Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Angola on freedom of human rights activists and organisations in Angola.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK Government continue to have concerns over the freedom of human rights activists and organisations in Angola. We followed the case of the 15+2 closely. The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) raised his concerns over the handling of the case and length of sentencing with the Minister of Justice and Human Rights during his visit to Luanda on 8 June. During the course of the trial, UK staff in Luanda discussed the promotion and development of human rights with the Angolan Minister of Justice and Human Rights; the Public Prosecutor; the Secretary of State for Human Rights; the Minister of Foreign Affairs; and the Minister for Presidential Affairs.