London, Palace of Westminster, 8 February 2017

Mr. Mark Pritchard, MP (UK), Board Member of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) and co-chair of the UK All Party Group for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, met today with Mr. Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary, to discuss human rights issues.

Mr. Pritchard highlighted the global efforts of PGA to prevent and counter gross human rights abuses and crimes against humanity through its Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC. He presented PGA's global platform for the abolition of the death penalty and the other campaigns that the largest global network of individual Parliamentarians is undertaking on gender equality, non-discrimination, arms' regulation and the prevention of violent extremism.

The UK role in the global community is characterized by its permanent membership in the UN Security Council and its leadership role in the Commonwealth, with which PGA closely collaborates to advance the Rule of Law and the empowerment of women especially through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

As member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Mr. Pritchard is contributing to inquiries that address critical issues such as children rights, the prison system, the human rights' implications of Brexit and the European Court of Human Rights [see www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/human-rights-committee/inquiries/]. In 2016, the Committee issued the pivotal report on The Government's policy on the use of drones for targeted killing, which triggered a detailed response from the Executive - See the Report and the Government's detailed response at: www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt201617/jtselect/jtrights/747/74702.htm.

PGA is present in the British Parliament with a multi-partisan National group.