Catalogue description Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Human Rights Policy Department (HR Prefix Series)

The records are arranged into two sequences. The first is prefixed HRE and covers European human rights, the second is prefixed HRU and covers liaison with the United Nations on Human Rights.

The Human Rights Policy Department was established within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993. The department liaised with other organisations on human rights, coordinated Government policy on human rights, ensured consistency of application across FCO departments, liaised with other Government departments (ensuring domestic policy took account of international human rights obligations), and supervised the British Overseas Territories under international treaty obligations. Previously responsibility for the FCO's policy on human rights had been with the United Nations Department.