Oral Answers to Questions Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateAnn Clwyd
Main Page: Ann Clwyd (Labour - Cynon Valley)Department Debates - View all Ann Clwyd's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(13 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberMy hon. Friend will be pleased to know that the BBC World Service, and in particular the Arabic service, will continue to play a very valuable role in the region: it will continue its 24-hour television channel, and its radio services will continue through FM relays as well as through shortwave services in the region. Those are a continuing and important part of the BBC World Service. Indeed, in the light of recent events, the BBC has already revisited some of its recent decisions that would have affected Arab nations.
I took part in a special United Nations conference on the plight of Palestinian prisoners last week, and the descriptions of the conditions in which they are held in Israeli prisons and detention centres were appalling. We were told of torture, inhumane treatment and so on. Some 200 to 300 young people under the age of 18 are held in those conditions. What will the Foreign Secretary do to prevail on the Israelis to adhere to the conventions to which they have signed up?
Of course we believe that there should be the proper treatment of prisoners throughout the world, including in Israel and anywhere else in the middle east. We have taken up concerns about such issues in the past. If the right hon. Lady would like to give me more details of what she found in that particular case, I will of course look to take them up with the Israeli authorities.