Labour MP and former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has urged the British government to play a more active role on human rights in Balochistan. He said Britain’s own colonial history places a “special responsibility” on it.
Addressing the 12th Balochistan International Conference, organised by the Baloch National Movement (BNM) at the Geneva Press Club on Thursday by video link, McDonnell said British ministers should help address human rights violations and should recognise the Baloch people’s demands for “peace, justice and the right to self-determination.”
He told participants that he has continued to provide political and diplomatic support in Britain to Baloch people affected by Pakistani repression, and that he will maintain that position. He said the British government should also recognise its responsibilities on asylum. New restrictions, he said, have increased the difficulties facing those seeking asylum.
He said he would continue to argue that some people seek asylum and protection because their lives are at risk, while also acknowledging the limits of what he can achieve. Influencing policy, he said, is challenging because of the British government’s relations with Pakistan.
He said Britain’s past rule in the region has left it with responsibilities in the present. Because of its history of colonial rule in the region, Britain should acknowledge its role, and that is why it has a special responsibility to ensure that the Baloch have the same basic rights that exist in Britain: the right to self-determination, human rights, and the fundamental protection of peace and justice in their own land.
He said there has been a change in Britain’s political leadership, and that in that context activists would seek meetings with ministers to discuss a strategy covering both urgent issues and a longer-term position on civil liberties and the right to self-determination.