By: Catherine Churchill
27 January 2025 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three children at a dance class in Southport earlier this year, pleaded guilty last week and has been sentenced to a minimum of 52 years. He unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all charges last Monday, including weapons and terrorism offences. Mr Justice Goose stated in his sentencing remarks that Rudakubana’s actions had ‘caused such extreme shock and revulsion that it must be seen as the most extreme level of crime’. Given Rudakubana was 17 when the attack occurred, he cannot legally be sentenced to a whole life order (which would mean he could never be considered for release). Despite the chances being very high that Rudakubana will never be released under his current sentence, some believe the sentence is not harsh enough. Southport MP Patrick Hurley has said the sentence is ‘not severe enough’ and does not ‘reflect the crimes committed’. Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has called for the law to be changed so that whole life orders can be imposed on under 18s. However, a spokesperson for Downing Street said that while they ‘share the public’s disgust’, they are ‘restricted in [their] ability to extend whole life orders by UN laws’ – specifically the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Rudakubana’s sentence has been referred to the Attorney General, who has 28 days to decide whether to ask the Court of Appeal to reconsider it for being ‘unduly lenient’.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights announced on Friday that it is launching an inquiry into transnational repression in the UK. While acknowledging that there is no universal definition, the Committee stated that transnational repression ‘is generally understood to include instances of intimidation, violence and harassment by a state against people in another state’. Lord Alton, launching the inquiry, said: ‘People from countries around the world come to the UK as a place of safety from repression. It is deeply concerning to hear reports that foreign governments are moving beyond their own national borders to persecute people here’. The inquiry seeks to investigate whether the human rights of immigrants in the UK are being respected by foreign governments, and whether the UK should be doing any more to safeguard them. The inquiry is calling for evidence to be submitted over the coming month.
In Other News
Donald Trump was sworn in last Monday as the 47th president of the United States. On his first day in the White House, he signed multiple executive orders he said in his inaugural speech will lead to the ‘complete restoration of America’. Among the orders were ones providing for the US to leave the World Health Organisation and the Paris Climate Accords, to end birthright citizenship (the guarantee of citizenship to anyone born on US soil), to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and to create a policy that the US only recognises ‘two genders, male and female’. The American Civil Liberties Union has accused the administration of ‘undoing decades of federal anti-discrimination policy’ with these orders. US District Judge John Coughenour has granted a temporary block on the order ending birthright citizenship on the grounds that it is ‘blatantly unconstitutional’. The executive order and any enforcement measures will now be held for the coming 14 days pending further legal proceedings.
In the Courts
The European Court of Human Rights ruled last week in HW v France that France’s divorce laws, which recognise a refusal to engage in sexual relations as grounds for fault in a divorce, constitutes a violation of Article 8 ECHR – the right to respect for private and family life. The case was brought by a French woman after the divorce, which was granted in 2019 by the Versailles Court of Appeal, attributed fault to her on the basis that not having sex with her husband constituted a ‘serious and repeated breach of marital duties and obligations, making it impossible to continue in a state of matrimony’. In judgment, the ECHR objected to the fact that the concept of ‘marital duties’ recognised in French law pays no attention to the importance of consent to sexual relations. The very existence of this fault-based ground infringed upon the right to sexual freedom and bodily autonomy. The Court could not find any possible justification for the interference with the applicant’s Article 8 rights.
Prince Harry has proclaimed a ‘monumental’ legal win after reaching a settlement moments before his lawsuit against Murdoch newspapers was due to return to court last week. The case alleged that Murdoch’s media group, News Group Newspapers, had carried out unlawful information gathering, the principal allegation concerning the phone hacking scandal that came to light in 2006. Prince Harry’s barrister, David Sherborne, said in a statement read outside of court that ‘News UK is finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law’. The settlement includes a specific admission of wrongdoing by The Sun newspaper against Prince Harry; a formal apology was issued and read in court. The apology was said to finally take accountability for wrongdoing against not only the Duke of Sussex, but all the other victims of the information scandal whose cases never reached court.
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6 January 2025 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
A heated debate has arisen across the UK and abroad after Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips last week rejected calls for a public inquiry into child grooming gangs in Oldham. In a letter sent to Oldham Council in response to its request for a public inquiry, Phillips stated it was for “Oldham Council alone to decide whether to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the Government to intervene”. The decision has led to widespread criticism, with Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick calling it “shameful” and Elon Musk arguing that Phillips “deserves to be in prison”. Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, has defended Musk’s involvement as an exercise in “free speech”. Professor Alexis Jay, former Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), has suggested that it is change that is needed rather than a fresh inquiry. A statement published on Sunday by campaign group Act on IICSA warned against the politicisation of sexual violence, which only “hinders the implementation of vital and urgent overhaul” to existing systems. In a press conference on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer defended Jess Phillips and his own record as Director of Public Prosecutions, accusing critics of “spreading lies and misinformation” and of being interested in themselves rather than the victims.
Former President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger, has warned that legal aid cuts in family cases are denying parents their human rights, stating that the cuts are “wrong in principle”. Following legislative changes in 2013, parents in private children’s law cases are unable to access legal aid – irrespective of their means – unless abuse is alleged. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Neuberger called it “almost disgraceful” that parents are given human rights and then denied the ability to enforce them as a result of the lack of legal aid. “Rights aren’t meaningful unless they can be enforced”, he added. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson responded to Neuberger’s position by emphasising the importance of families getting the “best outcomes as quickly as possible”, pointing to the mediation scheme available for family disputes which is partially Government funded.
In Other News
The latest report published by HRMMU, the UN team investigating human rights in Ukraine, details the deteriorating situation in the region with a surge in monthly civilian casualties and allegations of executions of Ukrainian Servicepersons. Evidence continues to suggest that individuals being held as Prisoners of War (POWs) are suffering torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence. While the report acknowledges mistreatment of Russian POWs, these instances are said to appear more “isolated” than that of Ukrainians. As the war rages on nearly three years after the Russian invasion, the report calls for both countries to “intensify” their efforts to uphold international human rights law. The report was published just days before Ukraine launched a renewed offensive in Russia’s Kursk region on Sunday, leaving Russian civilians “shaken”.
Ireland’s landmark hate crime law – the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024 – came into force last week, marking a historic moment in Irish law regarding the treatment of hate-motivated offences. The new law prescribes increased prison sentences where hatred predicated upon real or perceived protected identity characteristics either motivates a crime or is demonstrated during it. Ireland Justice Minister Helen McEntee said last Tuesday that the “legislation meets a clear gap in [Irish] laws and is widely supported by the public”, bringing Ireland out of the small group of EU countries that continue not to have specific hate crime offences set out in law. The bill had originally also contained provisions tightening the laws around hate speech, but this section was dropped in October after McEntee revealed there was no longer a “consensus” on its inclusion. The law around hate speech in Ireland is governed by the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989, which remains in force.
Activists are celebrating the inclusion of measures in the 2025 National Defence Authorisation Act (the annual US defence spending bill) to address the oppression of the Uyghur Muslim population in China’s Xinjiang region, which the US has labelled genocide. The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden shortly before Christmas and incorporates the bipartisan Uyghur Human Rights Policy Reauthorisation Act 2024 which extended the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act passed under Trump in 2020. The Act greenlights sanctions against Chinese officials believed to be involved in Uyghur oppression. The renewal of these sanctions has been welcomed by the Uyghur Human Rights Project, with UHRP Executive Director Omer Kanat calling it “a gift of hope for Uyghurs”. The move represents the latest show of continued support for the Uyghur population by the United States.
In the Courts
On Sunday, the Criminal Division of the Seoul Western District Court rejected objections made by Yoon Suk Yeol, suspended President of South Korea, against the execution of arrest and search warrants against him. Yoon has been suspended as President pending impeachment proceedings following a failed attempt in December to impose martial law. Anti-corruption investigators issued the arrest warrant for Yoon and a search warrant for the Presidential residence after the suspended President ignored multiple summons for questioning. Yoon’s legal team filed an objection to the warrants in the courts last Thursday, arguing that they were illegal on the basis that the investigators did not have jurisdiction to issue them, and that, in any case, a criminal law prohibiting the execution of warrants in military areas should apply in his case. It has not yet been revealed on what grounds the court has rejected his arguments, and it is expected that a re-appeal may be lodged with the Supreme Court once this is clear. In the meantime, the Presidential Security Team are taking measures to block Yoon’s arrest, installing barbed wire and barricading the compound where he is residing. The arrest warrant expired at midnight on Monday January 6th with Yoon successful in defying arrest, although investigators are seeking an extension of the warrant’s deadline.
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16 December 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
Health Secretary Wes Streeting revealed last week that the Government has placed an indefinite ban on the use of puberty blockers for trans youth, following advice from the Commission on Human Medicines that the medicines pose an ‘unacceptable safety risk’. The ban also follows the recommendations of the recent Cass Review, which was heavily criticised by rights groups. Speaking to the Commons on Wednesday, Streeting stressed that he was ‘determined’ to improve healthcare for trans youth. However, the ban has come under fire from a wide range of rights groups, educational psychologists, clinicians, and members of the British Medical Association. This news comes the same week that the Montana Supreme Court temporarily lifted the state’s ban on puberty blockers while its lawfulness is considered in the courts.
The Government announced last week that £75 million has been made available to compensate LGBT veterans who were affected by the historic ban on LGBT personnel in the Armed Forces. Veterans who were dismissed or discharged as a result of their LGBT identity, real or perceived, will also be able to apply to have their rank restored or discharge reason amended. The announcement represents a major step in the implementation of the recommendations made by the Etherton Review, which looked into the ill treatment of LGBT veterans in the past. Secretary for Defence, John Healey, has called the historic treatment of LGBT veterans a ‘moral stain on our nation’ and expressed his commitment to ‘righting the wrongs of the past’.
A report published by the Women and Equalities Committee this week has found that ‘medical misogyny’ is contributing to the underdiagnosis of serious reproductive health conditions, with women having their painful symptoms ‘normalised’ and ‘dismissed’. The report is critical of the speed of progress following the establishment of the Women’s Health Strategy in 2022, stating that implementation has been slow and incomplete. Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Sarah Owen, stated that women are “waiting years for life-changing treatment and in too many cases are being put through trauma-inducing procedures”. “All the while, their conditions worsen and become more complicated to treat”. The report “must act as a wake-up call” for the NHS, she added.
In Other News
The Assad regime, a hereditary totalitarian regime which has governed Syria since 1971, collapsed last week as Damascus was captured by opposition forces. Broadcasting on Syrian national television, the rebels announced at dawn on December 8th that the “tyrant al-Assad” had been “toppled”. It has been reported that Bashar al-Assad has fled to Russia, where he has been granted asylum on ‘humanitarian grounds’. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, released a statement celebrating that “after 14 years of brutal war and the fall of the dictatorial regime, today the people of Syria can seize an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future”. Burcu Ozcelik, senior research fellow at London think tank Royal United Services Institute, has said there while there was ‘undoubtedly justified optimism in Syria’ at the news, it is ‘simultaneously true that Syria remains fragile and faces an uncertain future’. Since the overthrow, Israel has intensified airstrikes on Syria and invaded the demilitarised buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The UN has responded stating it is “deeply concerned by the recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The MPs who thwarted the declaration of marshal law by South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol in early December have now voted for his impeachment. The imposition of martial law was said to be necessary to protect the country from “anti-state forces” and the North Korean threat. Within two hours, MPs forcibly entered the National Assembly to vote against the declaration – with the Parliament’s speaker telling the BBC he climbed over a wall to gain entry so he could ‘protect democracy’. Large crowds gathered in Seoul as the impeachment vote took place, with police revealing they expected as many as 200,000 protestors. In a televised address, Yoon insisted that he will fight “until the end” to defend his “act of governance” in imposing martial law.
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25 November 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In the News
US President Joe Biden agreed last week to provide Ukraine with anti-personnel land mines as part of their 70th military aid package to Ukraine. The decision represents a significant departure from the Biden-Harris Administration’s 2022 policy which committed to limiting the use of landmines on the grounds that the weapons have a ‘disproportionate impact on civilians, including children, long after fighting has stopped’. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the US in a video address last Wednesday, stating that the ‘essential’ mines will ‘significantly strengthen troops on the front line’. However, the decision has been met with widespread concern. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines has condemned the decision as ‘unconscionable’, expressing that the ‘human cost of this decision cannot be overstated. Ukraine already faces decades of demining work due to extensive Russian landmine use. Adding new mines to this contamination will only extend the suffering of civilians and complicate post-conflict recovery efforts’.
Uganda opposition leader Kizza Besigye appeared in military court this week after disappearing on November 16th in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Last Wednesday, it transpired that he was being held in Ugandan military custody when he appeared before the court charged with national security offences and unlawful possession of firearms. Winnie Byanyima, Besigye’s wife and human rights activist, said in a post on X that Besigye ‘has not owned a gun in the last 20 years’, and, as a civilian, ‘should be tried in a civilian court not a military court’. Human Rights Watch have stated that this is only the ‘latest example of Uganda’s authorities misusing military courts and military-related charges to clamp down on the opposition’. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk has released a statement expressing his ‘shock’ at the ‘abduction’ and the ‘deeply concerning practice in Uganda of prosecuting civilians in military courts, in contravention of the country’s obligations under international human rights law’.
In the Courts
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its decision to issue warrants of arrest for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, alongside Mohammed Deif, Hamas military leader whom Israel claim was killed earlier this year. The decision comes after the dismissal of two challenges launched by Israel disputing the Court’s jurisdiction. The warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant are issued after the Chamber found ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe the individuals bear criminal responsibility for alleged ‘crimes against humanity and war crimes’. Netanyahu responded later on Thursday to the news of a warrant being issued against him, claiming that the ICC’s warrant is based on ‘false’ accusations made by ‘biased judges who are motivated by antisemitic sentiments against the one and only Jewish state’, and that ‘no war is more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza’. US President Joe Biden has called the decision ‘outrageous’, stating that ‘whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas’. Downing Street, though declining to comment on the specific case, has indicated that it will fulfil its ‘legal obligations’ as imposed under international law. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, speaking to Sky News, added that it is ‘not really a question of should; we are required to because we are members of the ICC.’
A Wyoming Judge on Monday struck down the State’s ban on abortion – including its explicit ban on abortion pills – following a legal challenge brought by a group of women and non-profit organisations. Melissa Owens, Teton Country district judge, ruled that the ban violated a 2012 state constitutional amendment which enshrined the right of Wyoming citizens to have control over their healthcare decisions. Owens stated in judgment that ‘abortion procedures constitute essential health care for pregnant women’ and that there is ‘no compelling governmental interest to eliminate abortion procedures based on the State’s position that abortions are gruesome and barbaric’. Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon announced the day after judgment was handed down that he has instructed the Attorney General to prepare an appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court, whose members were all appointed by anti-abortion Republican governors.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission published its written submissions last week in advance of the Supreme Court hearing in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers, in which it has been granted permission to intervene. The case, which is likely to result in a landmark decision on the legal definitions of ‘woman’ and ‘sex’, is due to take place on the 26th and 27th of November. The appeal has been brought by the controversial gender-critical campaign group For Women Scotland and contests the lawfulness of Scottish Government guidance which states that a person with a Gender Recognition Certificate that recognises their gender as female is to be treated as having the sex of woman. The EHRC’s submissions on appeal take the view that the definition of sex in the Equality Act ‘creates significant inconsistencies, which impair the proper functioning of the Equality Act and jeopardise the rights and interests of women and same-sex attracted people. […] As the equality regulator, we deem this to be a wholly unsatisfactory situation, which Parliament should address with urgency’. Amnesty International UK, who are also intervening, have stated that they are doing so because they believe ‘it is vital the Court is assisted by submissions setting out why legal gender recognition is a human rights issue and that trans people should not be expected to live without it’. A case note on the decision being appealed this week can be found here on the blog.
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4 November 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
Last Thursday, legislation providing for safe access zones around abortion clinics came into
force. Within these safe access zones, it is now a criminal offence to intentionally or
recklessly:
- influence any person’s decision to access or facilitate abortion services at an abortion
clinic;
- obstruct any person from accessing or facilitating abortion services at an abortion
clinic; or
- cause harassment, alarm or distress to any person in connection with a decision to
access, provide or facilitate abortion services at an abortion clinic.
Dame Diana Johnson, Crime and Policing Minister, has stated that she is “confident that the
safeguards we have put in place today will have a genuine impact in helping women feel
safer and empowered to access the vital services they need”. Last week also saw the
introduction of a new preventative duty under the Equality Act 2010 with employers now
being required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent the sexual harassment of their
employees.
In Other News
The Israeli Knesset (Parliament) voted by a 92-10 majority last Monday night to adopt two bills banning the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and labelling it a terrorist organisation. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that “UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding a humanitarian crisis is also essential, sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future”. However, no alternative aid structure has been proposed, leading to serious concerns about the availability of aid in the region. The new laws are likely to have the effect of forcing the closure of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem. In response to the vote, UN Security Council President Pascale Christine Baeriswyl has issued a press statement confirming that the members of the Security Council have “underscored that UNRWA remains the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza, and affirmed that no organization can replace or substitute UNRWA’s capacity and mandate to serve Palestinian refugees and civilians in urgent need of life-saving humanitarian assistance”. Philippe Lazzarini, UNWRA Commissioner-General, has said that the vote “sets a dangerous precedent” and “will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians” who have already “been going through sheer hell”.
Charity Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised last week a bill under consideration by the Armenian government which is seeking to enforce mandatory video surveillance across the capital city. HRW have stated that the surveillance is “unjustified and interferes with privacy and other rights”, claiming that it would have a “chilling effect on fundamental civil and political rights”. The proposed laws would require private entities to install surveillance equipment and provide police 24/7 access to live video feeds. HRW referred to a 2022 report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the right to privacy in the digital age which states that mass surveillance for the purposes of general monitoring, of the same type the proposed bill would introduce, is an “almost invariably disproportionate” interference with the privacy of individuals. The Armenian parliament is expected to have a final vote on the bill before the close of the year.
In the Courts
The Supreme Court has handed down judgment in the case of Tindall v Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, confirming that the police do not owe a positive duty of care in law to protect individuals from harm. The facts of Tindall concern a driver who, after hitting a patch of black ice on the A413 and temporarily losing control but escaping serious injury, reported the ice to the police. The police attended the scene but did not take any effective action to remove the danger, resulting in the deaths of two drivers shortly afterwards who collided after skidding on the same patch of ice. While the Court accepted that the actions of the police amounted to a ‘serious dereliction of their public duty owed to society at large’, it was held that public authorities such as the police are not liable for merely ‘failing to protect’ members of the public. The Court interestingly agreed that the police would have been liable had they actively made matters worse; however, this was not the case on the facts. Tindall is the latest in a controversial line of cases denying that the police should owe a legal duty of care to protect individuals from harm as a result of their special status.
Judgment has also been given in Abu Qamar v Secretary of State for the Home Department, a human rights appeal won by a Palestinian student who had her UK visa revoked after making highly controversial comments regarding the 7 October attacks last year. The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) held that the Home Office decision constituted a “disproportionate interference with her protected right to free speech” under the ECHR and that the Home Office had failed to show that Abu Qamar’s presence in the UK was “not conducive to the public good”. The Tribunal referenced the “clearly recognised and fundamental distinction between supporting the Palestinian cause and supporting Hamas and their actions,” stating that “nowhere” did the appellant “express support for Hamas specifically, or their actions”. In particular, her referring to Israel as an “apartheid state” was said to be “consistent with views expressed publicly by human rights organisations”.
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14 October 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
Last week, the Government published the new Employment Rights Bill – a bill Deputy PM Angela Raynor has said seeks to “turn the page on an economy riven with insecurity, ravaged by dire productivity and blighted by low pay”. Among the measures included are steps towards ending “exploitative” zero-hour contracts, the introduction of a statutory probation period for new hires, and the removal of the two-year qualifying period for claims to unfair dismissal. The bill places significant emphasis on flexible working as the future of employment, stating that it will be “default for all, unless the employer can prove it is unreasonable”. With various aspects of the bill strengthening protections to women in the workplace, Jemima Olchawski, CEO of the Fawcett Society, has called the bill “a win for women”. However, the bill is not without its critics. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite union, claimed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the bill has “more holes than Swiss cheese”, leaving loopholes for employers to evade the provisions on zero-hour contracts and fire & rehire. Whistleblowing charity Protect have also expressed regret that the bill does not go far enough to strengthen protections for whistleblowers.
The Tory leadership race continued last week as the candidates were whittled down to a final two: Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick, both considered to be on the right of the party. Membership of the ECHR has become an increasingly central issue in the race. While Jenrick has promised to leave the ECHR immediately if ever elected PM – calling the issue one of “leave or remain” – Badenoch told Sky News she believes that focusing on the ECHR “shuts down the conversation we need to have with the entire country” about migration. Both candidates have been the subject of criticism for comments made during the party conference. Jenrick, in support of his campaign to leave the ECHR, has controversially claimed that special forces are opting to kill instead of catch terrorists as otherwise the “European Court will set them free”. The charity Action on Armed Violence have stated that Jenrick’s comments “do a disservice to the serious allegations at hand” in the inquiry into SAS killings in Afghanistan, which must be “allowed to proceed without political interference”. Badenoch has come under fire for comments insinuating that maternity pay is “excessive” and that “about 5 to 10%” of civil servants are so bad that they “should be in prison”. She has backtracked on both fronts, claiming her comments were “misrepresented”.
In Other News
A UN report published last Thursday – three days after the one-year anniversary of the October 7th attacks – contains findings that “Israel has perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system”, committing war crimes in doing so. The report further states that Israeli security forces have “deliberately killed, detained and tortured medical personnel”, with children having “borne the brunt” of the health system’s “collapse”. It was further found that the “institutionalised mistreatment” of Palestinian detainees had taken place under direct orders from Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli National Security Minister. On Friday, in a statement from its mission in Geneva, Israel took strong objection to the report, calling its conclusions “outrageous” and a “blatant attempt to delegitimise the very existence of the State of Israel and obstruct its right to protect its population, while covering up the crimes of terrorist organisations”. Israeli representatives have accused the commission behind the report, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, of creating an “alternate reality” and refused to cooperate with the investigations preceding the report’s compilation.
On Wednesday, the United Nations Human Rights Council in their 57th session adopted a resolution on Afghanistan in response to the escalating crisis in the country, extending the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan. The report resulting from resolution 54/1 to carry out a “stocktaking” of accountability options on Afghanistan was also presented at the session. The report detailed a variety of recommendations to Afghan de facto authorities, including the establishment of a moratorium on executions and the implementation of victim-centred transitional justice measures. While Amnesty International celebrated that the stocktaking marked the “first time in recent years that the UN is debating how to address serious accountability gaps”, the measure was nevertheless “inadequate” in the face of the crimes under international law being committed in Afghanistan. Amnesty also criticised the resolution adopted this week, claiming the council have “shied away from sufficiently supporting justice for the people of Afghanistan who have placed their hopes in the international community” by failing to establish an independent international accountability mechanism.
In the Courts
Last week, the European Court of Justice ruled that European Member States are obligated to recognise legal gender identity changes conducted in other Member States. The Court held that Romania’s refusal to recognise the applicant’s UK Gender Recognition Certificate constituted a violation of his right to move and reside freely within the Member States of the European Union. In a press release accompanying the ruling, the CJEU stated that “gender, like a first name, is a fundamental element of personal identity; […] a divergence between identities resulting from such a refusal of recognition creates difficulties for a person in proving his or her identity in daily life as well as serious professional, administrative and private inconvenience”. The applicant’s legal counsel, human rights lawyer Iustina Ionescu, told charity Transgender Europe that the “verdict has shown that trans people are equal citizens of the European Union”.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Cyprus’ immediate return to Lebanon of Syrian asylum seekers intercepted at sea constituted a violation of their human rights – in particular, the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment. There had also been a violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 (prohibition of the collective expulsion of aliens). Cyprus had failed to consider the risk of lack of access to asylum in Lebanon, the risk of refoulement, and the individual situations of the asylum seekers. The Court paid significant attention to a Human Rights Watch report published in September 2020 which revealed systematic mistreatment of asylum seekers by Cypriot authorities. The report had been referenced in the applicants’ arguments and was not challenged by counsel for the Government. Cypriot Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis has stressed that the events concerned occurred in 2020, under the previous administration, and has denied the allegation that the government has been carrying out further refugee pushbacks since the ruling.
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23 September 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In the News
At least 39 people were killed and over 3000 injured last week following a series of attacks in Lebanon and Syria in which electronic pagers and radios were remotely programmed to explode. The devices targeted appear to be those belonging to Hezbollah-affiliated individuals. The military group has claimed Israel was behind the attacks which UN experts have termed “terrifying” violations of international law. Amnesty International has called for the establishment of an immediate international investigation – arguing that the attacks “should be investigated as war crimes” should Israel be determined to be responsible. However, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has stated that the nation “rejects out of hand any connection” to the explosions. The attacks are deepening concerns about the risk of full-scale regional war breaking out in the Middle East, resulting in the calling of an emergency Security Council meeting on Thursday. Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, suggests that it is “too early to say” how this week’s events will impact Gaza ceasefire talks.
Former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards has been given a six-month suspended sentence following his pleading guilty in July to the making of 41 indecent images of children. The ‘making’ of images can include the opening of attachments or downloading from the internet. Following the sentence, Claire Brinton, Specialist Prosecutor at the CPS, stated: ‘This prosecution sends a clear message that the CPS, working alongside the police, will work to bring to justice those who seek to exploit children, wherever that abuse takes place.” However, the sentence has been widely criticised as overly lenient, including by Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice who has written to the Attorney General willing him to appeal the sentence. Various reports have featured lawyers explaining that such a sentence is not unusual given the offence and Edwards’ lack of priors, emphasising that “Mr Edwards fared no better and no worse in this sentencing exercise than he would have done were he not a well-known news presenter”. Opinions are surfacing that the public outrage in response to what is a regular sentence exposes deeper issues within the criminal justice system.
Proposed amendments to the Iraqi Personal Status Law, rowing back several aspects of women’s rights, passed a second parliamentary reading on Monday. The law will soon be put to a final vote. The amendments seek to lower the legal age of marriage for girls to nine years, remove important rights of women in divorce and inheritance settings, and grant religious authorities further command over family matters. Human Rights Watch have noted that “Article 14 of the Iraqi constitution, as well as international human rights law, guarantee all Iraqis the right to legal equality. This amendment would not just undermine this right; it would erase it”. Iraqi women are leading the charge against the amendments, including Noor al-Jilaihawi – an Iraqi MP who has revealed that the parliament’s president refused to acknowledge a request by 124 MPs (over a third of parliament) to remove the reading from Monday’s agenda. On Sunday, the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq came out in support of the proposed amendments and stressed their view that the amendments would not infringe upon women’s rights.
In the Courts
Last week, the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal upheld the finding that the Northern Ireland Troubles reconciliation law breaches human rights. The controversial first instance judgment in Dillon and others v Secretary of State for Northern Ireland disapplied large portions of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 for contravening the Article 2 of the Windsor Framework, a post-Brexit measure ensuring that the UK does not erode the human rights protected within the Good Friday Agreement. While the Act had intended to facilitate the end of legal proceedings relating to the Troubles, it has been met with consistent opposition from victims. The Court of Appeal held the Act to be unlawful on various grounds, including that it seeks to create an immunity for criminal activity related to the Troubles and that it fails to sufficiently safeguard victims. The new Labour Government have suggested they intend to repeal several key features of the Act.
Former Tory MP Owen Paterson has lost his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. The Court declined to grant the declaration sought that the parliamentary investigation into Paterson’s conduct whilst MP was unfair and procedurally flawed. The former MP resigned in 2021 following an investigation and final report which recommended his suspension for an ‘egregious’ breach of lobbying rules. The Court found that the inquiry had been “fair, rigorous and thorough” and emphasised it was not for courts to interfere with the “business of Parliament” – such as how standards are enforced. The Court were further unable to attribute Paterson’s claimed £120k per annum financial losses to the investigation since “as he himself resigned from the House of Commons before the house could consider whether or not to apply the recommended sanction [of suspension], neither the loss of his seat nor the loss of income from his position as an MP were a necessary consequence of the investigation”.
The European Court of Human Rights also handed down judgment last week in Pindo Mulla v Spain, holding that the administration of blood transfusions to a Jehovah’s Witness against her will “breached her right to autonomy”. There had consequently been a violation of her Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights when read in the light of Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion). Although it was found that the situation had arisen out of improper documenting of Ms Pindo Mulla’s wishes not to receive blood, the Court emphasised that in all cases, “a patient’s autonomy was to be reconciled with their right to life”. As to the documentation, it was underlined that “where a State [has] decided to put in place a system of advance medical directives relied on by patients, it [is] important that the system functions effectively”. Speaking to AFP, Pindo Mulla said she was “very happy that justice has been done” and seemed hopeful that the ruling would “allow the rights of other people to be respected in the future.”
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2 September 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
Following May’s High Court judgment finding former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s protest regulations unlawful, human rights organisation Liberty claimed last week that the Home Office has decided to continue its appeal. The case, spearheaded by Liberty, sought to challenge the lowering of the threshold for “serious disruption” during protest from “significant” and “prolonged” to “more than minor” by statutory instrument – which opponents claim is an abuse of secondary legislation. Despite the new Labour government initially pausing the former Tory government’s plans to appeal, Liberty have stated that the Home Office have recommenced the appeal after talks to resolve the dispute failed. The director at Liberty, Akiko Hart, has said she believes the legislation to be “undemocratic, unconstitutional and unacceptable” and that the decision to appeal shows “disregard for the rule of law”. Liberty have stated that the appeal will be heard later this year, with a date yet to be confirmed. A spokesperson for the Home Office has said that “the right to protest is fundamental to our democracy, and all public order legislation must balance this right. However, we disagree with the court’s ruling in this case and have appealed their decision.”
Scotland’s Chief Inspector of Prisons has claimed that the country’s “broken” prison system results in inmates being “set up to fail”. Having stepped down from her role at the end of August, Wendy Sinclair-Giebens expressed concerns about the state of Scottish prisons: “The prison service is underfunded and under-resourced for what the public and judiciary expect of it, yet it’s a very big organisation having to deal with the most marginalised, violent and mentally ill in society”. She revealed there is a pool of inmates unable to move further towards parole due to the “huge” waiting lists for the mandatory behavioural programs. The news follows a 2023 ruling by an Irish judge barring the extradition of a man to Scotland on the basis of a “real and substantial risk of inhuman or degrading treatment”, largely a result of the overcrowding of Scottish prisons. The ruling was, however, later overturned on appeal following express assurances from the Crown Office in Edinburgh that the prison would implement a tailored care plan for the respondent. Last week also saw the release of 477 Scottish prisoners as part of an emergency scheme to ease prison overcrowding as Scotland’s justice secretary revealed the prison population has risen by 13% in the last year.
The annual report of the Committee on Fuel Poverty published last week has revealed that fuel poverty is “flatlining rather than falling”. Despite a reduction in fuel poverty of 40% between 2010 and 2019, the last five years has not seen fuel poverty fall “to any meaningful extent”. The government has identified the groups at highest risk of being unable to afford energy and “living in a cold home” as those living in the private rented sector, ethnic minority households, and households using pre-payment meters – the government has emphasised the importance of aligning fuel poverty mitigation measures with wider equality goals. The report follows the controversial announcement by the new Labour government that universal winter fuel payments to pensioners will be scrapped. The energy minister, Miatta Fahnbulleh, has been conducting meetings to consider support measures for households experiencing fuel poverty. The annual report emphasises that it “is not defeatist. The Committee believes fuel poverty can be beaten. But for too many low-income households, the unaffordability of bills, especially in the coldest months, is all too real. We foresee that targeted financial support, possibly including the use of social tariffs, for vulnerable and low-income households may be needed for some years to come.”
In International News
A new “morality” law introduced by the Taliban last week has been met with condemnation by the UN and various human rights organisations. Titled “The Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law”, the law seeks to prevent leading men into “vice” by requiring women to be completely veiled in public. Women are also prevented from singing or reading aloud where they could be heard by a non-family member, as well as looking directly at men to whom they are not related. The laws state that “whenever an adult woman leaves her home out of necessity, she is obliged to conceal her voice, face, and body”. The Chief Spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated that the law “effectively attempts to render [women] into faceless, voiceless shadows” and called for its immediate repeal. The head of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, said that the law reveals a “distressing vision” of the country’s future by extending “the already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls”. The law comes in defiance of Security Council Resolution 2681 (2023) which called on the Taliban to “swiftly reverse its policies and practices restricting women and girls’ enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms”. It has been reported that Afghan women are posting videos online of themselves singing in protest against the new restrictions.
A UN report published on Friday has further exposed the ongoing human rights violations in Libya. The accompanying press release slams the “lack of accountability and years of impunity” by those committing the violations as further fuelling instability in the country. The report investigates unlawful killings, torture, kidnappings, and sexual violence committed by Al-Kaniyat – a local militia who have conducted what has been termed by the UK Government a “reign of terror” in the region of Tarhuna. The report reveals “serious violations of international humanitarian law”, calling for accountability, the delivery of justice, and effective reparations for victims. The report argues that “leaving root causes and drivers of conflict unaddressed […] will serve to fuel toxic cycles of violence and revenge between communities.” The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed a similar sentiment, stating that “the impunity must end – there must be accountability in accordance with international due process and fair trial standards.”
The Swiss Federal Council voted last Wednesday to affirm Switzerland’s rejection of the groundbreaking KlimaSeniorinnen ECHR judgment from last April, which found that Switzerland was breaching human rights through climate change inaction. Despite previous calls by the dominant party – the Swiss People’s Party – for Switzerland to leave the Council of Europe, the Swiss Federal Council instead reaffirmed in a press release that “the ECHR and membership of the Council of Europe, whose fundamental values of the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law include, remain of great importance to Switzerland”. However, it was added that “the case law must not lead to an extension of the scope of the ECHR”. The move has been criticised by the Center for International Environmental Law as an “embarrassment” for Switzerland, who it claims have missed an opportunity to “strengthen its climate policy in accordance with undisputed science”.
See Rosalind English’s post on the KilmaSeniorinnen ECHR judgment here.
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12 August 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
Riots continued throughout the UK last week, sparked by the attack and murder of 3 children in Southport on July 29th. The riots have been linked to a widely circulated online rumour falsely identifying the perpetrator as a Muslim asylum seeker. UK Chief Executive for Amnesty International, Sacha Deshmukh, has stated the riots to be caused at root by “racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia”. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called the rioting an “assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice” and made clear that those involved will not “be allowed to hide behind the legitimate right to protest”. The Crown Prosecution Service revealed on Friday via a post on X (formerly Twitter) that 159 individuals have been charged in connection with the “violent disorder” across the country, with a total of 741 arrests having been made. The news follows Justice Minister Heidi Alexander’s announcement that the process of opening 500 prison places for those involved in the riots is underway.
On Friday, the UK Government announced fresh sanctions against Belarus in response to ongoing human rights violations in the country. The sanctions have been announced on the four-year anniversary of the “deeply flawed” 2020 presidential elections in Belarus; elections which Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated have resulted in “over 40,000 citizens arrested on trumped up political charges, civil society and independent media trampled and a regime with no regard for democracy or human rights”. The Viasna Human Rights Center, a Belarusian NGO, claims that as of August 11, Belarus holds 1385 political prisoners including journalists and human rights activists. The new sanctions raise the total number against Belarus to over 200 individuals and entities. The announcement also revealed a funding package of £2.5 million to support human rights and civil liberties in Belarus.
In Other News
Unrest continues in Venezuela following the contested re-election of President Nicolas Maduro on July 28th. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has published a statement arguing that there is “overwhelming evidence” that the opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, was the true victor. The statement cites the fact that the opposition have published over 80 percent of the tally sheets from polling stations across Venezuela showing Urrutia to have won by an “insurmountable margin”, further corroborated by exit polls. The announcement of Maduro’s re-election sparked protests across the country which have continued into this week. In a press conference on Tuesday, Maduro announced that over 2229 individuals had been arrested in connection with the protests, calling those involved “terrorists”. In a press conference last week, a spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk expressed concern over the “numerous cases of arbitrary detention”, including that of peaceful protestors, human rights defenders, children, and journalists. Amnesty International sent an open letter on Friday to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court calling for his “resolute and immediate action” against the crimes being committed under international law by Venezuelan authorities. Amnesty argue in the letter that the ongoing “tragedy is a consequence of the impunity for serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity that Maduro’s government has been committing for years.”
Reports have surfaced that in only two days last week, Iranian authorities executed a minimum of 29 individuals. The UN Office of the High Commissioner have verified that a further 38 people were executed in Iran over the course of July, raising the total for 2024 thus far to 345. The Office raised concerns in particular about the “lack of due process and fair trial standards”, with several executions occurring with “neither the prisoner’s family nor legal counsel being informed”. NGO Iran Human Rights has reported that 26 men were executed in a group hanging outside Ghezelhesar Prison – an execution the scale of which has been unparalleled since 2009. Amnesty have revealed that at least one of the prisoners executed in the spree was imprisoned in connection with the Woman Life Freedom protests that erupted following the murder of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
The Bulgarian Parliament passed an anti-LGBT amendment last Wednesday to the country’s education laws, banning the “propaganda, promotion, or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, in the education system of ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity other than the biological one.” The amendment was passed by an overwhelming majority with 159 votes in favour and only 22 against. LGBT rights group Forbidden Colours have stated they believe the move represents Bulgaria “adopting tactics from Russia’s anti-human rights playbook”, a development they call “deeply troubling”. The organisation have also raised questions about the swiftness with which the amendment occurred, both readings occurring on a single day – raising “serious concerns about the legislative process and the intent behind such haste”. A spokesperson for the EU Commission told POLITICO last Thursday that while the EU is aware of the amendment, they were unable to comment. The spokesperson however reiterated that the Commission “remains steadfast in its commitment to tackling discrimination, inequalities and challenges faced by LGBTIQ individuals.”
In the Courts
Last Wednesday, the UK Supreme Court rejected Shamima Begum’s permission to further appeal the removal of her British citizenship. Ms Begum appealed on four grounds: trafficking, invoking Article 4 ECHR; deprivation of the right to make representations; a failure to ensure good community relations, required per s.149 of the Equality Act; and de facto statelessness. Permission to appeal was refused on all four grounds, concluding that “the grounds of appeal do not raise an arguable point of law”. In response to the ruling, Maya Foa, director of human rights NGO Reprieve, has stated that “exiling British nationals like Ms Begum is about politics, not the law”. The decision signifies the exhaustion of Ms Begum’s legal remedies in the UK. However, Ms Begum’s lawyers told the BBC that they intend to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The Dublin High Court found last week that the Irish Government’s treatment of asylum seekers breaches the EU Charter of Fundamental Human Rights. Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell stated in judgment that in failing to support the accommodation needs of applicants for asylum, “the State has breached the rights of those persons as provided for in Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union” – the right to human dignity. It was held that central to respecting the human rights of asylum seekers is the maintenance of “an adequate standard of living which guarantees their subsistence and protects their physical and mental health where they do not have the means to provide for themselves”.The judgment has been welcomed by the UN Refugee Agency, who have now called on the Irish Government to take “immediate action”. The Court did, however, decline to grant the mandatory orders sought by the applicants, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, on the basis that it was not satisfied that there was evidence the Government would ignore its obligations.
US federal judge Mark Walker ruled last Thursday in Claire v Florida DMS that Florida’s ban on transgender healthcare access for state employees violates their civil rights. Florida has had a categorical ban on coverage of healthcare for “gender reassignment or modification services or supplies” of state employees for decades, which has now been found to be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a form of unlawful discrimination on grounds of sex since it denies transgender employees coverage for medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria. Quoting a judgment from 2020, Judge Walker reiterated that “discrimination based on homosexuality or transgender status necessarily entails discrimination based on sex” as “the first cannot happen without the second”. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) praised the judgment in a press release, with Staff Attorney Samantha Past stating that “discrimination has no place” in Florida. The ACLU “are hopeful that this decision will encourage a commitment from the state to treating members of the transgender community with the respect they deserve”.
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22 July 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
The King’s Speech on Wednesday opened the first session of the new parliament, announcing 40 bills – the highest number announced in a King’s Speech since 2005. The bills announced included several relating to human rights, such as a Victims Bill, Mental Health Bill, and two draft bills – one on Race and Disability, predominantly concerning the right to equal pay, and another on Conversion Practices, seeking to ban conversion therapy. Several bills make provisions to combat violence against women and girls. A spokesperson for the Equality and Human Rights Commission responded to the announcements, welcoming the ‘positive developments for equality and human rights’, emphasising that the watchdog ‘stands ready to provide government and Parliament with advice as the detail of all the proposed legislation is developed’. In contrast, the organisation Human Rights Watch have suggested that the new Government’s vision ‘falls short’ in key areas, calling for ‘bolder action’ to secure better living standards for British citizens.
Last Tuesday, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act came into force, making Scotland the first UK country to incorporate the children’s rights charter into national law. While the UK Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that certain provisions of the original bill passed by the Scottish Parliament exceeded its legislative competence, subsequent amendments to the bill enabled a revised version to pass last December. Now that the Act is in force, all Scottish public authorities are under a direct legal duty to consider and promote children’s rights in policy decisions. The Act also improves children’s ability to enforce their rights in the courts. An announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice reads: “The Act is a landmark piece of legislation that incorporates the UNCRC into Scots law, empowers our children and young people to claim their rights and will help to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up”.
Following the new Government’s statement that the Rwanda Plan is ‘dead and buried’, £84 million of funding has been announced to ‘address the reasons for illegal migration’. The funding package will support projects in Africa and the Middle East in an attempt to ‘tackle illegal migration at source’. The announcement acknowledges the roots of illegal migration in conflict, climate change, and more, emphasising that the funding will be utilised to build resilience against such events. Initiatives are targeted towards skill-building, education, and employment. The funding will also support refugees hosted in countries within their home region with the aim of allowing their return home when conditions improve, as well as supporting reintegration of refugees in their home nations. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Our package of up to £84 million will improve education, boost employment and build resilience to conflict and climate change across the Middle East and North Africa – to help bring down migration figures whilst improving lives for the world’s most vulnerable people.”
In Other News
As the Paris Olympics approach, the conversation regarding France’s hijab ban has resurfaced. Though originally announced in September 2023, the ban, prohibiting France’s athletes from sporting any form of religious headwear, has received fresh criticism in the form of a report published last week by Amnesty International. While Amélie Oudéa-Castéra – France’s Minister for Sport – stated that the ban has been imposed in line with the country’s principle of secularism, Amnesty have claimed the ban makes a ‘mockery’ of claims by the International Olympic Committee that Paris 2024 is the ‘first gender-equal Olympics’. The human rights organisation noted that the official Olympic Charter states that “the practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have access to the practice of sport, without discrimination of any kind in respect of internationally recognised human rights within the remit of the Olympic Movement”, a sentiment they claim is in manifest contradiction with the hijab ban. “Amnesty International believes that when the world will be watching its athletes compete for medals and exercising their right to practice sport without discrimination, it should also cast a critical eye on the Olympics host country, which does not apply Olympic values to everyone”.
In the Courts
On Friday, the International Court of Justice published its Advisory Opinion in respect of the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Court made several seminal conclusions, finding that:
- Israel’s presence in the Occupied Territories is unlawful;
- That Israel is under an obligation to therefore end its unlawful presence as soon as is possible;
- That Israel is obliged cease all settlement activities and evacuate all settlers;
- That Israel is obliged to make reparations for any damage eventuating from its unlawful presence;
- And that all other States, alongside international organisations, are obliged not to assist the ongoing presence of Israel in the Occupied Territories, nor recognise it as legal.
The Court recalled its 2004 Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which found that Israeli settlements were established and maintained in breach of Israel’s international legal obligations. The Court expressed grave concerns that in the years since, the Israeli settlement policy has continued to expand. The Court noted that a variety of Israeli legislation and administrative measures relating to its occupation treated Palestinians differently without justification or legitimate aim. This finding led the Court to conclude that the Israeli regime in the Occupied Palestinian Territories constituted ‘systemic discrimination based on, inter alia, race, religion or ethnic origin’ in violation of a variety of international conventions. Vital to the Court’s determination was the finding of the ‘prolonged deprivation of the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination’, a right the Court viewed as ‘fundamental’. However, Judges Tomka, Abraham, and Aurescu issued a joint opinion stating that they could see ‘no legal connection whatsoever’ between the Palestinian right to self-determination over the territories and the extension of the illegality of Israel’s occupation. Judge Sebutinde’s dissenting opinion was the subject of discussion by legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg, who has expressed the view that litigation ‘will not bring peace to the Middle East’.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday that the failure of Latvian authorities to bring charges for a homophobic hate crime constituted a breach of ECHR Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and 8 (right to respect for private and family life) in conjunction with Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination). Given that the assailant had admitted to police the use of homophobic slurs and personal homophobic beliefs that ‘clearly’ motivated the attack, the Court found that the proceedings brought against him, culminating only in a ‘manifestly lenient fine’, breached Mr Hanov’s human rights. The Court expressed the view that the actions of the Latvian authorities ‘fostered a sense of impunity for hate-motivated offences. […] Failure to address such incidents can normalise hostility towards LGBTI individuals, perpetuate a culture of intolerance and discrimination and encourage further acts of a similar nature’.
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24 June 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
On Thursday, representatives from Liberty, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Inclusion London addressed journalists at a briefing in Westminster to call for politicians and the public to stay alert to human rights issues over the election campaign period. Warnings were given about the diminution in worker’s and migrant’s rights, among others, in recent years. Calls were made by multiple representatives for closer scrutiny of the potential implications of challenges to human rights frameworks such as the HRA and ECHR. “Human rights in the UK have too long been cast in political debate as an obstacle”, said Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Amnesty International. “In reality, they can provide solutions to the problems we face here, at home, and on the global stage”.
Several anti-racism campaigning groups, led by Action for Race Equality, published a manifesto last Friday in anticipation of Windrush Day calling for immediate reform to the Windrush Generation documentation scheme, claiming that the ongoing backlog is worsening the ‘unconscionable’ trauma inflicted upon the Windrush Generation. Government figures suggest over 50,000 individuals remain eligible for the scheme. Saturday saw the sixth annual celebration of Windrush Day, marking 76 years since the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948 which carried hundreds of passengers arriving to the UK from the Caribbean. The Windrush Generation had been invited to Britain in an attempt to help rebuild the post-war economy. In April 2018, the ‘Windrush scandal’ begun when it emerged that the Home Office had kept no formal records of Commonwealth individuals living in the UK with indefinite leave to remain granted under the Immigration Act 1971. This had resulted in those affected being unable to prove their legal migration status, thus unable to access healthcare, housing, employment and more. Many were deported or threatened with deportation. Windrush Day celebrates the legacy of these individuals in the UK and the contributions they have made to British society. The event was marked on Saturday with exhibitions, block parties, and other festivities.
In Other News
Last Wednesday, the UN Office for Human Rights published a thematic report finding that Israeli airstrikes in Gaza might have ‘systematically violated’ several of the ‘fundamental principles of international humanitarian law on the conduct of hostilities’. ‘When committed intentionally’, the report states, ‘such violations may amount to war crimes’. Six events were investigated as emblematic incidents of attack since October 7th. The events were assessed across the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack, finding breaches of all. ‘The scale of human death and destruction wrought by Israel’s bombing of Gaza since 7 October has been immense’, the report states. The report calls for immediate, thorough, and transparent investigations into all allegations of violations of international human rights law, noting that the time already elapsed since several of the incidents assessed ‘calls into serious question the compliance of [Israeli Government] processes with international obligations to ensure prompt and effective accountability’. Israeli representatives have condemned the report. Israel’s mission to the UN have stated they believe “the only objective of this thematic report is to lambast and single-out Israel, while further shielding Hamas terrorists in Gaza”.
Last Tuesday, Thailand’s Senate passed a marriage equality bill by an overwhelming majority during an ad-hoc parliamentary session, the bill garnering the approval of 130 out of 152 members. The country will become the first in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex marriage and the third Asian jurisdiction after Taiwan and Nepal. The bill will become effective following royal assent and 120 days after publication in the Government Gazette. The bill will amend Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code to replace gendered words like ‘man’ and ‘woman’ with gender neutral alternatives such as ‘individual’. Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn, representative for the human rights organisation Fortify Rights, has called the bill’s passage a “triumph for justice and human rights”. She added that “marriage equality is fundamental to human dignity, and it is essential that Thailand protects these rights without delay or discrimination.”
In the Courts
The Namibia High Court has held that the common law offences of sodomy and unnatural sexual offences are unconstitutional as they amount to unjustified discrimination against the LGBT community. As such, the impugned laws have been declared invalid. In June 2022, Namibian LGBT+ activist Friedel Dausab launched a legal challenge to the constitutionality of Namibia’s anti-homosexuality laws. The laws criminalise same-sex sexual activity – the campaign sought to see the laws held unconstitutional and to overturn the convictions made under them. In May 2023, the Namibian Supreme Court recognised same-sex marriages lawfully entered abroad, after which the parliament passed bills restricting marriage to those of opposite sex. Support or promotion of same-sex unions was criminalised with up to 6 years imprisonment. Dausab has celebrated the judgment, stating: “I feel elated. I’m so happy. This really is a landmark judgment, not just for me, but for our democracy.”
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20 May 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In the News
A bill in Georgia demanding that all foreign entities and NGOs which receive more than a fifth of their funding from international sources must be labelled as ‘bearing the interests of a foreign state’ passed its third and final reading in the Tbilisi Parliament. Such organisations would be subjected to increased scrutiny by the Georgian Justice Ministry and could be subjected to fines if they fail to disclose sensitive information that is requested of them. There are fears that the bill may be used to silence dissidents and will harm Georgia’s chances of joining the EU. The High Representative of the European Commission has confirmed that “the adoption of this law negatively impacts Georgia’s progress on the EU path. The choice on the way forward is in Georgia’s hands”. The US State Department has also said it is “gravely disappointed” by the advance of the bill, which it has called “Kremlin-inspired”. Major protests against the bill have been ongoing for nearly a month, and there is little indication they will die down. The protestors have been met with riot police, leading to violent altercations. The British Embassy in Tbilisi has called for an end to the “unlawful intimidation” of protestors, suggesting tactics such as “threatening phone calls, unlawful detention, beatings and personalised posters portraying civil society members as traitors” have been deployed by police. Georgia President Salome Zourabichvili – an opponent of the Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze who supports the bill – told the BBC she would veto the law. However, the Prime Minister’s party Georgian Dream has sufficient numbers to overrule her, having just backed the bill in its final reading by 84 votes to 30.
The New Yorker is in hot water following the publication of a story on the upcoming retrial of Lucy Letby, who was convicted in August 2023 of the murder of seven babies and attempted murder of a further six. The jury failed to return a verdict on a further six counts of attempted murder, one of which will be the subject of the retrial in June. The Court has ordered reporting restrictions in the lead up to the retrial in order to prevent the trial being prejudiced and to protect the integrity of the jury. The New Yorker article was in contravention of these restrictions – which could amount to contempt of court. The article has now been blocked online and is inaccessible to UK readers, but print editions featuring the story on the cover were circulated last week. While the New Yorker does not have an incorporated entity in the UK against whom contempt orders can be enforced, its parent company Condé Nast does. It remains to be seen whether action will be taken. Conservative MP David Davis queried the blocking of the article in the UK, stating it seems “in defiance of open justice”. Other commentators have suggested the opposite, that the purpose is to ensure Letby receives the fair trial to which she is entitled.
In the Courts
The High Court has declared that parts of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 are incompatible with the human rights of travellers. The Act provided for an increase in the duration for which police can ban travellers from an area from 3 to 12 months, as well as conferring powers upon police to seize homes and fine, arrest, or imprison those living in unauthorised encampments. Gypsies, Roma, and travellers are considered a distinct racial group and are thus protected from discrimination on grounds of their identity. The Court found that the increase in the no-return period constituted a disproportionate interference on the travellers’ Article 14 ECHR rights (freedom from discrimination) when read with Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life) as a result of the unavailability of transit sites where travellers can stay without fear of a criminal penalty. The Court issued a rare declaration of incompatibility, which prompts Parliament to examine the offending legislation and consider amending it in order to achieve compatibility with the ECHR. Marc Willers KC, lead counsel for the Claimant, said: “This is hugely significant judgment. In granting the declaration of incompatibility, the court recognised that there is a lack of lawful stopping places for Gypsies and Travellers and that unless the government increases provision, the law as currently drafted will amount to unjustified race discrimination.” The charity Friends, Families, & Travellers who acted as intervenors in the case have called the judgment a “serious” blow to the Police Act 2022.
The High Court in Northern Ireland has upheld a previous ruling that parts of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 are incompatible with Article 2 of the Windsor Framework, and further declared that the offending sections of the Illegal Migration Act are incompatible with the ECHR. Article 2 WF provides that there must be no diminution of rights conferred under the Good Friday Agreement as a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The Windsor Framework is legally ‘supreme’, meaning any legislation with which it conflicts must be disapplied. Every provision challenged before the Court was found to cause a diminution in rights and has therefore been disapplied in Northern Ireland. This includes a number of significant provisions, including on detention and removal. A declaration of incompatibility was also issued in respect of various provisions of the IMA, declaring the provisions to be incompatible with ECHR Articles 3 (prohibition of torture), 4 (prohibition of slavery), & 8 (right to respect for private and family life). Although Humphreys J acknowledged the status of declarations of incompatibility as “a measure of last resort”, the making of one was justified on account of the “significant nature of the violations identified”. DUP leader Gavin Robinson told Good Morning Ulster that he believes “if the government do not assert the sovereignty of Parliament and ensure a UK-wide immigration system”, Northern Ireland risks becoming a “magnet” for migrants. Lord Sharpe, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, stated to the House of Lords that “the Government will take all steps to defend their position, including through an appeal”. PM Rishi Sunak has suggested that the ruling will not affect the Government’s efforts to remove migrants to Rwanda.
A whistleblower who leaked documents revealing war crimes committed by the Australian military in Afghanistan has been sentenced to prison. David McBride pled guilty to the charges after the evidence supporting his whistleblowing defence was struck out on grounds of national security. McBride had been a military lawyer who did two tours of Afghanistan, including one with the Australian special forces where he became concerned with the conduct of commanders towards their officers. Having tried internal procedures and reporting to the defence and police minister, McBride eventually leaked documents he had covertly copied to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation believing they would prove that Australian commanders were scapegoating their officers in an attempt to escape allegations of unlawful killings. Instead, the dossier included The Afghan Files, a series of reports which revealed the commission of war crimes Australian forces in Afghanistan. The Brereton Report has since found credible evidence of the war crimes revealed within the documents. Despite this, calls to drop the charges against McBride were refused. Mossop J during sentencing emphasised the severity of the offences charged – stealing Commonwealth property, breaching the Defence Act and disclosing confidential information – and placed weight upon the fact that McBride’s actions constituted a “gross breach of trust” for which he shows “no contrition”. He has been sentenced to 5 years and 8 months. The sentence has led to calls for increased whistleblower protection in Australia. The Asia Director at Human Rights Watch has called it “a stain on Australia’s reputation that some of its soldiers have been accused of war crimes in Afghanistan, and yet the first person convicted in relation to these crimes is a whistleblower not the abusers”.
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6 May 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In the News
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s rejection of Hamas’ offer for the return of all hostages in return for the end of the war in Gaza on Sunday, claiming such a deal would ‘leave Hamas intact’ and render ‘the next October 7th only a matter of time’. The main conflict at the peace negotiations underway in Cairo appears to remain whether a ceasefire would be temporary, allowing Israel’s recovery of hostages, or permanent, as Hamas insists it must be. The US State Department also announced this week that they have found five Israeli military units committed gross violations of human rights before October 7th. Israel claims corrective action has been taken against four of these units but has declined to give any details. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State declined to confirm whether the US would therefore impose sanctions in line with the Leahy Law, which prohibits the US from allocating funds to foreign forces in the light of evidence of gross human rights violations. Netanyahu has said that ‘to impose a sanction on a unit in the IDF [would be] the height of absurdity and a moral low’ at a time when Israeli soldiers ‘are fighting the monsters of terror’. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice ruled in a 15-1 vote last week against imposing emergency measures to prevent military exports from Germany to Israel in a case brought by Nicaragua earlier this year. However, the Court also declined to throw out Nicaragua’s case in its entirety, taking the opportunity to ‘remind all states of their international obligations relating to the transfer of arms to parties to an armed conflict, in order to avoid the risk that such arms might be used’ to violate international law.
The debate about single-sex spaces has come back into the news this week after ministers have announced plans for transgender patients in hospital to be treated in separate wards. The Government argues that there is a legitimate basis for the segregation and that the measures are proportionate, thus preventing the policy from breaching the Equality Act 2010 or the ECHR. The proposals have received cross-party support; Sir Keir Starmer supported the proposition in an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, stating that his views on gender ‘start with biology’. The plans were announced amongst other changes proposed to the NHS Constitution, including the right for patients to insist on having their care carried out by a doctor of their biological sex. Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Women and Equalities, has made a call for evidence of organisations who are ‘wrongly stating that people have a legal right to access single-sex spaces according to their self-identified gender’. The information will be used to ensure the Government’s ‘policymaking continues to tackle any confusion’ so that ‘single-sex spaces can be maintained’. Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, pleaded following the announcement that the NHS not be ‘dragged into a pre-election culture war’. Ministers should rather be ‘bringing forward detailed plans to improve NHS funding, tackle the decrepit state of many health facilities and get waiting times for A&E care and planned surgery back to the levels that existed when the constitution was first published in 2012.’
In the Courts
Several groups have announced legal challenges to the UK’s Rwanda Migrant Scheme in the wake of the passing of the Safety of Rwanda Bill in April. Asylum Aid announced last Friday their intent to challenge the legality of a Home Office policy document published last week on the grounds that it ‘fundamentally misunderstands the Act’. The policy requires caseworkers to consider Rwanda safe even in the face of compelling evidence that Rwanda would not be safe for the individual – ignoring Section 4 of the Act which provides a limited right to appeal against removal on the grounds that Rwanda would not be safe given the asylum seeker’s individual circumstances. The FDA Trade Union has also commenced proceedings on the grounds that the policy creates a conflict for civil servants between their obligations under the Civil Service Code and following the instructions of ministers. The Civil Service Code imposes a legal obligation upon civil servants to ‘uphold the rule of law’, which may not be possible if given instructions by a minister to ignore a Rule 39 Order from the ECHR – a breach of international law. Dave Penman, General Secretary for the FDA, has emphasised that the legal action is not a political decision nor about the policy itself, but about protecting civil servants and ‘the integrity of the Civil Service Code’. The case is to be heard the first week of June. In the meantime, detentions have begun for the first migrants set for removal to Rwanda, with more to come over the next few weeks. It has been suggested detentions have begun so far in advance – over nine weeks before the departures of the first flights – in anticipation of legal challenges. Earlier this week, a bus intended to remove asylum seekers from a South London hotel for transfer to the Bibby Stockholm barge had to leave empty after protestors surrounded the vehicle in a successful attempt to disrupt the removal. 45 protesters were arrested in total following the clash with over 100 Metropolitan police officers.
The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the lack of protection given to workers on strike constitutes a breach of their human rights. The right to strike is protected under Article 11 ECHR, which ensures freedom of assembly and association. However, UK domestic law provides workers with no protections against detriments short of dismissal for exercising that right. While s146 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 protected workers from detriment for engaging in trade union activities, strike action has not been considered to qualify – a situation which the Supreme Court said ‘nullifies the right to take lawful strike action’. The Court found that the current legal position fell short of a fair balance between the interests of employers and Article 11 rights, and consequently has declared the relevant statute incompatible with human rights. A significant victory for worker’s rights, the Claimant, Fiona Mercer, has said: ‘I am delighted at today’s outcome. Although it won’t change the way I was treated, it means irresponsible employers will now think twice before behaving badly towards their unhappy staff.’ It remains to be seen whether legislation will now be amended to protect the rights of striking workers against detriment. While the government are under no legal duty to respond, Professor Alan Bogg, who was part of the Claimant’s legal team, has suggested not to do so would be ‘constitutionally surprising’.
The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland has ruled it is not a breach of human rights for schools to exclusively teach about Christianity in religious education classes. The Court upheld a previous finding that the curriculum is not taught in an ‘objective, critical, and pluralistic manner’ and stated that the finding was ‘capable of constituting evidence supporting an inference that the forbidden line (of indoctrination) had been crossed’. However, this did not breach Article 2 Protocol 1 of the ECHR – the right to education – as parents are granted an unfettered statutory right to withdraw their children from religious education and collective worship. The law in Northern Ireland demands that state-funded schools organise ‘collective worship’ in at least one assembly per day; while parents can withdraw their children from this activity, pupils are not granted the right to withdraw themselves. The Court recognised the ongoing review into teaching in Northern Ireland, suggesting that policymakers may soon implement a ‘refresh to the Northern Ireland curriculum that will inevitably include consideration of religious instruction to take into account the complexion and changing needs of our society’. The Claimant intends to appeal to the Supreme Court.
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17 April 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In the News
Dr Hilary Cass, Chair of the Independent Review of gender identity services for children and young people, submitted her final report last Wednesday to NHS England. The Cass Review was commissioned in 2020 to look into the effectiveness of the gender care services provided to young people by the NHS. The report stressed that gender-affirming care is an extremely poorly researched area, and that the “toxicity” of the conversation surrounding transgender identity was severely hampering competent medical care for trans youth. Further research studies commissioned by the review were “thwarted” by the lack of cooperation from NHS gender care services, and the little evidence already available was insufficient to suggest that, in their current state, NHS gender services are producing positive outcomes. The report has made a total of 32 recommendations to the NHS – notably, Cass argues for a more holistic approach to gender care for children, factoring in support for mental health and neurodiversity. Taking a non-partisan stance, Cass noted in her report that ‘for some, the best outcome will be transition, whereas others may resolve their distress in other ways. Some may transition and then de/retransition and/or experience regret. The NHS needs to care for all those seeking support.’ The report follows news last month that puberty blockers will no longer be a routinely available treatment option on the NHS for children with gender dysphoria.
The Government announced last week that they will be closing another 150 asylum hotels by the beginning of May, following the closure of 50 in January and a further 50 by March. Home Secretary James Cleverly stated that the process will ‘keep going until the last hotel is closed’. Concerns have been raised regarding the impact that the asylum hotel closures may have on housing services for local councils – Chair of the Local Government Association, Shaun Davies, has suggested that ‘councils are becoming increasingly concerned over the numbers of asylum seekers presenting as homeless, which is likely to dramatically increase when Home Office accommodation is withdrawn.’ Charity Refugee Council published a report last week revealing that official Government statistics show a 239% increase in the number of households requiring homelessness support from local authorities following eviction from Home Office asylum support accommodation. The Government statement from last week ends: ‘Ultimately, the best way to save money is by deterring people from coming to the UK illegally in the first place, and our partnership with Rwanda intends to do just that’.
The European Parliament voted to pass a new pact on migration and asylum last Thursday. The new laws brought in through the pact have been ten years in the making and are intended to provide a ‘robust legislative framework’ that ‘puts humanity first’. The pact, comprised of a series of 5 closely related laws, was passed by a narrow margin – the laws received an average of 300 votes for to 270 against. The laws cover a variety of issues including biometric data collection, detention regulations, and national security. The pact establishes a system of ‘mandatory solidarity’ between EU member states, seeking implement procedures which will divide responsibility for migration throughout the EU bloc. The pact has already been criticised on both sides of the political spectrum: Amnesty International have claimed the pact will cause a ‘surge in suffering’, while Jordan Bardella, President of France’s far-right party National Rally, called the pact ‘terrible’ and asked voters to give it the ‘worst possible defeat’ when France heads to the polls in June. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, admitted that the pact ‘will not solve everything overnight’, but argued that ‘it is 10 giant leaps forward’.
In the Courts
Last Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgment that, for the first time, held that government climate inaction constituted a breach of human rights under the ECHR. A group of Swiss older women – as part of the activist group KlimaSeniorinnen, Senior Women for Climate Protection – brought the case to the Court. They alleged that Switzerland’s poor climate policies has put them at increased risk of death during heat waves caused by climate change. The judgment confirms that the convention places countries under positive obligations to take effective and timely measures to fight climate change; finding a breach of Article 8 by sixteen votes to one, the Court held that Article 8 confers a right upon citizens to be protected from the ‘serious adverse effects of climate change on lives, health, wellbeing, and quality of life’. The Court also found unanimously that there had been a breach of Article 6 § 1 (access to court) as domestic courts in Switzerland had not taken the complaints of the KlimaSeniorinnen sufficiently seriously. Though the Court also dismissed two other cases making similar arguments for issues of admissibility, six other climate cases previously adjourned can now be fully considered by the Court in light of this historic decision. The case was discussed in more detail earlier this week on the latest episode of Law Pod UK, available here.
The Supreme Court of Arizona ruled last Tuesday that a near-total ban on abortion can come back into force following the repeal of Roe v Wade. The law in question was originally established in 1864 and bans all abortions with no exceptions but to save a woman’s life. It was stated in judgment that the case is only one of ‘statutory interpretation – it does not rest on the justices’ morals or public policy views regarding abortion; nor does it rest on [the law’s] constitutionality, which is not before us’. The judges ruled that, in the absence of any legislation restricting the law or authorising abortion, and in light of the repeal of Roe v Wade, the law was enforceable. Despite this, the Supreme Court did delay enforcement for two weeks to allow the plaintiffs to commence further challenges against the law – in particular with regard to its constitutionality – in the lower courts. Katie Hobbs, Governor of Arizona, has come out against the judgment. In an official statement released after the ruling, she stated: ‘I will not let overzealous county attorneys take this as an opportunity to target any individual. As long as I am Governor, no Arizonan will be prosecuted by extremist county attorneys for seeking abortion care’. She has reiterated that an Executive Order she passed last year will continue to stand, which centralises all abortion-related prosecutions to Democrat Attorney General, Kris Mayes, and prohibits Arizona state agencies from assisting in abortion-related investigations.
In a judgment handed down by the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) last week, the Court held that Home Office decisions to refuse to grant family reunion visas to refugees feeling Gaza without biometric checks were ‘irrational and unreasonable’. The applicants had requested their applications be substantively decided in advance of the submission of biometric data, since, as a result of the ongoing conflict, the visa centre in Gaza is not functioning. The nearest centre conducting biometric checks is in Cairo, Egypt. The Home Office policy required that for visas to be approved without biometric data, applicants must prove they face a ‘personal risk of harm, which is separate to the level of risk faced by the wider population’. Jackson J stated that he does ‘not consider that in the context of the conflict in Gaza […] that it is necessary for a person to show that they are specifically targeted to be able to establish that they are at risk due to their personal circumstances.’ The Court thus held that the Home Office policy was a disproportionate infringement on the Palestinian families’ right to private and family life, and thus in breach of Article 8 ECHR.
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8 April 2024 by Catherine Churchill
In UK News
The new and wide-ranging Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (SDPOs) introduced by the Public Order Act 2023 came into force on Friday. As part of the Government’s attempt to ‘crack down’ on protesters ‘dedicated to wreaking havoc’, the police will now be able to apply to courts for an order to place restrictions on protesters’ locations, associations with others, online activity, and more. Breaching an order will be a criminal offence carrying up to six months’ imprisonment and an order can be made against anyone who has previously committed ‘protest-related offences’, including the many newly criminalised by the Public Order Act itself. Liberty have previously criticised SDPOs as an ‘unprecedented and highly draconian measure, which could amount to a ban on named individuals’ fundamental right to protest’.
Scotland’s new laws on hate crime came into force last Monday. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act both consolidates existing hate crime offences and creates a new offence of ‘threatening or abusive behaviour intended to stir up hatred’ on the basis of ‘age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics’. A working group headed by Baroness Helena Kennedy KC has recommended that a separate offence be created to tackle misogynist abuse. Despite concerns about freedom of expression being raised by a variety of high profile online commentators, the Scottish Government have insisted the threshold for prosecution is very high with the act having multiple built in protections, including a ‘reasonableness’ defence. Some reports have suggested Police Scotland have already received up to 6000 complaints under the new law since Monday.
In Other News
Last Monday, drone strikes by the Israeli Defence Force killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers in the Gaza strip. Over a five minute period, three missiles struck three WCK vans delivering food to Northern Gaza despite previous coordination of the route with Israeli forces. Israel has admitted responsibility for the strikes and launched an investigation, reporting on Thursday that IDF forces had mistakenly believed the cars had been hijacked by Hamas militants and that drone operators were unable to see the WCK logo on the vans in the darkness. WCK has criticised the lack of accountability demonstrated by Israel’s response and has called for an independent inquiry. In related news, an open letter signed by UK judges and lawyers – including multiple former Supreme Court Justices – has called for the UK Government to end its supply of arms to Israel. The 17-page letter explains that the Government’s current position ‘falls significantly short’ of fulfilling its obligations under international law. The majority of British voters also believe the UK should cease their exports of arms to Israel, as revealed by a YouGov survey conducted last week.
The UN Human Rights Council passed a landmark resolution on Thursday to recognise and enhance the rights of intersex people. In a resolution proposed by Chile, Australia, Finland, and South Africa, the Council voted to call on Member States to ramp up protections offered towards intersex people against ‘discrimination, violence and harmful practices’. The resolution includes a provision requesting a report from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights ‘examining in detail discriminatory laws and policies, acts of violence and harmful practices against persons with innate variations in sex characteristics, in all regions of the world.’ Intersex people do not currently enjoy specific protection in the UK under the Equality Act 2010.
In the Courts
Uganda’s Constitutional Court declined last Wednesday to nullify the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act. Enacted last May, the law – which permits the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’ – has received international criticism for violating rights protected both by Uganda’s own constitution and by international treaties to which Uganda is a signatory. The Court did strike down particular provisions which it held to be ‘inconsistent with right to health, privacy and freedom of religion’; one such provision placed an obligation on all citizens to report anyone they suspected of engaging in homosexual activity, which was held to violate individual rights. Despite this, the judgment has been criticised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, who revealed that ‘close to 600 people are reported to have been subjected to human rights violations and abuses based on their actual or imputed sexual orientation or gender identity since the Anti-Homosexuality Act was enacted in May last year’. He stated that the Act ‘must be repealed in its entirety, or unfortunately this number will only rise’. The LGBT+ activists behind the court case told Reuters that they intend to appeal to the Ugandan Supreme Court to seek a full annulment of the Act.
The European Court of Human Rights handed down a judgment last week finding that the lack of access to asylum to those arriving on Poland’s eastern borders meant that Poland was in breach of the ECHR. The case concerned a group of Tajik asylum seekers repeatedly turned away at the Ukrainian border crossing. During interviews with Polish border guards, the claimants stated they were seeking international protection from political persecution in Tajikistan, and that they were at danger of deportation in Ukraine. Their denial of access to the Polish asylum system and lack of an effective appeal process for the rejection at the border crossing violated Articles 3 (freedom from torture) and 13 (right to an effective remedy). A violation of Article 4 of Protocol 4 (prevention of collective expulsion of aliens) was also found, as the claimants successfully contended that the refusal of entry was on the basis of a wider policy to not accept asylum seekers at Polish border crossings.
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