Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215078829
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 80
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The Consular Service of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides vital support to British nationals overseas. It offers a wide range of services, handling anything from lost passports to kidnap, a major crisis evacuation or verification of a document. It is the FCO's public face, and it is central to its reputation at home. Britons undertaking more adventurous travel, large expatriate populations and a series of major overseas crises have tested the Consular Service in recent years. In 2013, the FCO dealt with over 450,000 consular customers, over 17,000 of whom received personal assistance. The Consular Service has responded with a "strategic shift" to provide a more standardised and professional service. However, the strategic shift to a "smaller and better" consular service has also meant that some services have been limited or withdrawn, and standardisation has meant the end of so-called "over-service" as well as under-service. The FCO has consequently put great emphasis on encouraging self-help, managing expectations and explaining the limits of its assistance to British nationals. Despite these efforts to explain to the public what the FCO can and cannot do, there was still a significant gap between the high expectations of the public and the reality of what the FCO could provide.
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215081102
Category : Great Britain
Languages : en
Pages : 80
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Book Description
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is a genuine, if developing, democracy. It is also a haven of tolerance and stability in a critically unstable region where those values are needed more than ever. It has huge strategic value to the UK as a bridge to other regional powers, is a key bulwark against ISIL, and has significant oil and gas potential. But it is also vulnerable and needs the support of its friends. It should respond positively to the invitation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to be its "partner of choice" on trade, education and cultural exchange as well as on defence and intelligence matters. The Kurdistan Region has work to do on developing its democratic culture and its respect for human rights, and UK support should go hand in hand with proof of progress in these areas. The Committee commends the Region's defence force, the Peshmerga, for its defence of Kurdish territory against ISIL and its protection of vulnerable minorities. It supports the UK Government's decision to offer the Peshmerga equipment and training. Advice is also needed from the Kurdistan Region's experts on issues like counter-terrorism and on the situation on the ground in Iraq and Syria. More diplomats need to be working out of a proper office in Erbil instead of hotel rooms. And this is not easily achieved as the FCO has suffered from cuts to its meagre budget at a time when more expertise and high-level co-operation is desperately needed.
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215081722
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 44
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Book Description
The cuts imposed on the FCO since 2010 have been severe and have gone beyond just trimming fat: capacity now appears to be being damaged. If further cuts are imposed, the UK's diplomatic imprint and influence would probably reduce, and the Government would need to roll back some of its foreign policy objectives. The FCO's budget is a tiny element of Government expenditure, but the FCO makes disproportionate contribution to policy making at the highest level, including decisions on whether to commit to military action. The next Government needs to protect future FCO budgets under the next Spending Review.
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215080742
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 16
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Book Description
In July 2014, the Committee launched an inquiry into the UK's relations with Hong Kong, 30 years after the signing of the Joint Declaration. As part of this inquiry, they planned to visit Hong Kong to speak to a wide range of interlocutors about the UK-Hong Kong relationship. The Chinese and Hong Kong authorities informed the Committee that they considered this to be interference in China's internal affairs and they urged a halt to the inquiry. On 28 November, the Chinese Deputy Ambassador informed the Committee that the Chinese government would take any necessary measures to prevent the Committee from visiting Hong Kong, forcing the postponement of the visit. It was made clear that the Committee would be prevented from entering Hong Kong, despite the fact that, as UK nationals, no visa for entry was required. The Committee considers the ban by China to be unprecedented, and sees it as an obstruction to the conduct of the Committee's parliamentary duties.
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215078861
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 64
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The FCO designated 28 countries of concern in its 2013 report, where it judged the gravity of the human rights abuses to be so severe that a particular focus should be applied. The Committee concentrated attention on three of these countries: Sri Lanka, Burma, and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Favourable trade concessions to the EU market should be removed from Sri Lanka if the Government of Sri Lanka continues to deny the OHCHR investigation team access into the country. The Government should advocate re-imposition of sanctions by the EU if there is no improvement in the human rights situation in Burma. The human rights of Israeli, Palestinian and Bedouin citizens living in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories continue to be of serious concern to the UK.
Author: David Sloss
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 052187730X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 657
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Book Description
This title examines whether domestic courts in 12 countries actually provide remedies to private parties who are harmed by a violation of their treaty-based rights.
Author: Great Britain. Cabinet Office
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781474133326
Category : Governmental investigations
Languages : en
Pages : 145
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Author: Carl Bridge
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781921612107
Category : Australia
Languages : en
Pages : 342
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Book Description
Marks the centenary of the posting of the first Australian High Commissioner in London, so beginning what is today Australia's oldest diplomatic mission. In 1910, when Sir George Reid was appointed its first High Commissioner in London, Australia was a self-governing but not yet sovereign state and the Australian Governor-General remained the most important channel of communication between the Australian and United Kingdom governments until the late 1920s. The book traces the history of the office and in doing so illuminates the larger story of Australian-United Kingdom relations in the twentieth century, the evolution of Australia from British colony to sovereign state and the gradual transition of the United Kingdom from head of an empire to member of the European Union.
Author: Tom Ruys
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110828499X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Few topics of international law speak to the imagination as much as international immunities. Questions pertaining to immunity from jurisdiction or execution under international law surface on a frequent basis before national courts, including at the highest levels of the judicial branch and before international courts or tribunals. Nevertheless, international immunity law is and remains a challenging field for practitioners and scholars alike. Challenges stem in part from the uncertainty pertaining to the customary content of some immunity regimes said to be in a 'state of flux', the divergent – and at times directly conflicting - approaches to immunity in different national and international jurisdictions, or the increasing intolerance towards impunity that has accompanied the advance of international criminal law and human rights law. Composed of thirty-four expertly written contributions, the present volume uniquely provides a comprehensive tour d'horizon of international immunity law, traversing a wealth of national and international practice.
Author: John F Kreis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780160022494
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 428
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Book Description
