Source: AFP

LONDON - Britain for the first time has included Pakistan on a list of countries of concern over human rights, saying there had been “very little progress” towards pledged improvements
Pakistan featured on a list of 21 “major countries of concern” like China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe in the Foreign Office’s Human Rights Annual Report 2007.

The report released Tuesday says the list “is not a league table of countries we consider the worst offenders” but adds it “focuses on countries where human rights issues cause us the greatest concern, or where we devote a great deal of attention”.

The move to include Pakistan came after a recommendation from the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee.

During a three-page analysis of Pakistan’s human rights record, the FCO says: “The UK is concerned about human rights issues in Pakistan…recent changes in the political landscape and the period surrounding the state of emergency declared by President Pervez Musharraf on 3 November 2007 have brought a number of human rights issues in Pakistan to the fore.”

It adds that Pakistan has expressed a desire to improve its human rights record but says there has been “very little progress towards the fulfilment” of pledges on issues including torture and civil and political rights.

The study also expresses concern about the human rights situation in Kashmir and restates a call for an end to all external support for violence there.

It says the media should be able to report on events there without restriction and dubbed a bill last year which made apostasy a capital offence “an unwelcome development”.

Elsewhere, the Foreign Office (FCO) highlights an escalation of violence by the government in Zimbabwe and says that presidential elections on March 29 provide a chance for change, but only if all citizens can vote freely.

It describes the situation in China as “poor” and calls for “meaningful dialogue” between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama on Tibet.

It says there has been “a shrinking of the democratic space in Russia”, for example through restrictions on opposition parties.

In Iran, it highlights “serious concerns” about its failure to uphold the process of law and says any improvement currently looked unlikely.

And it acknowledges “significant challenges” to developing “a human rights culture” in Iraq. Britain was the main supporter of the US-led invasion in 2003.

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Tags: annual report, human rights, improvements, major concern, progress