Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to signing and ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government recognises the significant work done by the Council of Europe in this area and is committed to the core principles outlined in the Convention. The Freedom of Information Act enables individuals to freely access official information from a wide range of public authorities. As it stands, in this government's view, the Convention would not allow for the appropriate protection of sensitive information and of journalistic independence, as Parliament intended when the Act passed. The Government proactively discloses information beyond our obligations under the Act and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking or plan to take to implement the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro's independent review of the FCDO support for persecuted Christians: assessment of recommendation's implementation, published on 4 July.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We welcome the expert review on progress of implementing the Bishop of Truro's recommendations and, in line with the findings, accept their assessment for the need to continue to work to promote and strengthen freedom of religion or belief as a fundamental human right for all.
Our work on this important human rights issue will never be complete, and we will continue to champion global efforts on FoRB. We will continue to ensure that the changes we have made are embedded and to look for opportunities to make FoRB central to the FCDO's wider human rights work.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the signing of the Transport Community Treaty by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Transport Community Treaty was signed by Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on 19 September 2017. The Government actively supported EU-led efforts to encourage Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to sign up to the Treaty. The Treaty is an important step to improve infrastructure and transport links in BiH and the Western Balkan region.