§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common wealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the work done by the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture in Chile; and if he will make a statement. [179634]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Government welcome any efforts to address abuses of human rights. The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture in Chile is an important step forward in addressing past human rights abuses and fulfils one of the requirements of State parties to the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the number of people not able to participate in the work of the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture in Chile owing to insufficient advertisement; and if he will make a statement. [179635]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe number of people responding to the Commission has been lower than expected. It is not possible to establish precise reasons for this, although one contributory factor could be people's reluctance to re-live past traumatic experiences. The work of the Commission has been widely reported in the Chilean media. We have not been able to assess the extent to which lack of awareness of the Commission's existence is a significant factor in the lower than expected response.
§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department(a) offered and (b) has given to the Government in Chile to facilitate the work of the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture; and if he will make a statement. [179638]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not worked with the Chilean Government on this specific issue, nor have we received any request for help. However, the Government have supported various human rights projects in related fields.
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§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many(a) UK and (b) Chilean nationals now residing in the UK contacted his Department about (i) information on and (ii) assisting the work of the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture in Chile; and if he will make a statement. [179639]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI am told that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no record of having been contacted by UK or Chilean nationals regarding the Commission.