Lord Actonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the United Kingdom will ratify the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (OPCAT). [HL4311]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)I am pleased to be able to announce that the UK has taken a significant step towards ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). On 8 September, my honourable friend, Mr Rammell laid before Parliament an Explanatory Memorandum, which explains how the UK meets the provisions of the protocol.
We hope that the ratification process can be completed with the United Nations by the end of this year. This will make the UK one of the very first UN member states to have ratified the Optional Protocol. We signed the protocol on 26 June, becoming one of only 6 countries worldwide to have done so.
The UK is committed to the fight against torture. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's anti-torture initiative, launched in 1998, continues to provide a focus for us on this issue. The follow-up to our ratification of the OPCAT will be an important part of the current phase of the initiative. We will undertake a lobbying campaign urging other countries to sign, ratify and implement both the Convention Against Torture and the Optional Protocol.