What is wise about the human rights abusing UK agreeing with the human rights abusing Albania and Ukraine?

What is wise about the human rights abusing UK agreeing with the human rights abusing Albania and Ukraine?

Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire) (Con):

27 Oct 2011 : Column 558

In conclusion, it is very wise of the Government to have reached agreement with Ukraine and Albania—the countries whose periods of chairmanship are on either side of ours—because that means that, over an extended period of 18 months, the chairmanship can concentrate on some issues and get a result. I wish the Government well and hope that the Interlaken process is the success that it should be. The fact that 47 countries are involved, the largeness of the geographical area covered, and the way in which the organisation is led mean that if something is done right in one country, best practice can be spread right across Europe.

Wise to reach agreement with countries abusing human rights?

Ukraine:

Until very recently human rights in Ukraine were better than those in most former Soviet republics and Ukraine was labeled as "free" by organizations such as Freedom House.[1] However in 2011 Freedom House labeled Ukraine "Partly Free".[2] Amnesty International also signalled a significant deterioration of the observance of human rights in Ukraine in 2011.

Albania:

Current issues concerning human rights in Albania include domestic violence, isolated cases of torture, and police brutality, the general condition of prisons, human and sex trafficking and LGBT rights.

UK you are known by the company you keep...

Human rights in the United Kingdom are set out in common law, with its strongest roots being in the English Bill of Rights 1689, as well as the European legislation. At the same time, the UK has also had a history of both de jure and de facto discrimination, and, in recent history, occasional violations of basic human rights, particularly in times of national security crises.