5th March 2012 Geneva, Switzerland
It’s been a busy week. With our Ministers in town for the Council’s High level Segment, we’ve all been suffering from higher than average stress levels. Many Ministers chose to use their statements to focus on the appalling violations in Syria, which the Council addressed in an urgent debate on Tuesday. Council members spoke out […]
27th February 2012 Geneva, Switzerland
What a difference a year makes. 12 months ago the Human Rights Council had just limped to the anaemic conclusion of a year-long review process, with many countries and human rights organisations wondering how much longer they could justify spending time and energy on the Council with little to show for it. During its first […]
23rd January 2012 London, UK
This week is a big week for the UK in Strasbourg. We are 11 weeks into our 6 month Chairmanship of the Council of Europe. We are pressing ahead with our wide-ranging Chairmanship priorities, in particular our ambitious package of reforms for the European Court of Human Rights (the Court). The Council of Europe was […]
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6th December 2011 Geneva, Switzerland
The Human Rights Council turned its attention to Syria again on Friday last week with another Special Session called by the EU- the 3rd consecutive time in 7 months it had met in response to the Assad regime’s ongoing brutality. This level of attention is a clear indication of the international outrage at what is going […]
6th December 2011 Geneva, Switzerland
You wouldn’t expect an international meeting on torture prevention to be a happy occasion but November’s global forum on the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture had the feel of a large and joyous family gathering. Given that the Optional Protocol is still in its youth, the atmosphere was more one of Barmitzvah than […]
25th November 2011
25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It was 1973 when the expression “domestic violence” in a modern context was first used formally. This happened in the United Kingdom Parliament, where the world’s first domestic violence services federation, Women’s Aid, was established some months later. Almost 40 years have […]
23rd November 2011
25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide remains a priority for the Coalition Government. The Government is also committed to work on women’s rights and combating violence against women and girls overseas. The Government’s action plan on tackling violence against women and […]
10th October 2011
Today is the 9th World Day against the Death Penalty. It is the longstanding policy of the UK to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. However the death penalty is not prohibited by international law and 58 countries in the world retain it – that is 58 too many. […]
3rd October 2011 Geneva, Switzerland
As the September session of the Human Rights Council drew to a close on Friday, there were some glum faces around, especially amongst the NGOs. The NGOs provide a much needed reality check to the rest of us and I think it’s a fair criticism that civil servants are often all too ready to point […]
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29th September 2011
I was surprised and very touched to be presented today with a annual Prize for an Outstanding Contribution to the Cause of Women’s Equality by the Association for Women’s Career Development in Hungary. The prize is given to those who the Association sees as most actively promoting the issue of gender equality. Because I was […]