Press release: Lord Ahmad publishes Annual Human Rights Report 2017

Today (16 July) Lord Ahmad, the Minister for Human Rights Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, publishes the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2017 Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report.

The report is a barometer for the global human rights picture with particular emphasis on the FCO’s 30 Human Rights Priority Countries*. The report also focuses on how the UK is working to protect and promote human rights across the world.

It covers the period from January to December 2017.

The Minister for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, said:

50 years ago the UK played a vital role in drafting the seminal text that remains the cornerstone for human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

However, the ongoing repression of people’s rights reminds us that our work to defend them is as pressing and urgent as ever.

This report is vital in documenting the serious concerns we have about the human rights situations in a range of countries.

Standing up for human rights is not only the right thing; it helps to create a stable more prosperous world.

The report also focuses on how the UK is working to protect and promote human rights across the world.

Read the Human Rights and Democracy 2017 report.

*Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Libya, Maldives, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon @tariqahmadbt
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