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Trade Over Human Rights: MPs Slam UK Government 'Perception'

© AFP 2023 / Mohammed Al-ShaikhA Bahraini man sits in front of an art installation at the "revolution museum", set up by the opposition group al-Wefaq Society, aiming to document human rights violations perpetrated by the Bahraini regime against opposition activists, on October 28, 2013 at the group's headquarters in Manama.
A Bahraini man sits in front of an art installation at the revolution museum, set up by the opposition group al-Wefaq Society, aiming to document human rights violations perpetrated by the Bahraini regime against opposition activists, on October 28, 2013 at the group's headquarters in Manama. - Sputnik International
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The UK government is increasingly creating the "perception" that it cares more about trade than human rights, a committee of MPs has warned, amid concerns over Britain's relationship with countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and China.

The UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee said the government's relations with certain countries, along with the comments of certain ministers, was creating an idea that trade and security were being given preferential treatment over human rights.

The committee said government actions, such as omitting countries like Egypt and Bahrain from a Foreign Office (FCO) list of nations requiring special attention to human rights, was putting forward the idea that the government "has become more hesitant in promoting and defending international human rights openly and robustly."

This criticism follows comments made by senior Foreign Office civil servant Sir Simon McDonald, who last year created controversy after saying that human rights was "not one of our top priorities".

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While ministers have denied that human rights has been downgraded, the UK government has come in for criticism over its continued support of allies such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, with both countries receiving widespread criticism over alleged human rights violations. 

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Critics have pointed to the continued sale of British-made arms to Saudi Arabia as an example where the government was putting trade before human rights.

A number of international organizations, including the UN, have accused Saudi Arabia of hitting residential targets such as schools, hospitals and markets during its year-long aerial bombardment of Yemen.

Crispin Blunt, chairman of the committee, said more needed to be done to emphasize the UK government's commitment to human rights.

"We recommend that the FCO is more mindful of the perceptions it creates at Ministerial level, especially when other interests are engaged such as prosperity and security-as is the case with China, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

"Perceptions, and the symbols that reinforce them, matter, particularly in the context of the UK's soft power and international influence."

In the summary of the committee's findings, Blunt said that if the UK continues to give the impression that it does not value human rights, then this may eventually have an impact on governmental actions in the future.

"The actual effect of this change of approach could be to lose the focus of specific human right priorities. It will be important for specific issues, such as the prevention of torture or women's rights, not to be overlooked by FCO Missions and for strategies to be developed and progress measured."

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