In his conference speech today, MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign
Secretary, will commit Labour to creating a new legal right to
consular assistance for British citizens who fall into difficulty
abroad.
It comes in the wake of several high-profile cases of the
Foreign, Development and Commonwealth Office receiving criticism
for failing to secure the release of British citizens detained
abroad. These include British citizens Jagtar Singh Johal, Alaa
Abd el-Fattah and Morad Tahbaz, as well as criticism of the
Foreign Office’s response to supporting British citizens overseas
during the pandemic.
At present there is no legal obligation for the UK government to
provide consular assistance to a UK citizen, even in cases
involving allegations of torture or arbitrary detention, leaving
it entirely at the discretion of the Foreign Office and
government ministers. Some EU countries like Germany recognise a
specific right of citizens to consular assistance.
In his speech on Tuesday 27 September, , Labour’s Shadow Foreign
Secretary, is expected to say:
“Too often the government’s efforts to secure the release of
British nationals unjustly detained abroad have been arbitrary,
haphazard, uncoordinated, lacking resource and lacking
transparency.
“Morad Tahbaz should not still be suffering in Iranian prison,
after the Foreign Office assured his family that he would be
released along with Nazanin. Alaa Abd el-Fattah should not be
locked up in prison in Egypt simply for sharing a Facebook post
and not even be visited by British diplomats. And it is
unacceptable that Jagtar Singh Johal has faced years in arbitrary
detention, without ever facing a trail.
“Labour will end the notion that help from the British state when
you are in trouble abroad depends on the whims of Tory ministers,
by legislating for a new legal right to consular assistance.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- A number of European countries recognise a specific right to
consular assistance, including Germany and Estonia.
- Creating a new right to consular assistance has been
recommended by the NGO Redress as well
as the APPG on Deaths Abroad.
- The Foreign Affairs Committee’s report on the FCDO’s consular
response to the pandemic found many areas where the government
“fell short”, criticised its response for being “too slow” and
that “little was done to provide help for those UK citizens stuck
abroad”. It went on to say that “Many UK citizens stuck abroad
reported that they were unable to access the information that
they needed, whilst others were not treated with the empathy and
compassion that they should expect.” The report can be read
here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/2159/documents/20049/default/
