Human Rights & Democracy The 2017 Foreign & Cm 9644 Commonwealth Office Report Human Rights & Democracy The 2017 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by Command of Her Majesty July 2018 Cm 9644 Human Rights and Democracy: The 2017 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report © Crown copyright 2018 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/government/publications 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 978-1-5286-0329-4 CCS0418437076 07/18 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: Fatema Khatun, a 35-year-old Rohingya mum of four, who was forced to flee to Kutapalong in Bangladesh to escape the violence in Burma. She spent 10 days with her 4-month-old baby, hiding in the forest and walking to reach and cross the border into Bangladesh. “For now we need food”, says Fatema. “As for the future, I just want my children to be safe.” © Russell Watkins/Department for International Development Contents Foreword by Minister for Human Rights Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon CHAPTER 1: Human Rights and Democracy Priority Themes .......................................... 1 Democracy and Democratic Freedoms ...........................................................................................1 The Community of Democracies .............................................................................................................1 Westminster Foundation for Democracy .................................................................................................1 Civil Society .....................................................................................................................................2 Freedom of Expression ............................................................................................................................2 Human Rights Defenders ........................................................................................................................3 Restrictions on Civil Society Space ...........................................................................................................3 Girls’ Education ...............................................................................................................................3 Gender Equality ..............................................................................................................................4 Women, Peace and Security ...................................................................................................................4 Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative........................................................................................5 Sexual Exploitation and Abuse ...............................................................................................................6 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Rights ..........................................................................6 Modern Slavery ...............................................................................................................................7 Human Rights and the Private Sector ..............................................................................................8 Business and Human Rights ....................................................................................................................8 Private Security Companies .....................................................................................................................9 Responsible Sourcing ..............................................................................................................................9 The Open Government Partnership .........................................................................................................9 Freedom of Religion or Belief ........................................................................................................10 Post-Holocaust Issues .................................................................................................................... 11 Death Penalty and Torture Prevention ......................................................................................... 12 Overseas Security Justice Assistance ............................................................................................. 12 Export Controls ............................................................................................................................. 13 Migration ...................................................................................................................................... 13 Department for International Development: Work on Economic and Social Rights ....................... 14 Women and Girls’ Rights ......................................................................................................................14 Women’s Economic Empowerment .......................................................................................................14 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Rights............................................................................ 15 Rights of People with Disabilities .......................................................................................................... 15 Human Rights and Democracy: The 2017 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report Rights of Older Persons ......................................................................................................................... 15 Right to Health ..................................................................................................................................... 15 Right to Education ................................................................................................................................ 15 Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Land ...................................................................................................16 Social Protection ...................................................................................................................................16 The Overseas Territories ...............................................................................................................16 CHAPTER II: The Rules-Based International System .......................................................17 Human Rights at the UN ............................................................................................................... 17 Human Rights Council .......................................................................................................................... 17 Country issues ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Thematic issues.....................................................................................................................................18 Universal Periodic Review ...................................................................................................................... 19 Treaty Monitoring Bodies and Special Procedures .................................................................................. 19 UN Security Council ......................................................................................................................19 Responsibility to Protect, and Mass Atrocity Prevention ......................................................................... 19 Peacebuilding ....................................................................................................................................... 19 Peacekeeping ....................................................................................................................................... 19 Commonwealth ............................................................................................................................19 Democracy ...........................................................................................................................................20 Inclusion ...............................................................................................................................................20 Europe ..........................................................................................................................................20 The European Union ............................................................................................................................20 Council of Europe .................................................................................................................................21 The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ......................................................................21 International Criminal Justice .........................................................................................................21