Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken in the last six months to coordinate with international allies a joint response to eliminate practices of hostage diplomacy and state hostage taking.
HMG deplores hostage taking, or any other arbitrary coercive action against individuals for political ends. During the latest Human Rights Council session, the UK co-signed two joint statements on the issue of arbitrary detention, along with many other concerned countries.