UN told to hold UK accountable for torture
British rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the United Nations Committee against Torture to hold Britain accountable over cases of “complicity in torture”, including by its military forces overseas.
HRW said in a memorandum to the UN Committee, ahead of its review of the UK in May 2013, that London is not complying with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in a number of areas. The rights group said it has urged the UN committee to hold the British government accountable for “complicity in torture”, “lack of an independent inquiry into UK complicity in rendition and torture overseas”, “abuses by UK forces in Iraq”, “expanded use of secret hearings in civil cases”, “breach of the principle of non-refoulement [rendering a true victim of persecution to their persecutor]”, “reliance on ‘diplomatic assurances’ against torture” and “reliance on material obtained under torture for intelligence and policing purposes”.