• Human Rights in the United Kingdom

    The European Court of Human Rights and domestic Human Rights Act face ongoing political and media attack in the UK. A draft law before Parliament would widen the use of secret hearings in civil courts when national security is invoked, undermining accountability for abuses by UK officials. Criminal investigations and civil cases on alleged UK complicity in torture and rendition to Gadaffi-era Libya continue, although a wider inquiry into UK complicity in rendition has been shelved. NGOs had boycotted the inquiry over lack of transparency and independence.

  • Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron appears before the Commons Liason Committee at parliament in London December 11, 2012. Cameron on Tuesday defended plans for secret court hearings citing national security.
    © 2012 Reuters
    UK: Scrap Secret Courts Plan
    The British Parliament should reject proposals to expand the use of secret court hearings in civil cases. The House of Commons is scheduled to debate the measure, contained in the Justice and Security Bill, on December 18, 2012.
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United Kingdom

  • EU: Provide Protection for Syrian Refugees
    Dec 23, 2012
    The European Union and its member states should do more to help the thousands of Syrian asylum seekers trying to reach Europe as the Syrian crisis worsens and winter sets in.
  • UK secret court plans 'dangerous precedent'
    Dec 19, 2012
    The British government's proposal to expand the use of secret court hearings in civil cases came one step closer to becoming law yesterday, raising serious concerns for human rights and the principles of open justice.
  • UK: Scrap Secret Courts Plan
    Dec 18, 2012
    The British Parliament should reject proposals to expand the use of secret court hearings in civil cases. The House of Commons is scheduled to debate the measure, contained in the Justice and Security Bill, on December 18, 2012.
  • UK: Accountability Still Needed on Libya Case
    Dec 14, 2012
    The UK government’s compensation to a Libyan dissident over its complicity in his torture and rendition provides some relief but does not absolve it of the duty to investigate.
  • UK: Army Chief’s Visit to Nepal Should Target Impunity
    Nov 14, 2012
    The United Kingdom military’s Chief of the General Staff, General Peter Wall, should use an upcoming visit to call on the Nepalese Army to cooperate with investigations into crimes alleged to have been committed by its forces during the country’s decade-long armed conflict.
  • Relations with Rwanda must be urgently reviewed
    Nov 8, 2012
    The international development select committee (IDC) is questioning Andrew Mitchell on his controversial decision to disburse £8m of UK budget support to the government of Rwanda, in his final hours as international development secretary and just six weeks after deciding to withhold this support, following allegations of Rwandan military backing for the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
  • Letter to Parliamentary Joint Human Rights Committee
    Oct 26, 2012
  • UK Halts Deportation of Some Tamil Asylum Seekers
    Oct 25, 2012
    A British judge granted a last minute injunction, citing Human Rights Watch’s research, as justification for halting the deportation of Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka.
  • Social Media Prosecutions Threaten Free Speech in the UK -- and Beyond
    Oct 14, 2012
    Visitors to Hyde Park on a Sunday can see people standing on stepladders engaged in passionate debate with groups clustered around them. Speakers’ Corner is a symbol of Britain’s centuries old commitment to freedom of speech.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Adoption of the Outcome of the United Kingdom's UPR
    Sep 19, 2012
    The Universal Periodic Review of the United Kingdom addressed a range of concerns including counterterrorism legislation and policies, as well as ways in which the UK is failing to its obligations to promote and protect women’s human rights.
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