A House of Lords ruling that allows the deportation of terrorist suspects to Algeria and Jordan damages the global ban on torture.

The British government should immediately halt plans to deport foreign terrorism suspects to countries that offer unreliable promises not to torture them.

Human Rights Watch and JUSTICE submitted this amicus brief to the UK House of Lords in RB and U v. Secretary of State for the Home Department and Secretary of State for the Home Department v. OO (Othman), arguing that assurances from countries where torture and ill-treatment are routine are inherently ineffective and undermine the international legal prohibition against returning persons to places where they are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

Rice should press the Algerian government on the well-being and status of Guantanamo detainees returned to Algeria.

US and Algerian authorities should immediately reveal the whereabouts of two Algerians transferred from Guantanamo to Algeria on July 2, 2008. The two men, Abderrahmane Houari, 28, and Mustafa Ahmed Hamlily, 49, have been missing since their return.

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. .

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.