It’s Official – UK Admits “Human Rights” No Longer a Priority of British Foreign Policy

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Not that they ever were, but they’ve finally decided to be explicit about it. Which to be honest, is pretty scary.

From the Independent:

Human rights are no longer a “top priority” for the Government, Britain’s most senior Foreign Office official has admitted, as ministers put resources into supporting trade deals ahead of tackling injustice in other parts of the world. In a remarkably frank admission to MPs, Sir Simon McDonald, Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office, said that human rights no longer had the “profile” within his department that they had “in the past”.

Yes, you read that right. Trade deals. You know like…

Forget the TPP – Wikileaks Releases Documents from the Equally Shady “Trade in Services Agreement,” or TISA

And he added that the Conservatives’ “prosperity agenda” was now “further up the list” of areas on which the department was concentrating its dwindling resources.

Last night human rights charities said Sir Simon’s comments were as “astonishing as they were alarming” and described the change in focus as “deeply regrettable”.

Sir Simon made his remarks to Mr Blunt’s committee when he was questioned about how his department was prioritising resources. Asked whether human rights were now one of its “lower-priority activities”, Sir Simon replied: “Well, answering as Permanent Secretary, I say that although it is one of the things we follow, it is not one of our top priorities.” He added: “In a more constrained environment, the need to concentrate on Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia, and the Middle East has supplanted it to an extent.”

So starting World War 3 is now the priority. Go it.

And furter corporate profits, naturally…

While Sir Simon said human rights was part of that work, he also admitted it was secondary also to the need to promote British companies abroad.

Sir Simon was speaking shortly before George Osborne embarked upon a week-long trade mission to China where he was criticised for failing to publicly raise human rights abuses with his hosts.

Mr Blunt added: “If we are beginning to see human rights work formally come second fiddle to a commercial strategy, it fits pretty oddly when we are still speaking the language of a great power such as getting stuck into conflicts such as Syria.”

“The UK plays a leading role in the Human Rights Council, calling recently for resolutions on Syria and Sri Lanka and we are committed to using our global network to promote and protect universal human rights across the world,” the spokeswoman added.

A leading role, right. Like what, cutting a secret deal to ensure the Saudis ended up on the UN’s human rights panel?

Of course, none of this is surprising. Like its partner across the pond, the UK has been morphing into an Orwellian, police state gulag for quite some time. Need proof? Here you go:

New UN Privacy Chief Proclaims – UK Digital Surveillance is “Worse than Orwell”

Top Computer Security Expert Warns – David Cameron’s Plan to Ban Encryption Would “Destroy the Internet”

The Mindset of UK Prime Minister David Cameron – It’s Not Enough to Follow the Law, You Must Love Big Brother

Britain’s “War on Terror” Insanity Continues – David Cameron Declares War on Encryption

Press Rebellion in the UK – British Media Launches Protest Against Spying, as GCHQ Places Investigative Journalism in Same Category as Terrorism

The War on Toddler Terrorists – Britain Wants to Force Nursery School Teachers to Identify “Extremist” Children

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

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9 thoughts on “It’s Official – UK Admits “Human Rights” No Longer a Priority of British Foreign Policy”

  1. Once again the britts are reverting back too pre-colonial thinking.. their moral senses are quite behind in their priorities of human rights. it is understood that the terrorist influx is a very high priority, but the innocents are definitely in need of help.. thus they can still stay in their respective countries and receive that help there. we here in America and Britain or any other country does not have to open our borders too this type of influx. It has already happened and these refugees should be all rounded up and put into internment camps for security purposes..
    Obama and his morbid policies have opened the floodgates for a potential threat of WW. he has weakened America to a point that we are very vulnerable to a potential attack on American soil and WE THE PEOPLE HAVE LET THIS HAPPEN. We have too do something about this problem, before it does escalate into an all out war and here Congress is just sitting on their hands, acting like there is nothing wrong.. what a bunch of Imbicils, WE AMERICANS HAVE BECOME..!!!!

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  2. There is, fortunately, [as Max Planck said in his 1944 speech on the “Essence of matter” in Florence, Italy] a “conscious and intelligent Mind” guiding the force in the core of the Sun that made and sustains every atom, life and planet on the solar system.

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