Human Rights & Democracy Cp 104 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 and Democracy: The 2018 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report © Crown copyright 2019 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at www.gov.uk/fco/human-rights-report Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at Communications Team, WH1.165, Multilateral Policy Directorate, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH ISBN 978-1-5286-1205-0 CCS0519142502 06/19 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum Printed in the UK by the APS Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office Designed in-house by the FCO Communication Directorate Cover image: Young Bangladeshi woman with candle (Getty Images) 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 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