionally, we provided funding to
                                                                                                   civil society organisations closed
to continue strengthening our support               the International Service for Human
                                                                                                   under direct or indirect pressure. In
for human rights defenders as we                    Rights to train HRDs from Colombia
                                                                                                   Turkey we followed closely the case
collectively strive to build a better               and Tunisia, enabling them to gain a
                                                                                                   of Amnesty International local chair
world”. This included a commitment                  deeper understanding of UN processes
                                                                                                   Taner Kılıç, imprisoned on alleged terror
to make UK support for human rights                 and how to mobilise support for UN
                                                                                                   charges, and made representations
defenders more transparent in 2019.                 resolutions and their implementation.
                                                                                                   on his behalf at the highest level.
The UK’s network of Embassies, High                 We funded the UN Focal Point for               Mr Kılıç was released from pre-trial
Commissions and other diplomatic                    Reprisals as a way of building a UN            detention in August. We have provided
missions supported HRDs in a variety of             system-wide response to reprisals              support to organisations monitoring
ways, including: regular contact to learn           faced by HRDs for cooperating with             the situation of the press in Turkey
about their work; trial observation; and            the UN. We invited six civil society           and have attended the trials of a
both public and private diplomacy. In               representatives, five of whom were             number of journalists. We also lobbied
the Philippines, we were concerned                  women, to brief the UN Security                at the highest level for the lifting of
by the vulnerability of HRDs, including             Council during the UK’s Presidency             the State of Emergency imposed at
journalists, land rights campaigners,               in August. The UK’s Mission to the             the time of the failed coup attempt
and members of the clergy. Members of               UN in New York continued to take a             in July 2016; this was done in July.
these groups in particular were subject             proactive approach to protecting the
to harassment, and in some cases were               space in which civil society can exist and
murdered. The UK repeatedly called                  thrive. We regularly opposed increasing        Gender Equality
on the Government of the Philippines                attempts by states such as Russia and
to ensure adequate protections                      China to restrict the participation of         Women and Girls’ Rights
for members of these groups. In                     NGOs in UN meetings and events.
                                                                                                   The UK government is committed
Colombia, we supported over 200
                                                                                                   to pursuing a foreign policy which
at-risk HRDs, through training on how
to protect themselves individually and              Civil Society Engagement                       consciously and consistently delivers for
                                                    We worked closely with DFID and with           women and girls, and which showcases
collectively. We provided legal support
                                                    representatives of interested NGOs             the UK’s leading international
in 14 emblematic court cases relating to
                                                    to strengthen the implementation of            reputation in this area. The promotion
attacks on HRDs, following up on every
                                                    the FCO’s guidelines on working with           of gender equality is also at the heart
step of the procedure, representing the
                                                    human rights defenders, which provide          of the UK’s work to promote economic
victims in hearings, and helping them
                                                    practical advice for Embassies and High        growth, peace, and stability. On
with any further legal action. In India,
                                                    Commission to help them assist and             International Women’s Day (8 March),
we supported a project with Sheffield
                                                    support human rights defenders. At             Penny Mordaunt, the then Secretary of
Hallam University to improve access to
                                                    the Human Rights Defenders World               State for International Development,
justice for female victims of violence,
                                                    Summit in Paris in October, the FCO            launched DFID’s Strategic Vision for
which trained 164 officers in four
                                                    co-sponsored an Amnesty International          Gender Equality—a global Call to
states. 2,000 Dalit women have also
                                                    side event with the Norwegian Ministry         Action to secure the rights of all girls
been trained on legal rights, creating
                                                    of Foreign Affairs, on developing              and women, particularly those living
the first ever network of women Dalit
                                                    best government practice.                      in conflict and crisis. The FCO’s Special
human rights defenders, and eight
                                                                                                   Envoy for Gender Equality, Joanna
Indian police officers also visited the
                                                                                                   Roper, promotes greater international
UK for training on the protection of
                                                                                                   action on gender equality through her
women and girls against violence.
                                                                                                   travel and engagement with partners.

[7]   https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/resource-publication/global-analysis-2018
7 Human Rights and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

                                                                     UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in
                                                                Conflict, Pramilla Patten, Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing
            Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative       Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, and UNHCR Special Envoy
              Film Festival, ‘Fighting Stigma Through Film’,      for Refugees, Angelina Jolie at the FCO Heads of Mission roundtable, ahead
                      British Film Institue, November 2018          of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Film Festival, November 2018

Sustained commitment is vital. The              tackling the stigma faced by survivors;         Film’, at the British Film Institute in
world today is witnessing a visible             strengthening justice for survivors             London in November. The festival
drive against gender equality and               and holding perpetrators to account;            harnessed the power of film and
women’s rights. We are working hard             and preventing sexual violence in               cinema to help fight the discrimination
to counter this and drive progress. For         conflict by tackling its root causes.           faced by survivors of sexual violence in
example, in an increasingly regressive                                                          conflict. Over two days we screened
                                                Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the
global context, the UK continued                                                                over 30 films and documentaries from
                                                Prime Minister’s Special Representative
to champion the protection of                                                                   around the world, sharing stories of
                                                on Preventing Sexual Violence in
sexual and reproductive health and                                                              survivors and of the inspiring people
                                                Conflict, engaged with key partners to
rights (SRHR), including through the                                                            working alongside them. We ran
                                                spur the international community into
launch by DFID of the £200 million                                                              workshops on various PSVI topics, led
                                                further action. He hosted a meeting
Women’s Integrated Sexual Health                                                                by prominent experts, which offered
                                                of Commonwealth member states in
programme, aimed at increasing the                                                              members of the public a chance to learn
                                                the margins of the Commonwealth
availability of contraceptives across                                                           more about important issues relating
                                                Heads of Government Meeting in
27 countries in Africa and Asia. The                                                            to PSVI. We also brought a group of
                                                April. In September, he co-chaired
programme aims to avert 2.6 million                                                             over 30 young filmmakers from 18
                                                a meeting on PSVI during the UN
unintended pregnancies, avert 1.7                                                               conflict-affected and Commonwealth
                                                General Assembly, together with
million unsafe abortions and avert                                                              countries for a three-day capacity-
                                                Pramila Patten, the UN Secretary-
16,240 maternal deaths. The UK has                                                              building programme, led by industry
                                                General’s Special Representative
also been active diplomatically in                                                              professionals. The filmmakers
                                                for Sexual Violence in Conflict.
multilateral forums in defending SRHR.                                                          learned skills and created networks
                                                In November, Lord Ahmad gathered                which will ensure that they can take
                                                heads of mission accredited to the              forward the fight against impunity
Preventing Sexual Violence                      UK in London, to push forward PSVI              and stigma in their home countries.
in Conflict Initiative                          objectives. He also championed the
                                                                                                On International Day for the
Sexual violence as a weapon of war              issue during overseas visits, including
                                                                                                Elimination of Sexual Violence in
continued to destroy, destabilise, and          in March the first FCO ministerial visit
                                                                                                Conflict in June, the UK launched,
demoralise individuals, communities             to Mosul, Iraq, in partnership with
                                                                                                at UN Headquarters, FCO-funded
and societies across the world in               SRSG Patten, and during a visit to
                                                                                                research by the London School of
2018. The Preventing Sexual Violence            Kosovo with Baroness Helic in July.
                                                                                                Economics Centre for Women, Peace
in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) was               The FCO Special Envoy for Gender
                                                                                                and Security on the plight of children
launched in 2012 by former Foreign              Equality, Joanna Roper, in June
                                                                                                born of sexual violence. ‘Closing the
Secretary, Lord Hague, and UNHCR                accompanied FCO Minister Mark Field
                                                                                                Protection Gap of Children Born of
Special Envoy, Angelina Jolie. The UK           to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, to
                                                                                                War’ highlighted the vulnerabilities
continued to drive forward international        understand the needs of Rohingya
                                                                                                faced by children born of sexual
efforts to prevent and respond to               refugees, including survivors of sexual
                                                                                                violence and how the international
conflict-related sexual violence.               violence, and to highlight UK support.
                                                                                                community might improve their
We continued to work towards                    Lord Ahmad hosted the first ever PSVI           response to address the stigmatisation
achieving our three objectives:                 film festival, ‘Fighting Stigma Through
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