Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Bangladesh.

Mr Hugo Swire

We closely follow the human rights situation in Bangladesh. We welcome the Government of Bangladesh’s stated commitment to protecting human rights but where credible allegations of abuses are made, we are consistent in raising them with the Government. In particular we condemn all forms of violence and excessive use of force, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and attacks against secularists and religious minorities. We make clear our opposition to the death penalty. We are also clear that a vibrant civil society and a media that is free to discuss and debate freely are fundamental to building democracy and should be protected and preserved.