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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland A UK Window into CIA Abuses By Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism director Published in FindLaw This Wednesday, unless the UK foreign secretary takes rapid action, Britain’s High Court will hold a hearing to assess whether the UK government should be ordered to hand over secret documents to lawyers for a Guantanamo detainee. The detainee in question, Binyam Mohamed, faces possible charges of conspiracy and material support for terrorism before a military commission at Guantanamo. August 25, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version UK: Disclose Information on Treatment and Interrogations of Guantanamo Detainee Binyan Mohamed Letter to UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband On August 21, 2008, Binyam Mohamed, a former UK resident detained at Guantanamo who is slated for trial before the military commissions, won the first stage in a battle for access to evidence showing he was tortured. The British government, which previously refused to turn over evidence that may back up Mohamed’s claims, was given one week by a UK court to reconsider its refusal, concluding that the information is essential for Mohamed to adequately defend himself. In a letter sent today, Human Rights Watch urges the British government to disclose to Mohamed’s lawyers any and all evidence it has about his interrogation and detention. August 22, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Trained in Terror The British trained the Kenyan army in counter-terrorism tactics that are being used with devastating force against its own people By Ben Rawlence Published in The Guardian Kenya is one of the first beneficiaries of "Operation Monogram," the British government's counter-terrorism training and equipment foreign assistance program, because it shares a border with war-torn Somalia and because of its own experience of terrorist attacks. Research by Human Rights Watch has now provided hard evidence of abuses by Kenyan security forces that received British training. The British government should be working proactively to ensure that these security forces act according to the law. The US, which is involved in the same places for the same reasons, should follow suit. July 30, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Debating Human Rights and Counterterrorism in Britain By Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism director Published in FindLaw It is not just in the United States that aggressive counterterrorism measures have raised serious human rights concerns. This month, the UK House of Lords began debating a draft counterterrorism law that would institute a number of harmful proposals, including granting police the power to detain terrorism suspects for up to six weeks without charge. July 28, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Nigeria's Delta blues Nigeria's oil industry is beset with corruption. The result is higher oil prices and widespread human rights abuses By Eric Guttschuss, HRW Researcher on Nigeria Published in Guardian.co.uk Sabotage and oil theft have cut production in the world's eighth-largest oil exporter to its lowest level in 20 years, contributing to spiralling world oil prices. July 21, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version UK: 42-Day Pre-Charge Detention Violates Rights House of Lords Should Reject Harmful Provisions of Terrorism Bill A draft terror law giving British authorities the power to detain terrorism suspects for up to six weeks without charge violates the fundamental right to liberty and risks undermining counterterrorism efforts, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. July 4, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version United Kingdom: Briefing on the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008 Second Reading in the House of Lords This 19-page briefing paper analyzes measures in the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008 that Human Rights Watch believes are incompatible with the UK’s obligations under international human rights law. Much of the debate around the bill has focused legitimately on the government’s renewed effort to extend pre-charge detention beyond the already-excessive 28-day period, which Human Rights Watch believes should be rolled back rather than extended. But the bill contains other provisions that raise serious human rights concerns. July 4, 2008 Background Briefing UK: Abusive Ex-Commander Allowed to Return to Sri Lanka Colombo Should Now Prosecute Karuna Amman The British government today regrettably allowed an abusive former Tamil Tiger leader who had been in its custody to return to Sri Lanka as a free man, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the Sri Lankan government to investigate and prosecute Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, known as Colonel Karuna Amman, for war crimes committed as a commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and later as head of an anti-LTTE armed group. July 3, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Iraq: Between false refuge and the peril of return The UK's Iraqi asylum seekers are now being forced to return not only to the more stable northern region, but to central and southern Iraq. Whatever responsibility UK citizens might feel for them is clearly not shared by those taking these decisions. How then do they decide? June 17, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version UK: 42-Day Pre-Charge Detention Violates Rights House of Lords Should Reject Disgraceful Terrorism Bill The power to detain terrorism suspects for up to six weeks without charge violates the fundamental right to liberty and risks undermining counterterrorism efforts, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 11, 2008, the House of Commons narrowly approved a provision in a counterterrorism bill that allows for 42-day pre-charge detention. June 11, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version 42 days is still too long The government has not yet provided enough evidence that six-weeks' detention is necessary or even judicially viable Published in The Guardian Online Tomorrow, the House of Commons will vote on a counter-terrorism bill which the government claims offers significant "practical safeguards" to ensure the protection of the rights of those accused of terrorism. It doesn't. Despite all the consultations and concessions, the government's proposals remain unnecessary, disproportionate and counterproductive. June 10, 2008 Commentary Also available in 
Printer friendly version UK: Proposed 42-day Pre-Charge Detention Violates Rights House of Commons Should Reject Harmful Provisions of Terrorism Bill The UK government’s bid to detain terrorism suspects for up to six weeks without charge violates the fundamental right to liberty and risks undermining counterterrorism efforts, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 11, the House of Commons will vote on a counterterrorism bill that includes 42-day pre-charge detention and other harmful proposals. June 9, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Hope Vetoed By Brad Adams Published in Progress Online The Burmese military's moves to block international aid are no surprise June 4, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version A cluster of excuses Britain, pushed by the US, is trying to insert a massive loophole in the treaty banning cluster weapons By Marc Garlasco, Senior Military Analyst Published in Guardian Online Before it is too late, the UK needs to start showing some humanitarian principles and some political backbone. As a close ally of the US and a major military player on the global stage, it is important that the UK remains on board the Oslo process. But it is also essential that the UK follow up on Brown's helpful statement this week and start standing for the interests of the victims - past, present and future - of these horrible weapons. May 23, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version UK must stop clinging to cluster bombs By Marc Garlasco, Senior Military Analyst Published in The Independent, Open House Blogs We’ve gathered at the home of the Gaelic Games to write a major new piece of international law. Here in the massive Croke Park Stadium in Dublin, nearly 1,000 diplomats and campaigners are thronging the chilly halls to hammer out the final text of a treaty banning cluster munitions. The United Kingdom is one of the lynchpin nations here, but they are clinging to their last cluster munitions and have thoroughly isolated themselves. May 22, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version UK: Missed Chance to Charge Sri Lankan Rights Abuser Karuna Case Could Have Been Landmark for International Justice The British government’s failure to file criminal charges against a former Tamil Tiger leader for grave human rights abuses in Sri Lanka is a tragic missed opportunity to bring a notorious rights abuser to justice, Human Rights Watch said today. May 9, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Re-education, Saudi style David Miliband seems impressed by Riyadh's counter-radicalisation programme. So he must have overlooked its flagrant breaches of basic rights By Christoph Wilcke, Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division Published in Guardian Unlimited Returning from a visit to Saudi Arabia, Foreign Secretary David Miliband describes in his blog his experience of a Saudi programme to turn terrorism suspects off violence. Miliband clearly thinks it is a good thing. But his account is incomplete in one important way: the programme is hardly voluntary, and the estimated 1,500-2,000 detainees being re-educated have been detained often for over three years without charge or trial or other legal process. April 28, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Algeria criticises UK’s human rights record By Judith Sunderland, Researcher, Europe and Central Asia Division Published in OpenDemocracy: Our Kingdom The United Kingdom came in for robust questioning on its human rights record from other UN member states last week at the Human Rights Council, during the historic first session of the Universal Periodic Review Coming at a time when the UK government is trying to pass yet another piece of counterterrorism legislation, which includes extending pre-charge detention to 42 days, it’s no wonder a significant number of countries asked about UK counterterrorism policies. . April 23, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version UK: Don’t Water Down Cluster Ban Treaty The UK government should abandon its insistence on exempting certain weapons from the new cluster munitions treaty whose text is being finalized next month, Human Rights Watch said today. The government is seeking to weaken the treaty in other ways as well, Human Rights Watch said. April 18, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version UN: Mixed Results for New Review Process States Avoid Serious Discussion of Rights in Algeria, Tunisia The first session of the new country review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council was undermined by inconsistencies and the timidity of some governments in reviewing others, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 18, 2008 the council concluded a two-week session in which it examined the records of 16 countries as part of the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. April 18, 2008 Press Release Also available in
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