§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries the Government categorise as using torture. [76919]
§ Mr. MacShane[holding answer. 28 October 2002]: Torture is inflicted on men, women and children in almost half the countries of the world. The UK believes that torture has no place in the 21st century and is therefore committed to combating torture everywhere. In October 1998 the UK launched an initiative to tackle torture throughout the world. Phase 3 of this initiative was launched in June this year. Over the four years of the anti-torture initiative the UK has established the reputation of having one of the strongest anti-torture stances in Europe. As part of the initiative the UK has been lobbying countries worldwide to ratify the UN Convention against Torture. Since our campaign was launched, 20 new states have ratified, bringing the total to 130. However, the Convention against Torture still remains the least ratified of all the UN human rights treaties.