UK Foreign Office ‘selective enforcement’ toward Rights Abusing Bahrain on par with failed US State Department practices

Foreign Office ‘allows some countries to get away with abuses’
By Damien McElroy – Foreign Affairs Correspondent – 17 October, 2012

A Foreign Affairs Committee report found that diplomats allow some countries to get away with abuses that are held against other states.

In particular the Foreign Office has exhibited an inexplicable willingness to maintain normal relations with Bahrain, the Gulf kingdom which has faced down pro-democracy protests from its Shia Muslim majority.

Opposition activists have accused the authorities of using brute force to crush demonstrations, leading to a number of deaths, arbitrary arrests and torture in prison.

The committee continued meetings between government ministers and King Hamid with a principled stand against travel to Ukraine during the European football championships.

“Given the Bahraini authorities’ brutal repression of demonstrators in February and March 2011, we believe that Bahrain should have been designated as a country of concern in the FCO’s 2011 report on human rights and democracy,” the committee said. “The Committee also challenges the Government for being inconsistent in not taking a public stance on the Bahrain Grand Prix but boycotting group stage games at Euro 2012 in Ukraine.”

The report also found fault with the government’s assessment of the risk posed to detainees face with deportation to their home countries. “There are persistent allegations that asylum-seekers who have been returned to Sri Lanka by the UK have suffered torture and ill-treatment. When we tried to explore the issue, the Government was not particularly forthcoming,” it said.

A Foreign Office spokesman rejected the criticisms and said the government was committed to placing human rights concerns at the heart of its policy.

The MPs also recommended that the government place more visa bans on officials responsible for abuses. The findings said that the government had failed to integrate human rights considerations into its arms and trade policies.

“We promote human rights painstakingly and consistently. Our starting point for engagement on human rights with all countries is based on what is practical, realistic and achievable, although we are always ready to speak out as a matter of principle.” …more