• Benjamin Ward, Deputy Director of Europe and Central Asia
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    How Not to Get to the Truth about UK Complicity in Gaddafi-Era Abuse
    Confronted with fresh evidence unearthed by Human Rights Watch that the UK security services were complicit in the rendition and possible torture of opponents of the Gaddafi regime, Prime Minister David Cameron gave a confident performance in the House of Commons. He told MPs that the “significant accusations” would be looked at “very carefully” by the existing Detainee Inquiry.
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  • Human Rights in the United Kingdom

    The documents found in Libya in September provided further evidence of UK complicity in overseas torture and rendition. Police and prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into the Libya allegations in January 2012, but dropped separate probes into allegations in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The same month, the government abandoned the controversial inquiry set up to look into wider issues of UK complicity. NGOs and victims’ lawyers boycotted the inquiry over lack of transparency and credibility. A separate inquiry found a British military regiment responsible for the 2003 beating death of an Iraqi civilian in custody. The domestic Human Rights Act and European Court of Human Rights came under sustained attack from government ministers and the media. 

Reports

United Kingdom

  • Hope for BC at BC?
    Feb 8, 2012

    When I went to college, I chose a highly regarded university with a strong tradition as a Jesuit institution. I was pleased with my undergraduate education at Boston College, but I still lament that my alma mater denies students access to contraceptive services through its health system.  

  • EU: Rights Abuse at Home Ignored
    Jan 22, 2012
    The European Union and member governments proved unwilling to tackle human rights abuse at home during 2011, even as they proclaimed the issue’s importance in inspiring the Arab Spring, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.
  • UK: European Court Ruling Sends Mixed Message on Torture
    Jan 18, 2012
    The European Court of Human Rights ruling on January 17, 2012, against the deportation of a Jordanian national from the United Kingdom could have serious consequences for human rights protection in Europe, said three nongovernmental organizations that intervened in the case.
  • International human rights experts call for key changes to the Detainee Inquiry as Abdul Hakim Belhadj joins list of survivors refusing to participate
    Jan 6, 2012
    The government’s planned ‘Detainee Inquiry’ faces further harsh criticism today as seventeen distinguished international human rights experts publish an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron stating that “the powers currently given to the Inquiry are seriously deficient and that it will be unable to properly fulfil the UK's human rights obligations.”
  • Letter to UK Foreign Secretary on Camp Ashraf in Iraq
    Dec 15, 2011
    We are writing to you before the December 31 announced closure of Camp Ashraf (also known as Camp New Iraq) to urge the British government to take proactive steps to help prevent the stand-off between the Iraqi government and the leadership of the Mohjahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from deteriorating further at a critical moment in Iraq’s precarious transition to democratic rule.
  • Universal Periodic Review of the United Kingdom: November 2011
    Nov 25, 2011
    UK counterterrorism policy and legislation continues to undermine fundamental human rights. The UK is failing to meet its obligations to promote and protect women’s human rights.
  • Can Women Count on the UK?
    Sep 29, 2011
    Prime Minister David Cameron, talking about the Arab spring in his address to the UN General Assembly, pointed out the link between strong economies and democracies, on the one hand, and women’s active participation, on the other. But can we count on the UK to push for women's rights?
  • How Not to Get to the Truth about UK Complicity in Gaddafi-Era Abuse
    Sep 11, 2011
    Confronted with fresh evidence unearthed by Human Rights Watch that the UK security services were complicit in the rendition and possible torture of opponents of the Gaddafi regime, Prime Minister David Cameron gave a confident performance in the House of Commons. He told MPs that the “significant accusations” would be looked at “very carefully” by the existing Detainee Inquiry.
  • US/UK: Documents Reveal Libya Rendition Details
    Sep 8, 2011
    Documents recently discovered by Human Rights Watch in Tripoli reveal new details of the high level of cooperation among United States, United Kingdom and Libyan intelligence agencies in the transfer of terrorism suspects.
  • Beyond Baha Mousa
    Sep 8, 2011
    The name Baha Mousa has become the most famous in the history of abuses by the British army in Iraq. Thursday's publication of the report of the inquiry into his death in British custody in Basra in 2003 is a remarkable conclusion to the persistent efforts of his family and their representatives. The report's condemnation of the leadership, loss of discipline and moral failings of the 1st Battalion the Queen's Lancashire Regiment in Iraq and comprehensive recommendations on the banning of hooding and stress techniques are to be welcomed. But to prevent future cases, the British government needs to acknowledge the wider implications of Mousa's death, which the inquiry has only touched on.
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