§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will establish a mechanism for regular interchange of information between the Human Rights Dialogues with other states, in which the United Kingdom is engaged, and the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Commission; and, in particular, whether they will compile a list of requests made by the Special Procedures for invitations to visit particular territories. [HL3125]
§ Baroness AmosAs part of the Government's commitment to place human rights at the heart of foreign policy, the UK has frequent dialogue on human rights issues with a large number of other countries. We regularly share the information from these exchanges with EU partners and non-governmental organisations, and we draw on reports from these sources and from the Special Procedures when preparing our dialogues. If requested, we also share information with UN Special Procedures. However, in the interests of observing their independence, the UK does not contribute unsolicited briefing on any country or subject. It is not possible to compile a list of requests made by the Special Procedures for invitations to visit particular territories since not all requests are made public and the status of requests is not always clear; nor does the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) keep a list of requests. The UK has made a public commitment to accept any request for a visit by the Special Procedures, and we encourage all states to cooperate with UN mechanisms.