§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Turkish Government on human rights in Turkey; and which cases were discussed. [104631]
§ Mr. MacShaneWhen my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met Turkish leaders at the Copenhagen Europe an Council in December, and in subsequent telephone conversations, he raised the importance of implementing the substantial packages of human rights reforms passed by the Turkish Parliament and encouraged the Turkish Government to take the further steps necessary to meet the Copenhagen political criteria. He did not raise any specific cases.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials closely follow a number of individual cases.