A number of constituents have written to me
expressing their concerns over the increasingly prevalent use of torture
erosion of human rights across the world and the importance of our country to
be a safe place for those fleeing torture as well as stand against those who
condone it.
I completely agree with these constituents that the
UK has a proud tradition of upholding human rights, justice, and offering
protection to those fleeing torture and persecution.
As your representative I sit on the Council of
Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, which played a vital role in the development
of the European Convention of Human Rights and continue to monitor the human
rights record of member states.
I want to see us being a country that shows
compassion to those who are fleeing warfare, persecution and torture and offer
sanctuary and shelter to the most vulnerable.
More needs to be done to defend universal values
and protect those who have suffered unjustly at the hands of persecutors. I am
grateful to constituents who have taken the initiative to bring my attention to
this issue and I will be seeking to raise it directly with the Foreign
Secretary when I next see him.
