Speeches

Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-05-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the President of Honduras about human rights abuses in Honduras.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Government has consistantly engaged with Honduran authorities on the issue of human rights. Soon after the new President of Honduras took office in January this year, representatives from the British Embassy met senior Honduran officials, including the Attorney General and the Commissioner for Human Rights. Our Embassy has since continued this dialogue with the appropriate Honduran authorities, including raising specific cases highlighted by a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Most recently, Her Majesty’s Ambassador wrote to the newly appointed Human Rights Ombudsman and the Attorney General to highlight our ongoing human rights concerns. An official from the Crown Prosecution Service also travelled to Honduras in February to assess whether UK expertise can be used in support of EU work, to develop capacity in tackling impunity for human rights violations and abuses.