{"id":64201,"date":"2018-02-12T12:15:25","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T17:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/"},"modified":"2018-02-12T12:15:25","modified_gmt":"2018-02-12T17:15:25","slug":"human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy<\/b>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Last week, Prime Minister Theresa May left behind her warring Cabinet to travel to China on her mission to establish \u2018Global Britain\u2019<\/a> as the Brexit negotiations trudge on. Accompanied by International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and the largest-ever UK trade delegation, the Prime Minister was looking to reignite the so-called \u2018golden-era\u2019 of UK-China relations that the two countries experienced when David Cameron and George Osborne were at the helm in Downing Street.<\/p>\n

A renewed trading relationship \u2013 though one that even Liam Fox has admitted can be improved whilst remaining in the Customs Union \u2013 is important, but the Government should also be using its dialogue with China to raise its concerns over human rights. Indeed, China\u2019s desire to trade with us is arguably the only leverage we have. To Theresa May\u2019s credit, she went to China pledging to raise Hong Kong and human rights concerns with her Chinese counterparts. However, come the end of her trip, the state-run Global Times newspaper praised the Prime Minister for having \u201csidestepped\u201d her desire to publicly challenge China over human rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s progress in some areas, such as a new resolve to tackle climate change, should be welcomed. But the Government should not shy away from challenging Beijing over the country\u2019s human rights record. In 2013, the UK was the first country to produce a National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which was launched by William Hague with a great fanfare. With echoes of Robin Cook\u2019s \u201cethical foreign policy\u201d the then Foreign Secretary said that human rights would be \u201cat the heart of British foreign policy\u201d. This was not, however, borne out by the Government\u2019s behaviour. It was impossible, for example, to get David Cameron to answer straightforward questions on whether he\u2019d raised human rights concerns during a visit to Saudi Arabia back in 2012.<\/p>\n

We know that China uses its trade negotiations with other countries to promote its political designs. For example, when Norway re-established ties with China in 2016<\/a>, after a frosty period following the Dalai Lama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, it was only possible because the Norwegian Government committed itself to the \u2018One China\u2019 policy, which precludes any support for Tibet.<\/p>\n

The EU, with the UK as a member, has long inserted human rights clauses into its trade agreements, and, although the mechanism for enforcement is imperfect, trade sanctions were imposed on the likes of Zimbabwe and Iran when human rights violations occurred. By leaving the Customs Union the UK Government wants the freedom to carve out its own trade agreements. But after Theresa May\u2019s acquiescence in Beijing last week, it would appear we cannot have much hope of the UK Government asserting itself in future conversations with China.<\/p>\n

When questioned about the Business and Human Rights Action Plan in the Commons last year, the International Trade Secretary seemed to have barely heard of it. Human rights simply aren\u2019t on his agenda. As recently as April 2017, he praised the \u201cshared values\u201d that he believes the UK has with Rodrigo Duterte \u2013 nicknamed \u201cthe Punisher\u201d \u2013 the Philippine leader whose war on drugs has killed 7,000 of his own people. And we are all aware of his close links with the Sri Lankan regime during the time of President Rajapaksa and human rights violations against the Tamil population.<\/p>\n

Of course if the UK were to remain in the Customs Union we would be in a much stronger position when it comes to raising human rights with countries of concern, as part of the world\u2019s largest trading bloc. In the absence of this, we must ensure that Parliament has proper scrutiny of future trade deals, so that we can properly hold the Government to account.<\/p>\n

\nwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/entry\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy_uk_5a7db474e4b033149e401cde<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy Last week, Prime Minister Theresa May left behind her warring Cabinet to travel to China on her mission to establish \u2018Global Britain\u2019 as the Brexit negotiations trudge on. Accompanied by International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and the largest-ever UK trade delegation, the Prime Minister … Continue reading Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHuman Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy Last week, Prime Minister Theresa May left behind her warring Cabinet to travel to China on her mission to establish \u2018Global Britain\u2019 as the Brexit negotiations trudge on. Accompanied by International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and the largest-ever UK trade delegation, the Prime Minister … Continue reading Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-12T17:15:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"GayFriendschat.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gayfriendschat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gayfriendschat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GayFriendschat.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"GayFriendschat.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/person\/181913201d50f65b9bba7437f822a17f\"},\"headline\":\"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-12T17:15:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/\"},\"wordCount\":661,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"NEWS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/\",\"name\":\"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-12T17:15:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/\",\"name\":\"GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\",\"description\":\"LGBT BLOG\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"GayFriendsChat.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Logo.jpg\",\"width\":243,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"GayFriendsChat.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/gayfriendschat\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/person\/181913201d50f65b9bba7437f822a17f\",\"name\":\"GayFriendschat.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a0cb75ed5dd34c6dc3e0aa48adf030c1c38a2c9dc59146f4afdf18e4bdf1d4?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a0cb75ed5dd34c6dc3e0aa48adf030c1c38a2c9dc59146f4afdf18e4bdf1d4?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a0cb75ed5dd34c6dc3e0aa48adf030c1c38a2c9dc59146f4afdf18e4bdf1d4?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GayFriendschat.com\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/author\/gayfriendschat-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com","og_description":"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy Last week, Prime Minister Theresa May left behind her warring Cabinet to travel to China on her mission to establish \u2018Global Britain\u2019 as the Brexit negotiations trudge on. Accompanied by International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and the largest-ever UK trade delegation, the Prime Minister … Continue reading Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy →","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/","og_site_name":"GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com","article_published_time":"2018-02-12T17:15:25+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"GayFriendschat.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gayfriendschat","twitter_site":"@gayfriendschat","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GayFriendschat.com","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/"},"author":{"name":"GayFriendschat.com","@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/person\/181913201d50f65b9bba7437f822a17f"},"headline":"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy","datePublished":"2018-02-12T17:15:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/"},"wordCount":661,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg","articleSection":["NEWS"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/","name":"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg","datePublished":"2018-02-12T17:15:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5a8193272100003800600f09.jpeg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/human-rights-must-be-at-the-heart-of-uk-trade-policy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Human Rights Must Be At The Heart Of UK Trade Policy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/","name":"GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com","description":"LGBT BLOG","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#organization","name":"GayFriendsChat.com","url":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Logo.jpg","width":243,"height":96,"caption":"GayFriendsChat.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/gayfriendschat"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/person\/181913201d50f65b9bba7437f822a17f","name":"GayFriendschat.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a0cb75ed5dd34c6dc3e0aa48adf030c1c38a2c9dc59146f4afdf18e4bdf1d4?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a0cb75ed5dd34c6dc3e0aa48adf030c1c38a2c9dc59146f4afdf18e4bdf1d4?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a0cb75ed5dd34c6dc3e0aa48adf030c1c38a2c9dc59146f4afdf18e4bdf1d4?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"GayFriendschat.com"},"url":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/author\/gayfriendschat-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2466"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64201\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}