Guidance

The Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group on Human Rights

Updated 2 September 2020

This was published under the 2015 to 2016 Cameron Conservative government

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The Human Rights Advisory Group was established in 2010 by the then Foreign Secretary William Hague. Its purpose is to give the Foreign Secretary, who chairs the group, the best possible information about human rights challenges; and for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to benefit from outside advice on the conduct of its policy.

The membership of the group includes a range of individuals from non-government organisations (NGOs), academia and those with experience of international institutions.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) officials regularly consult Advisory Group members at and between meetings. The Group’s input has helped the FCDO develop strategies in a number of areas, including torture prevention and freedom of religion or belief. Over the years, Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group discussions have contributed to the development of important human rights policy innovations, including the development of criteria for identifying countries of human rights concerns and the creation of new guidance on human rights defenders.

1. Current membership

  • Mike Adamson, Chief Executive, British Red Cross
  • Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK
  • Dr Chaloka Beyani, LSE, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons 2010 to 2016
  • Sir Malcolm Evans OBE, University of Bristol, UK member of the United Nations Sub-committee on the Prevention of Torture
  • Jane Gordon, LSE fellow, co-founder of NGO ‘Sisters for Change’
  • Sir Jeffrey Jowell KC, Blackstone Chambers; former director of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law; Emeritus Professor of Public Law, University College London
  • Marcela Manubens, Global Vice President, Integrated Social Responsibility, Unilever
  • Benjamin Ward, UK Director, Human Rights Watch, London
  • John Morrison, Executive Director, Institute for Human Rights and Business
  • Anthony Smith, Chief Executive, Westminster Foundation for Democracy
  • Quinn Mckew, Executive Director, Article 19
  • Dr Nazila Ghanea, Associate Professor in International Human Rights Law, University of Oxford
  • Nancy Kelley, Chief Executive, Stonewall
  • Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Christian Solidarity Worldwide
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