Pledge over human rights still haunts Government

Days after Labour's 1997 election landslide, Robin Cook, the new Foreign Secretary, promised that the Government would pursue a "foreign policy with an ethical dimension".

The pledge haunted the party as its idealistic hopes in opposition were undermined by the messy compromises of realpolitik and global trade. There was even speculation last year that the phrase had been abandoned for good by the Foreign Office. But Jack Straw echoed his predecessor yesterday, declaring: "Ensuring respect for human rights remains at the heart of our foreign policy." He added: "It is right to secure respect and observance for human rights both because it is morally right, but also because it makes a lot of sense in terms of securing our own security."

He spoke as the Foreign Office issued its annual survey of human rights abuses around the world, detailing a trail of murder, imprisonment without trial and curbs of freedom of speech ranging from Colombia and Cuba to Belarus and Burma.

In the report, Mr Straw assumed the high moral ground, declaring: "The Government is advancing the cause of human rights around the world." But critics accuse Labour of selective anger, with its indignation liable to be tempered when lucrative weapons contracts or Britain's relationship with the United States is at stake.

The Government has been blighted by accusations of double-dealing in arms sales.

Hawk jets have been sold to Indonesia, which was brutally repressing dissent in East Timor. Arms were supplied to both India and Pakistan as they came close to war - with the risk of nuclear conflict - over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

UK parts were fitted to American F-16 jets allegedly used by the Israelis in bombing of Palestinian settlements.

Saferworld, the anti-arms trade group, said: "The Government's human rights foreign policy is being undermined by increased arms sales to countries with dubious human rights records."

Six years after Labour's 1997 manifesto promise to stop arms exports that may fuel internal repression or external aggression, critics say the Government has yet to deliver.

The Government also appears to find itself in a dilemma over the fate of the nine Britons incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay. Although it has repeatedly raised its concerns with their American jailers, ministers have seemed reluctant to press the dispute into a full-scale diplomatic row.

They have displayed a similar reticence over Washington's refusal to recognise the International Criminal Court.

On the positive side, the Government has campaigned hard globally against the use of torture and the death penalty.

It has also supported human rights initiatives around the world with hard money. And the very publication of a 300-page report into the issue spotlights the subject in a way that would not have been countenanced by the previous Tory administration.

Mr Straw repeated calls for the release of the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma. He also denounced President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe for shutting down the country's only independent newspaper, the Daily News, for criticising his government.

The report handed out fierce criticism to Israel, which is accused - with Palestinian terrorist groups - of showing "a worrying disregard for human rights".