Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain concerning their alleged use of torture.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government consistently and unreservedly condemns torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and it is a priority for us to combat it wherever and whenever it occurs. The Government of Bahrain has previously committed to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol of the Convention Against Torture. The UK strongly supports this and we have been working with the authorities to share best practice on torture prevention measures. We also continue to call upon the Government of Bahrain to agree a visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.