SECTION IV: Human Rights for British Nationals Overseas

Promoting and protecting the human rights of British nationals overseas is

central to our work. Our consular staff, working closely with human rights
NGOs in the UK and abroad, help British nationals facing the death penalty;
those who are being mistreated in detention or who have concerns about the
fairness of their trials; and those who have been forced into a marriage,
subjected to female genital mutilation or whose children have been abducted
by a former partner. We also press foreign governments to respect the rights
of British nationals and investigate allegations of abuses.

The Death Penalty

It is the longstanding policy of the UK to oppose the death penalty and we will
use all appropriate influence to prevent the execution of any British national.
We work in partnership with the NGO Reprieve on cases and in close
collaboration with the detainee’s lawyers. Interventions include submitting
amicus curiae briefs to foreign courts and high-level political lobbying.

In 2010 we intervened on a number of occasions to seek to prevent the

execution of British nationals in the US, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. In several cases we assess that our
interventions helped result either in the commutation of the death penalty or in
a delay in moving towards an execution date, providing further opportunity for
us to make additional representations.

Overseas Prisoners

As of 30 September, we were aware of 2,594 British nationals detained in 139

countries overseas. Consular staff spent a substantial proportion of time
assisting British nationals in detention, including visiting them.
One particular case arose in July, when we became aware of a British
national detained abroad on drugs charges. We were not notified of his arrest
until a week after it happened, in which time he alleged that he had been
beaten whilst in custody. Consular staff visited him and offered consular
assistance – including information about the prison and legal system – and
put him in touch with the NGOs Reprieve and Prisoners Abroad. We also
offered to contact his family to make them aware of the situation. After getting
his permission to do so, we protested to the authorities about both the lack of
consular notification and his mistreatment.

Consular staff aim to contact British detainees within 24 hours of being

notified of their arrest or detention, and to visit them as soon as possible
afterwards. We work to ensure that countries meet their consular notification
obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations or under any
bilateral conventions they have with the UK. If our consular staff are denied
access to a detained British national, we will lobby vigorously to ensure that
we are allowed to see them, both to check on their welfare and to explain the
support we can offer. This support includes direct help, as well as providing
information and access to the services of our NGO partners, most notably
Reprieve, Fair Trials International, and Prisoners Abroad.

In 2010 we provided funding for a Fair Trials International project to develop a

system for providing non-discretionary basic legal assistance, support and
referrals to all British nationals facing criminal charges overseas. We also
provided core funding for several of our UK NGO partners, including Reprieve
and Prisoners Abroad, to help ensure that those detained get the assistance
they need.

In 2010 numerous instances of mistreatment were reported to us by British

nationals detained overseas. These ranged from being threatened by a police
officer to reports of torture. On those occasions where the individual did not
wish us to take action about their treatment, especially while they remained in
detention, we respected their wishes but sought their permission to pursue the
allegations on release. Where we had the individual’s permission, we raised
the allegations with foreign authorities, often repeatedly, although the
responses frequently remained inadequate. We will continue to approach
foreign authorities if British nationals are not treated in line with internationally
accepted standards.
Forced Marriage

Forced marriage is a form of domestic abuse and, where it affects children,

child abuse. The Forced Marriage Unit – a joint initiative of the FCO and the
Home Office – leads the Government’s work to tackle forced marriage,
helping British nationals who are in difficulty abroad and supporting victims of
any nationality in the UK.

In 2010, the unit provided help and support in 1,735 cases of potential or
actual forced marriage. In many of these cases the unit helped people access
appropriate support from other agencies. The unit, working with our
embassies and high commissions, directly helped victims to escape forced
marriages in 240 cases. Often this involved visiting victims overseas and, if
requested, helping them make arrangements to return to the UK. One 17-
year-old girl was rescued, with help from the local authorities, from a remote
area in South Asia where she was being held against her will, abused and
forced into marriage. Our consular team in the High Commission arranged
safe accommodation for her and a flight back to the UK, where she was met
by social services and the police. With assistance she has taken out a Forced
Marriage Protection Order and started to rebuild her life. We also helped 229
people who had been forced into marriage and were subsequently being
coerced into sponsoring a visa for their spouse.

People at risk of forced marriage may only have one chance to ask for help,
which means that all practitioners need to be able to spot the warning signs
and know what to do. We launched an interactive e-learning package in
2010, strengthening the multi-agency response to forced marriage by
enabling a wide range of frontline practitioners to access training. We also
launched guidelines on forced marriage and learning disabilities, developed in
conjunction with leading learning disability NGOs the Ann Craft Trust and the
Judith Trust, to help protect some of the most vulnerable people in our
society.

During 2010 we continued to work closely with NGO partners. We funded six
organisations to deliver projects, including safe places to stay for male victims
and couples escaping the threat of forced marriage; community-based peer
education; and an education programme for schools. We also piloted a
community engagement programme with communities that experience forced
marriage, to highlight the problem and seek their help in changing behaviours
and perceptions that lead to abuse. Our High Commission in Islamabad also
began a programme of outreach work to highlight the problem of forced
marriage in Pakistan. We will review these pilot projects in order to ensure
that our work is as effective as possible.

Female Genital Mutilation

The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 made it an offence for UK nationals
or permanent UK residents to carry out female genital mutilation abroad, or to
aid, abet, counsel or procure its carrying out abroad, even in countries where
the practice is legal.

In November, the UK developed an ambitious cross-government action plan

for tackling female genital mutilation. Drafted in consultation with civil society
partners, the action plan aims to raise awareness of the issue of female
genital mutilation, its illegality and its severe health consequences to ensure
that professionals intervene to safeguard girls and women at risk. As part of
this strategy, in August we issued guidance to our consular teams in countries
where female genital mutilation is prevalent, to improve the support we offer
to British girls and women at risk of suffering this abuse. Early informal
evaluation has suggested that the guidance has succeeded in raising
awareness of the issue with our overseas staff and improved their confidence
in addressing it. A more formal evaluation is planned for early 2011.

Child Abduction

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child

Abduction, to which the UK is a signatory, aims to ensure that abducted or
unlawfully retained children are returned to where they normally live for
custody matters to be resolved by the local courts. Unfortunately, many
countries are not signatories to the convention and it is far more difficult for
parents to regain access if their children are abducted to these countries.
This is why we strongly believe that all countries should sign and properly
implement the convention.

In 2010 we assisted in 312 cases of child abduction to non-signatory

countries. In one case a father contacted us about his young son who was
abducted by his mother from the UK to a country in Africa. We were able to
conduct a consular visit and pass the father information about his son’s
wellbeing. We also registered an interest in the case with the local courts and
lobbied the foreign government at ministerial level. At the end of the year, the
father was awaiting the outcome of custody proceedings in the local courts,
and we continued to be on hand to give him advice and support.

As well as offering assistance on individual cases, we encouraged foreign

governments to sign the Hague Convention and facilitate the return of children
to their homes. In 2010 we funded a workshop in Pakistan to increase
understanding amongst the Pakistani judiciary of the UK–Pakistan Protocol, a
bilateral agreement on child abduction, and in 2011 we are planning two
follow-up workshops to disseminate good practice. Our approach means we
support parents of abducted children in the short term, as well as promoting
international procedures that prevent abductions and resolve cases quickly.
The Government intends to ratify the 1996 Hague Convention on Parental
Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children in 2011, which will
enhance the measures of the 1980 convention. However more needs to be
achieved with countries that are not party to the convention. Making greater
use of the UK’s international influence, for example through ministerial
intervention on cases or linking child abduction to other issues in certain
countries, will be key to encouraging wider participation in the convention and
improving international procedures on child abduction. Sadly, we anticipate a
rise in parental child abductions in 2011 and even greater demand for our
assistance. We will address this increased demand by working more closely
with, and providing more self-help information to, those affected. We will also
continue to raise awareness of the problem so parents have a greater
understanding of what they can do to prevent their children from being
abducted.