'At the heart of any foreign policy must lie a set of fundamental values. For this Government, the values that we promote abroad are those that guide our actions at home. We seek a world in which freedom, justice and opportunity thrive, in which governments are accountable to the people, protect their rights and guarantee their security and basic needs. We do so because these are the values we believe to be right. And because such a world is the best guarantee of the security and prosperity of the people of the United Kingdom.'
- Jack Straw, then Foreign Secretary, launching the new FCO Strategy in March 2006.

Human rights remain at the heart of the foreign policy agenda and the UK works through international forums and bilateral relationships to spread the values of human rights, civil liberties and democracy which we in the UK demand for ourselves.

The section on What are human rights? deals with the place of human rights in foreign policy and outlines main issues of contention - torture, religious freedom, equality, death penalty, child rights and freedom of expression. It also lists the key international bodies with which we work to promote human rights.

Former Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, undertook to publish an annual report on human rights from 1998 onwards. All human rights reports are available on the Reports page.

The News offers an archive all ministerial statements and press releases on human rights issues.

The GOF Human Rights Programme is a key instrument in implementing policy in this area. You can read here about the programme's objectives, structure and funding. Other GOF programmes such as Engaging with the Islamic World and Reuniting Europe also support human rights projects and include links to the pages for those programmes.

For more information please visit the links on the left to access the human rights pages. We would value your feedback on the information provided.