§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many members of Amnesty International are planned to be seconded to his Department; when they will commence working with Ministers; and by whom they will be paid. [57234]
§ Mr. Tony LloydMs Harriet Ware-Austin from Amnesty International will commence work with the Human Rights Policy Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in December of this year. The costs of this attachment and that of Dan Seymour from Save the Children Fund will be met from the FCO'S Human Rights Project Fund.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from Amnesty International concerning(a) China and (b) Argentina. [57235]
§ Mr. Tony LloydAmnesty International, and other NGOs, briefed senior officials on their concerns about human rights in China in advance of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's recent visit. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised the issue of human rights in his discussions with the Chinese leadership, and we continue to address these concerns through our bilateral and EU human rights dialogues with China. We liaise closely with Amnesty on these issues and Amnesty have participated in the dialogue process.
We have received periodic reports from Amnesty International on their "Urgent Action" appeals in Argentina—as elsewhere. Amnesty International have not approached the Foreign Office recently with specific questions about Argentina. But we are happy to receive Amnesty representatives, if they have any particular points to discuss.