The UK was disturbed at reports of attacks on political prisoners in Evin prison on 17 April 2014. As we detailed in the Foreign

and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights report, released in April 2014, prison conditions in Iran remain a serious concern. The UK’s non-resident Charge d’Affaires raised human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran in March. The UK works closely with international human rights bodies and partners to encourage Iran to engage seriously on human rights issues.

The UK Government is concerned by the recent detentions of Azerbaijani human rights activists Mr Rauf Mirkadirov, Dr Leyla Yunus and Mr Arif Yunusov. All three individuals have worked tirelessly to promote valuable people-to-people dialogue between Azerbaijanis and Armenians, where little contact exists between these peoples since the start of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict twenty years ago. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our Embassy in Baku have publicly expressed their concern about these detentions and continue to monitor the cases closely. In a statement on 6 May, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), also expressed his concern regarding an increasingly worrying trend of apparently politically motivated detentions occurring in Azerbaijan.

The UK was disturbed at reports of attacks on political prisoners in Evin prison on 17 April. We remain concerned by ongoing reports of poor prison conditions in Iran and by the Iranian government’s refusal to accede to requests for internal or international investigations into potential breaches of prisoners’ rights. In March 2014 the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran said that conditions for inmates are reported to range from poor to inhumane. Access to medical services is often limited, and hygiene and nutrition are poor. The International Committee of the Red Cross already has a presence in Iran, and should they request access to Evin Prison, we would encourage the Iranian authorities to allow this.

The UN Security Council adopted the renewed Mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) on 29 April. The new mandate does not include an extension of the mission’s responsibilities to include human rights monitoring in the territory, but it does welcome Morocco’s recent steps to strengthen the National Council on Human Rights (CNDH), and its continuing interaction with Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council, including that planned for 2014. It also welcomes the planned

visit of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2014.

The British Government strongly encourages progress towards effective human rights monitoring in Western Sahara and the refugee camps in Tindouf. We also welcome Morocco’s recent commitments to investigate complaints of human rights violations made to the National Council for Human Rights within three months, and to end military tribunal trials for civilians. We regularly raise human rights during dialogue with the parties to the dispute over the territory, and in discussions at the UN Security Council.

Human rights were not amongst the issues discussed by Sir Simon Gass on his visit to Iran in April: his interlocutors did not have responsibilities in this area. However, the UK's non-resident Chargé d’Affaires discussed human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran on 12 March 2014. He raised the use of the death penalty, freedom of religion and the workings of the criminal justice system. Prior to that, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised Iran’s human rights records with Iranian foreign minister Zarif at the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2013.

We share many of the concerns that United to End Genocide raise in their recent report on the plight of the Rohingya. We continue to press the Burmese Government to find a long-term solution to bring peace and reconciliation to the communities in Rakhine State. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), summoned the Burmese Ambassador on 7 April and called on the Burmese Government urgently to restore humanitarian access to all communities in need, and to ensure the security of humanitarian aid workers and all communities in Rakhine State. Mr Swire raised our wider concerns about the situation in Rakhine State with senior Burmese Ministers during his visit in January. I personally discussed the situation with the Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, Dr Kan Zaw, during his visit to the UK in March.

We remain in close contact with Médecins Sans Frontières and have made clear to the Burmese Government their responsibility to ensure services are adequately delivered. We continue to maintain that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with immediately through a clear and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards.

The UK intervened in both these cases (Kiobel v Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum and Rio Tinto v Sarei) to clarify our position on the proper limits of the extraterritorial application of US law. The amicus brief submitted by the UK was confined to our views on this point of international law, and did not take a position on the allegations made against the defendants in this case. The views expressed were consistent with long-standing UK policy.

The UK strongly supports the promotion of business and human rights and was the first country to produce a National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles. We have consistently made clear that we expect British companies to act in accordance with human rights wherever they operate, and that companies should not be able to act with impunity. States should enact domestic law to regulate the activity of businesses to ensure that they do not have a negative impact on human rights. We believe it appropriate and desirable for a State to provide remedies for human rights victims where human rights abuses are committed by their nationals (including corporate nationals) overseas.

Rio Tinto wrote to the British Government in November 2011 requesting that the Government intervene in their case in view of our stance on extraterritoriality. After considering the points of law that the case raised, we considered that submitting a brief would be appropriate. The Shell case was brought to our attention by a third party and again we objected because there was little, or no, connection between the corporate defendant and the US. Officials discussed the case with the company after we had made the decision to intervene. The Government initially submitted a brief in support of Shell in the Kiobel vs Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum case because we were not advised that a neutral brief was a possibility. As soon as we became

aware, we replaced our original brief with a neutral brief, as the best way of representing our wider legal concerns without taking a position on the specific allegations in this case.

We have had no such discussions with EU partners. Israeli nationals coming to the UK as a visitor for less than six months do not require a visa. All other routes, will need a visa before travelling, where the usual rules, including fees and checks will be applied.

We regularly raise concerns about the appalling human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) during our meetings with the DPRK authorities. We have raised

the Commission of Inquiry report and will be raising the UN Human Rights Council Resolution (UNHRC) in our next meetings. The UK played a key role in ensuring a strong Resolution and will continue to work with partners to ensure the matter remains in the spotlight. It is unfortunate that some UNHRC members chose to either abstain or vote against the Resolution and, as we made clear in the UK statement at the time of the vote, we consider that doing so was a failure in their responsibility to help resolve the crisis and improve the lives of the North Korean people. Nevertheless, the resolution was passed with a significant majority and provides a solid platform for ongoing work in this area, not least through increased support for the Special Rapporteur. We are pleased that it includes a provision encouraging all states who have relations with the DPRK to use their influence to encourage the DPRK to take immediate steps to end all human rights violations. In our bilateral contacts with these states we will be encouraging them to act in accordance with this provision.

The UK played a leading role in ensuring a strong UN Human Rights Council Resolution and will continue to work with partners to ensure the issue remains in the spotlight. We agree with the view expressed by Amnesty International that the message sent to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) authorities by the resolution could not be clearer. As both Amnesty International and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have said, crimes against humanity will not be tolerated and those responsible must face justice. As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), outlined in his Written Ministerial Statement of 31 March, we welcome the final text of the resolution which includes a specific request that the UN Security Council consider referral of the situation in the DPRK to the appropriate international criminal justice mechanism. As a first step, the Commission of Inquiry will give an informal “Arria” briefing to the Security Council on 17 April. Other elements of the resolution which reflect earlier calls from Amnesty International include concrete measures to ensure the work of the Commission of Inquiry is continued. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur has been extended and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is requested to provide the Rapporteur with increased support, not least through a new structure to strengthen monitoring and documentation of the human rights situation in the DPRK, as well as through capacity building of others working to address this issue. These measures will ensure that whenever and however the DPRK regime is brought to account, the material will be there to build a strong case against those responsible for violations.

The UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva met with Ambassador King on 18 March to discuss the UN Human Rights Council Resolution and how it could be used to build international action to improve the human rights situation in North Korea. In the near future we hope to welcome him.

On 27 March, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), discussed the resolution with US Assistant Secretary Russel. We will continue to work with the US and others to ensure that there is accountability for the horrifying human rights violations documented in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.