HL Deb 13 May 1996 vol 572 cc38-9WA
Lord Cocks of Hartcliffe

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What information they were given regarding reports submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee by United Kingdom based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to assist in the preparation of the Fourth Periodic Report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and whether any of those NGOs made their reports available to Her Majesty's Government; and

Which non-governmental organisations gave evidence regarding human rights in the United Kingdom to the UN Human Rights Committee and which countries they were from; and

Which United Kingdom-based non-governmental organisations supplied them with a copy of the evidence they were providing to the UN Human Rights Committee.

Baroness Blatch

Non-governmental organisations do not give formal evidence to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, but may send material to the committee at any time. It is not the practice of the committee to draw this material to the attention of the state concerned to assist in preparation of periodic reports to the committee or in preparation for the examination of such reports.

Her Majesty's Government received copies of documents prepared by a number of organisations, including Liberty, the Scottish Council for Civil Liberties, Amnesty International, Justice and the Howard League for Penal Reform, which had been sent to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in advance of the United Kingdom's oral examination on its Fourth Periodic Report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.