Hostage Taking

(asked on 1st October 2019) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what criteria the Government uses to recognise someone as a state-held hostage.


Answered by
Andrew Murrison Portrait
Andrew Murrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This question was answered on 7th October 2019

In any individual case, the Government will look at all the circumstances concerned. This includes consideration of the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages 1979. The Convention expressly addresses situations in which an individual commits the offence of hostage-taking; it does not define the circumstances in which a State could be responsible for hostage-taking. In considering whether or not someone is a hostage under the Convention, the UK will have regard to the definition of hostage-taking at Article 1 and the exemption for offences which take place wholly within a State in which both the hostage and perpetrator are nationals of that State.

In considering what action to take to assist a British national overseas, the Government will always take into account any relevant international law obligations and UK policy. Our public guidance sets out that the UK can provide consular support to British nationals detained by foreign governments outside the UK including making early contact, notifying family and friends on request and offering information about the local legal system. The guidance makes clear that we cannot get people out of prison or detention, however we will consider approaching local authorities if an individual is not treated in line with internationally-accepted standards.

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