London - The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, said yesterday his diplomats would from now on work much more closely with human rights groups such as Amnesty International in an effort to cut down on abuses abroad.
Mr Cook also told an Amnesty conference that Britain wanted to use its influence to persuade other countries to abolish the death penalty and was starting an initiative to fight torture wherever it happened in the world.
"There are too many countries where abuse of human rights is tolerated," said Mr Cook, citing Burma, Serbia, Iraq and Afghanistan. "This is far from a perfect world. I do not suppose it ever will be. But I get angry when people use this as an excuse for not trying," he said.
Mr Cook said upon taking office last year that Britain would have a more ethically-based foreign policy but critics accuse him of keeping quiet on human rights abuses in countries which also happen to be major trading partners.