Violation of human rights by the UK, 2024

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Report:
Violation of human rights by the UK,  2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract

The anti-human rights actions and performance of the British government at the domestic and international level are still criticized by the human rights institutions of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and human rights defenders. The adoption of the illegal immigration law, which severely limits access to the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants, is one of these cases. According to this law, the Minister of Interior is obliged to deport immigrants to a third country. Following the ruling of the British Supreme Court that Rwanda is unsafe as a third country, the government followed the approval of the new Rwanda Security Bill through Parliament, which provoked strong criticism at the domestic and international level.

Racial discrimination is one of the most frequent human rights violations in England; The Committee to Combat Racial Discrimination and the United Nations Working Group on People of African Descent published their findings this year. Along with the legal and procedural initiatives, one should also mention the continuation of the British political discourse regarding the country's withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights.

By sending weapons to the Zionist regime, the UK commits human rights violations against Palestinian citizens and civilians outside its borders. In general, although the new British government is talking about cancelling the license to send weapons to the Zionist regime, its previous actions, such as the veto of the ceasefire resolution in the Security Council, are like the parable in which a man, though having access to a lot of water, does not embark on extinguishing a fire, rather just shouts for help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Domestic human rights violations

 

1. Violating the rights of refugees and immigrants

In recent years, asylum has been one of the most controversial issues in the UK. Earlier this year, the British government agreed to approve the Rwandan expulsion bill. Based on this inhumane law, the government can send some refugees to Rwanda on a one-way flight. The approval of this bill is against the strong opposition of the House of Lords and the judgment of the British Supreme Court and the international human rights obligations of the United Kingdom. In response to this, UN experts expressed concern about the role of air transport and its officials in facilitating the illegal transfer to Rwanda based on the agreement between the British government and the Rwandan government and emphasized that airlines and the aviation regulator through facilitating the transfer to Rwanda can be complicit in human rights violations. They emphasized that the transfer of asylum seekers to Rwanda or any other country where they are at risk of refoulement violates the right to be free from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The experts also said that “as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights emphasize, aviation regulators, international organizations and commercial actors are required to respect human rights.” According to Article 13 of the UN Guidelines, companies are prohibited from participating in human rights violations, and Article 23 requires companies to respect international human rights. The British Civil Aviation Authority will be responsible for this, alongside the EU's Aviation Safety Agency and international actors including the Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The United Nations Refugee Agency has already warned the British domestic court that asylum seekers who are sent to this country [Rwanda] in East Africa face the risk of a prohibited process called refoulement, a risk that was also warned about by the British Supreme Court last year.

While the British media are reporting the death of the Rwanda plan in the new government, the fact is that the Labor Party, despite announcing the promise of canceling the Rwanda plan, has not rejected the idea of returning migrants and asylum seekers to what is called a safe third country. This party announced that the mentioned country will not be Rwanda, but another country will be introduced for this purpose. The new British Interior Minister has emphasized that the creation of a new border security command is still a priority. The transfer of migrants to Rwanda is against the UK's international obligations. Commodification of asylum seekers, acts of violence and humiliating behavior are contrary to human dignity and are denounced.

In addition, the Labour Party has announced that it is looking for new agreements with other countries, including France, to speed up the departure of migrants. The French maritime police, with British funding, force small boats to turn around to prevent them from reaching British shores, a maneuver known as pullbacks. The reports of the Observer, Lighthouse, Le Monde and Spiegel confirm this. Creating large waves near the migrant boat, police forces entering the refugee boat with large tanks of pepper spray and drilling holes in the boats are some of the actions seen in the videos. The British government has paid hundreds of millions of pounds to France for this purpose. The French police patrol boat was purchased with British funding under the Sandhurst treaty.

Eyewitnesses, including a man from India, said French forces in a patrol boat circled the migrant boat and rammed it, causing the occupants to be thrown into the water. According to one French civil servant, British pressure on the French maritime police has been "intense" and "relentless". Since 2014, the UK has allocated more than £700m to France to tackle illegal immigration. In March 2023, Sunak announced that Britain had provided £500 million over three years to fund French border forces, a new detention center and other equipment. The purpose of the UK is to discourage travelers from immigrating to the UK. According to the spokesperson of the Home Secretary, this has reduced the entries by more than a third in the last year.

Another violation of refugee rights in England is the Windrush scandal in England, which continues as one of the most racist policies of modern times. Loss of jobs, pensions and a sense of insecurity are rife among this generation, and they find out that they lack British citizenship when they apply for passports or university admissions. British passport holders were racially abused, unable to renew their passports or forced to leave the country.

Some members and descendants of the Windrush generation remain in hiding and cannot receive their pensions after a lifetime of service to England. The Windrush scandal, like other British policies that effectively target people of African descent, seems to be a deliberate and practical attempt to define black people as alien, disposable and inherently non-British and of another race.

High costs, exclusions from visa programs, missing documents at offices and other barriers make initial visas out of reach for many asylum seekers in the UK. Newly arriving illegal asylum-seekers are subject to punitive immigration controls, including detention, denial of benefits, deportation, work restrictions, inadequate health care, inadequate housing and food, and the like, and many of them live in overcrowded and remote centers. In Bristol, asylum seekers housed in an out-of-town center had to walk long distances every day to provide supplies to the immigration office and to access basic needs; such inhuman barriers to the right of asylum are contrary to the international refugee convention.

Some immigration laws in the UK are designed to be inherently racist. The Borders Act of 2007 and the implementation of Operation Nexus in 2012 are a source of considerable uncertainty and concern among people of African descent, including among permanent residents and citizens. Laws that allow automatic deportation, no-felony deportation, and racial profiling have increased fear and anxiety among people of African descent. The Nationality and Borders Law in 2022 allows the revocation of citizenship without prior notice and deportation, and criminalizes the request for asylum.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee also expressed concern about the detention of immigrants in immigration centers. According to reports, many people are kept in such centers for more than 28 days. The Illegal Immigration Act of 2023 expanded the powers of detention, especially against children and women; Pregnant women are detained for up to seven days, and in general, people who enter the country without documents are automatically detained for up to 28 days without access to bail or judicial review. GPS tracking and immigration control were also identified as other areas of concern by the committee.

 

2. 2. The right to peaceful assembly

Violation of the right to peaceful assembly is one of the main examples of human rights violations in the UK over the past years. The British authorities interpreted the demonstrations of the people of this country in support of the ceasefire in Gaza as a "march of hate". In terms that angered some peace fighters, the Home Secretary said, “now we see tens of thousands of people come to the streets. There is only one way to describe that march: They are hate marches."

Braverman reiterated her plea that police officers take a zero-tolerance approach to the protests. She called the slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" a violent slogan. Also, the Prime Minister's spokesperson said that this slogan was offensive to many people and asked people to take responsibility for their words.

After the Zionist attack on Gaza, large and peaceful demonstrations were held in England demanding a ceasefire. The then Home Secretary and other government ministers sought to pressure the police to ban these protests, and the government indicated its intention to enact laws to further expand police powers to intervene in peaceful protests. Some people who had temporary visas in the UK are under pressure for participating in pro-Palestinian protests. In the current environment, the British government is trying to silence the voices of the supporters of Palestine and the people of Gaza by labeling and accusing them of anti-Semitism.

The country revoked the visa of a Palestinian student after he participated in a pro-Palestinian demonstration at his university. Dana Abu Qamar said that the Home Secretary revoked his visa and considered him a threat to national security. This decision of the Home Secretary followed his statements in support of Palestinian rights. Abu Qamar led the Friends of Palestine Association at the University of Manchester. Freedom of speech in England is violated in the case of ethnic minorities, especially Muslims and Palestinians.

Also, the visa of an Egyptian television host has been revoked by the UK for supporting Hamas amid the government's efforts to crack down on support for Hamas. According to the Telegraph news site based in London, the Home Secretary canceled the visa of Mo'taz Matar due to his participation in the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London and his support for Hamas. The person has been placed on a watch list so he cannot return to the UK. There is a possibility that the visas of at least half of the other foreign nationals will be revoked. The Home Office easily revokes the student, visitor, or work visa of foreign nationals under the pretext of a threat to national security.

 

 

3. Freedom of expression

Another worrisome issue of human rights in Britain is the violation of freedom of speech by this country. The Human Rights Committee of the United Nations expressed its concern about the amendment bill of the law of judicial powers and its non-compliance with Article 17 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Bill's provisions on bulk data could lead to widespread and excessive collection of personal data by the UK government. Also, the information received by the committee indicates that the data and digital information protection bill will force banks to monitor people's bank accounts by creating new powers. This wide access leads to the violation of the right to privacy contained in the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In addition, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern over the Online Safety Act 2023, which gives ministers unlimited powers to censor.

4. Violence against women and girls

Violence against women and girls is one of the most common violations of women's rights in the UK. According to the National Council of Police Chiefs, in England and Wales alone, 3,000 cases of violence against women and girls are committed every day. These include, but are not limited to, sexual violence, domestic violence, and child stalking. In this situation, the police talk about the scale of the epidemic and the national emergency. The study also shows that every year at least one in 20 adults in England and Wales — 2.3 million people — commit violent crimes against women and girls. This is despite the fact that many violations are not reported.

Almost half a million women in England have been forced to remain silent after experiencing discrimination, bullying or harassment at work. An estimated 435,293 women in the UK have been forced to remain silent about workplace abuse due to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or confidentiality clauses. Nondisclosure agreements are agreements that prohibit individuals from sharing information that companies or individuals want to remain private. Employers across the UK use these contracts to silence employees who are victims of sexual harassment, pay discrimination and other offences.

According to new data, the British Transport Police announced that the number of violent crimes recorded against women and girls on the country's transport network increased by 20% in 2023 alone. This sharp increase in violence is most likely due to people reporting more about what happened to them, otherwise there has been no shortage of violence in the past.

Figures released by the British Transport Police watchdog show that an average of 31 acts of violence against women and girls are reported every day. Many women and girls are unable to report the crime committed against them due to the many obstacles that exist, including fear of not believing others, threatening consequences from intruders, and mistrust of the police and judicial system of this country.

 

4.1 Misogyny

One of the focal points of violence, discrimination and violation of the rights of women and girls in England is the issue of xenophobia, especially misogyny and gender discrimination, which is rooted in the customary and procedural context of this country. On January 21, 2024, various NGOs, including the Women's Equality Party, issued a call for British women and girls to march to defend their rights. In the statement of this campaign, it is clearly stated that the goals of this rally and march are: 1) ending violence against women and confronting any policy that makes harassment and abuse appear normal; 2) equal access to jobs and job rights. The Brexit process should not overlook equal pay, paternity leave for fathers, childcare services, job flexibility for women and equal access to the job market; 3) defending the immigration system in which women have value and share in the economy and society, rather than considering women as dependent beings or penalizing women who work hard to provide for their families and children; 4) access to an equal education system for the next generation so that all girls with any racial, family, etc. background have equal opportunities for future jobs and initiatives and do not have to fight against gender stereotypes; 5) equal opportunity in politics, women should have an active presence in the political arena so that the government is aware of women's experiences and their needs when making decisions for this group.

The above statement contains important information and data in the field of violation of women's rights. A text that clearly admits that despite the adoption of numerous laws and specific policies to protect women, a significant number of English women and girls still do not have equal educational opportunities, equal employment opportunities, equal occupational rights, protection against all types of violence, and this is important. At the same time, it happens that misogyny is one of the main forms of violation of women's rights and the context of its formation in the legal-judicial and customary system of England.

4.2 Femicide

Femicide is one of the forms of violation of the rights of women and girls in England. According to published official statistics, approximately more than 100 murders in 2023 were committed by men motivated by femicide. Since 2009, statistics show that an average of 140 women are killed by men every year, in other words, two women are victims of this violence every 5 days. These figures can be accessed within the framework of what the police published. The Femicide Census Group has officially requested the English police department to release information about all women and girls who are suspected of being killed by men 24 hours a day, but the police have refused this request. On average, 58% of women killed in England are killed by men who are either their current or former life partners. The findings of the femicide census group also confirm the fact that 8 percent of femicide victims are killed by their own male children and only 10 percent of these victims are killed by strangers. Femicide is formed in a customary and cultural context and is rooted in gender inequalities and, of course, misogyny. The BBC recently announced in a report that black women in England suffer a higher rate of femicide in this country. In 2023, a report on the number of femicides in England was published and it was announced that black women in London faced a crisis with the increase in the number of femicides.

The increase in the number of femicides in recent years has caused the Guardian news agency, by correcting the previous report of the femicide census group, to announce that one woman is murdered by men every 3 days. By publishing the names and pictures of 12 women, this magazine has mentioned them as female victims of 2024.

4.3 Violence, rape and sexual harassment

On February 21, 2024, a group of UN experts implored the British government to take urgent measures to end all forms of violence against women and girls. The situation of violence against women and girls in England has reached a position where it is interpreted as a national threat. The United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Ms. Reem Al-Salem, announced after a 10-day investigation and monitoring over England: "The institutionalized patriarchy at almost all levels of society, including misogyny that has infiltrated the physical and online world, has denied thousands of women and girls of the right to live in safety, free from fear and violence . . . every 3 days in England, one woman is murdered and one in four women experiences domestic violence".

Based on official crime reports in England and Wales in the one-year period ending in December 2023, people aged 16 and over experienced 1 million incidents or crimes involving violence. Overall, in 2023, police departments recorded 2 million violent crimes, a 3 percent increase over 2022. Among these, 663,526 cases were related to harassment.

Annually, approximately 25% of British women report experiencing sexual violence and harassment. 71% of women have experienced sexual harassment during their lifetime, especially in public environments. This percentage has increased to 86% among women aged 18 to 24. In 2022 to 2023, 194,683 cases of sexual crimes were registered, of which 70,330 cases were related to sexual assault against women and girls.

4.4 Discrimination and violence against women in the armed forces

Women in the British armed forces struggle with all kinds of violence and discrimination. According to the Guardian report on December 24, 2023, sexual violence against women in the armed forces of this country has turned these forces into a hunting ground for women. Many women in the British army are on the alert against harassment, objectification, and sexual undercurrents. This alertness is because every day many women in the country's army are harassed by superiors or colleagues with some form of sexual violence. Many of these women do not even report the violence experienced because they are afraid of being humiliated, fired, and shamed. Alice is a 28-year-old woman who serves in the British Army. She recently realized that despite her abilities and many skills, she is somehow rejected and does not grow in the army, the reason for this rejection was her attempt to report sexual harassment at work, a situation which he refers to as the policy of "lack of tolerance" against sexual illumination. There are numerous evidences of misogyny, coercion, harassment, discrimination, and criminal behavior including gang rape, sexual violence, ejaculation of military men in military women's uniforms, and demand for sex in exchange for services in the military. Many of these incidents are not reported due to fear of punishment or deportation.

In a report published in 2021, 64% of retired army women and 58% of women serving in the armed forces stated that they had faced bullying, harassment and discrimination during their careers. Some experts believe that the reason for such events lies in the fact that the nature of the army and armed forces is masculine and designed under the domination of men. These masculine environments inevitably absorb femininity and use it as a tool for pleasure.

 

4.5 Domestic violence

 Annually, 18% of all crimes recorded in England and Wales are related to domestic violence. According to the bulletin published by the Office for National Statistics, domestic violence in England and Wales until November 2023 has received alarming data. Based on the 2023 statistical chart, it is estimated that there will be a total of 2,124,000 victims of domestic violence in the UK, of which 889,918 cases have been registered by the police, of which 69,314 suspects have been arrested, 47,361 suspects have been charged and 39,198 have been convicted.

It has been officially announced that from March 2022 to March 2023, about 1,400,000 women in England were victims of domestic violence, and this number is almost the same as the statistics of previous years, and there is no decrease in it.

4.6 Muslim women

According to the survey of the "British Muslim Women's Network" charity organization, 75% of Muslim women in this country are worried about their safety. Before the recent unrest in England, 16% of people who participated in this survey were worried about their lives. Black women, especially in London, face the crisis of femicide more than any other ethnic group.

4.7 Women and economy

According to research from the London School of Economics and Political Science, women make up less than 20% of the highest paid sectors in the UK business market. The failure of women to advance to the highest roles in financial and professional services is a major contributor to the gender pay gap. Some of the UK's top financial firms pay women an average of 28.8% less than their male counterparts, according to salary data across 21 companies surveyed.

These institutions attribute gender gaps mainly to the stronger presence of men in management positions, posts that come with generous bonuses. While most of the women are active in jobs with low or no bonus and part-time jobs.

Reuters calculations, based on pay data, show the pay gap at top financial services firms narrowed by two percentage points from a year ago, but is much higher than the UK average for all sectors, which was 10.7% last year.

The data shows that in the international division of Goldman Sachs in London, the average pay gap between men and women increased from 53.2% in 2022 to 54% in 2023, and among the 21 major employers in the financial sector whose data was investigated, it is still the biggest gap.

4.8 Deprivation of citizenship

UN experts, Special Rapporteur on human trafficking, Special Rapporteur on the sale, exploitation and sexual abuse of children, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of Human Rights and Counter Terrorism, on March 6, 2024, expressed concern to the British Court of Appeal regarding Shamima Begum's case. UN experts said that Begum is still deprived of her citizenship and is deprived of help and support as a possible victim of trafficking.

This group of experts asked the British government to take immediate action to provide assistance and support to Begum, including returning her to Britain and reviewing and revising the decision to revoke her citizenship. Protections for victims of trafficking and those at risk of trafficking, especially children, should be guaranteed, they said.

Experts said there is a strong suspicion that Ms. Begum was recruited and transported for sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is an international crime and a form of modern slavery, and they emphasized that according to international, European and British laws, any presumptive question about consent or voluntariness, or the use of force, deception or coercion in cases where the victim of trafficking is a child would be unnecessary.

Since Begum is not a citizen of any other country and is not entitled to any other citizenship at the moment, this sentence practically leads to her statelessness, which is a violation of international laws. Experts also expressed concern that the act of depriving people of citizenship may have an inappropriate effect on people with non-racial and ethnic backgrounds, especially people belonging to Muslim communities.

Given the serious risk of further irreparable harm, we urge the UK authorities to take steps to ensure support for Ms. Begum and to follow the lead of many other governments that are now returning women and children from north-east Syria, experts said.

5. Children's rights

Although the UK tries to present its child protection and care system as a positive point of excellence in the international community, this system and its supporting laws are faced with serious gaps. In the following, the main examples of violations of children's rights in 2023 in the UK have been examined.

5.1 Police violence against children

Despite the regular emphasis on reforming the police procedure in dealing with children, the police forces, who are obliged to protect children, use stun guns when dealing with children, especially children belonging to ethnic minorities. Experts believe that counting all cases of violence against children is a difficult task. Official figures show that almost 260,000 children were either victims of or witnessed domestic violence in 2021 alone. Of course, some even criticize these statistics and emphasize that the real numbers are much higher. The children protection system is flawed to such an extent that parents or guardians who have been accused of violence and harm against a child can again subject the injured child to violence by resorting to the legal principle of "reasonable punishment".  According to the Guardian, the Metropolitan Police's response to child sexual exploitation is currently ineffective.  At the same time, hundreds of children under the age of 10 have been detained and searched by the police. This behavior of the police is against the age of criminal responsibility. Approximately 317 minors have faced intimidation tactics by the police in 2023.

 

5.2 Violence, harassment and sexual assault against children

By publishing a graph of the frequency of violent crimes against children and teenagers from 2002 to 2023, the Statista website showed that the rate of violence against children has increased significantly, this figure has reached 32961 cases from 4109 cases.

 Also, according to the published official statistics, from 2022 to 2023, approximately 87000 cases of sexual violence against children were registered by the police. This violence include rape, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.  A report was published in 2023 that stated that 16% of British children had been victims of some form of violence in a 12-month period. Among these victims, 68% of these victims, i.e. 360,000 teenagers aged 13 to 17 in England and Wales, experienced sexual violence. The youth advisory board stated in this report that while adolescent boys are more often seen in the two roles of victims and perpetrators of violence, the findings showed that girls also had a large share in the experience of violence. Among the teenage girls who were examined in this research, 15% were victims of violence, and the highest rate of the violence was related to sexual violence. From a racial point of view, while the majority of teenage violence is committed by white teenagers (70%), and this same group also had the highest rate of victims of violence (72%); Blacks have a 22% rate of violence. Research shows that 47% of teenagers who committed violence were victims of violence as children.

In this research, data regarding children's and teenagers' sense of security was also published, which provided interesting information from an analytical point of view:

Among the respondents, 84% felt completely safe at home, 11% felt relatively safe. 69% felt completely safe in the homes of relatives and friends. 44% felt complete safety in school. 24% felt safe in the hours before and after school. Only 12% of children and teenagers who used public transportation systems felt completely safe, and only 12% of them felt safe in parks and public gatherings.

These data show well how the sense of security decreases with distance from home and family. In fact, despite the existence of laws, policies and establishment of a protection system, children and teenagers feel less secure within the government's jurisdiction and feel more secure within the family.

6. Violation of family rights

According to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, governments are prohibited from interfering in individual and family privacy. However, the UK government is one of the biggest violators of family rights. Many families across the UK are struggling with poverty and lack of finances. Instead of helping these families, the British government takes the child away from the family by applying its own custody policies under titles such as "neglect" and separates the main one and grants maintenance allowance to the guardian's family. This is a contradiction that was not neglected during the recent visit of the fact- finding committee of the special rapporteur on human rights in the field of extreme violence and human rights in November 2023. Jane, a woman from the Town Hall slum in Newham, told the Special Rapporteur: “We need social services... When you are in poverty there is no support from the government to help you to become a good parent... Children are separated from their natural parents and the government places them in foster families to suffer frequent mistrust crises ... Siblings separated from each other. Adoption should be a free and voluntary process. Poor parents are often tricked by government officials into giving up their guardianship rights. In the anonymous adoption model, the rights of siblings are violated because they do not have the right to visit each other. We are concerned about the impact of poverty on the right to family life and the unfair discrimination that child protection services practice against poor families”. 

This issue is only one side of the coin in violating the family rights. In England, the practice of family courts is detrimental to family rights. In fact, the child protection system is designed in such a way that the family courts quickly separate the child from the family regardless of the family's emotional ties.

The UK government does not even have an acceptable plan to alleviate the poverty of families. According to some experts, the government is facing a lack of strategy to reduce child poverty. Children belonging to ethnic minorities are more exposed to poverty than others. Changes to the UK social services system have reduced economic and livelihood support for children. These changes demonstrate themselves particularly in families with three or more children. In fact, according to the new rules of the social services and insurance system, subsistence allowance is given only to families that have two children, and from April 5, 2017, this allowance is not given to the third child and more. Also, families with more than two children face paying higher taxes. Following the approval of these policies in 2017, the number of poor families with 3 or more children has increased from 41% to 47%.

7. Human trafficking

Based on its latest findings, the Human Rights Committee announced that recent changes in the UK law, including amendments to the Nationality and Borders Act and the reform of the Modern Slavery Act, have led to a reduction in protection for potential victims of human trafficking, identification of victims of human trafficking and their access to justice, especially in relation to children and women. This is in conflict with Article 8 of the International Convention on Trafficking in Persons and its Protocol, as well as the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo). In addition, the Committee is concerned about policies related to obtaining migrant worker visas, which provide the basis for abuse and exploitation of workers. 

According to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the contemporary forms of slavery, Special Rapporteur on Human Trafficking and Special Rapporteur on rights of migrants in June 2024, employers in the UK mislead migrant workers about working and living conditions and the nature of contracts in the agricultural and care sectors in general. This confirms the illegal functioning of the system governing migrant labor. The reduction of the permit scheme for seasonal workers is also another worrying issue. In this regard, there is a license called scheme operators, based on which immigrants from many countries are hired to work in farms and poultries, but upon entering the country, they actually face unemployment and debt. The government is revoking the licenses of non-compliant employers in the care sector, leaving migrant workers unemployed. Some migrant workers are threatened with deportation, and some are victims of human trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Protection and access to compensation for this group is essential.

8. Right to life

From the 1970s to the early 1990s, more than 30000 individuals contracted viruses such as HIV and hepatitis as a result of contaminated blood donation. An investigation into the scandal revealed that British authorities and the Public Health Service knowingly exposed tens of thousands of patients to deadly infections through contaminated blood and blood products and covered up the truth of the tragedy for decades. It is estimated that some 3000 people died and some lifelong health problems were created for many people following the injection of these contaminated blood. Deliberate efforts by government officials to cover up the scandal have been reported, including the destruction of documents in 1993. The victims included those who needed injections following accidents and surgeries or those suffering from blood disorders such as hemophilia. 

9. British prisons

9.1 Prison overcrowding

The United Nations Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the destructive effects of overcrowding in British prisons. Overcrowding of prisoners and bad living conditions are noteworthy. Children often spend between 22 and 23 hours a day in their cells. Also, this committee expressed concern about isolation and solitary confinement, restrictions and searching women. Reports indicate an increase in self-inflicted deaths, including suicide and self-harm in custody. The high number of people convicted of non-payment of fines is particularly high in Northern Ireland, which often consists of minorities and women. 

9.2 Persecution of prisoners

Rape and sexual assault in British prisons have always been one of the controversial challenges in this country. Statistics show that the number of rape and sexual assault cases in British prisons has been increasing over the past years. This issue gets more attention when these violations are committed by prison staff. According to reports, a video clip of a prison guard having an affair with a prisoner has been released, drawing public attention again to the state of British prisons. The film was reportedly shot at the infamous HMP Wandsworth Prison in London.

British police confirmed that a woman was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in government jobs. A police spokesman said the police investigation began on June 28 after officers were alerted to a video allegedly filmed inside Wandsworth Prison. A watchdog group called for Wandsworth Prison to be placed under emergency measures in May amid concerns about security breaches and issues of overcrowding, drugs, violence and self-harm.

The number of prison officers arrested for having illicit relations with prisoners in 2023 reached a record high. A report was also published by the Guardian, which showed that from 2010 to 2023, nearly a thousand cases of rape occurred in British prisons. Also, 2,336 cases of sexual assault were also reported to the police in the same period, and experts warned that the actual statistics for both rape and sexual assault may be much higher.

9.3 Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP)

The Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, in a news release on August 19, called on the new UK government to review IPP prison sentences and stressed the need for the remaining IPP prisoners to be tried without delay and to apply the indeterminate sentence system. He said that IPP sentences are inhumane and in many cases are considered as psychological torture.

IPP sentences are indeterminate sentences handed down by courts in England and Wales between 2005 and 2012 to offenders who pose a significant risk of causing serious harm to the public. This ruling is in place until they are no longer in such danger. However, they weeded out many people who committed relatively minor crimes, several of whom remain behind bars for years after completing a normal sentence. Cancellation of this plan is not retroactive.

The rapporteur called on the new government to make the full or partial re-sentencing of people sentenced to IPP a priority for appeals. He said, "The IPP punishment plan causes severe discomfort, fear, depression and anxiety, including for families, and may lead to physical and psychological harm, including self-harm, suicide attempts and suicide." Currently, nearly 2,800 people are serving IPP sentences in prison, and more than 200 more are being held in hospitals.

 

10. Drug-related deaths

The drug crisis in the UK has led to an upward trend in related deaths and has sounded the alarm. Surveys show that following the failure of anti-narcotics policies in England, this country is now on the brink of an opioid crisis. Currently, six Britons die every week from drug use. According to the Guardian, British experts emphasize that anti-drug policies in this country, like other policies, have failed in the face of challenges such as the issue of child care, the growth of recidivism rates, etc. 

After years of implementing punitive policies in the field of drugs, England is now on the verge of a serious crisis. Drug users in England are 13 times more likely to die than in other European countries, while the rate of chronic diseases such as hepatitis C has increased among British addicts. The extent of the drug addiction crisis in England is such that experts have asked the UK government to put the use of drug rooms on the agenda as a tool to fight the drug addiction crisis. According to the Independent, fatal overdoses have increased for 11 years in a row in England and have been doubled in a decade.

11. Identifying responsibility for human rights violations in the past

On March 28, the UN Human Rights Committee published its findings on the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.  The Committee is particularly concerned about conditional immunity under the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 for people who have committed new human rights violations. The Committee questioned the presumption of non-prosecution in favor of military personnel stationed overseas after five years as stipulated in the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021.

The committee called on the UK government to repeal or amend its laws, including overseas laws, to ensure that all past human rights abuses by British officials and members of the armed forces are fully investigated and prosecuted and appropriate sanctions are imposed.

12. Racial discrimination

Racial discrimination has always been one of the most important human rights concerns in England. In its August 2024 news release, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed its concern over the continuation of hate crimes, hate speech and xenophobia in various contexts and by politicians and public figures. The organization expressed particular concern about the recurrence of acts of racism and violence against ethnic and religious minorities, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers by individuals and groups of the extreme right and white supremacists, including the acts of violence in late July and early August 2024.

          In its call for action, the committee called on the UK to implement comprehensive measures to curb hateful, racist and xenophobic speech by political and public figures. The committee stressed the need for thorough investigations and tough punishments for racist hate crimes and effective compensation for victims and their families.

12.1 Ethnic minorities

Gypsy communities experience high levels of racial hatred, which leads to increased inequalities. The role of the media in fueling the speech of racial hatred, the excessive presence of gypsies in prison, racial hatred in education, stricter treatment of the police towards this group, access to health services and the level of racial prejudice towards the gypsy people in Britain is well evident.

According to the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, significantly more people (44%) openly express negative feelings towards Gypsies than other protected groups. In 2023, the Ethnicity Dynamics Study Center showed that 62% of the statistical population under investigation in the Gypsy category had experienced racist aggression. The same center showed that in 2023, 47% of Roma people have been racially assaulted, 35% of which was accompanied by physical assault. 

In the year ending March 2023, 906/101 racially motivated crimes were confirmed. The true extent of hate crimes against Roma Gypsies and Irish Travelers is unclear.  In February 2024, the HOPE not hate institute, in its survey of 521 members of the Conservative Party, announced that 49% had negative views of "Roma". The government has failed to take a step to effectively deal with racial incitement and inflammatory language against Gypsies in the media and among the authorities. There is a lack of confidence among Roma communities in reporting hate incidents, and as ethnic surveillance of these crimes is not disaggregated, there is no national data on these hate crimes.

12.2 Africans

The United Nations Working Group on People of African Descent has collected information on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and intolerance in its visit to England.  The human rights situation of people of African descent in the UK is alarming, with severe inequalities, systematic racism, prejudice, discriminatory policies and surveillance and control of people of African descent persisting. People of African descent and human rights defenders also expressed concern about the lack of action, implementation and follow-up as a result of domestic and international investigations on the human rights situation of people of African descent.

The cases of human rights violations in every city and region during the previous visit of the working group to England, which was raised in 2012, have continued or even worsened compared to the previous visit. The lack of progress in implementing the findings of numerous investigations and reports on racial inequality and institutionalized racism in member states is a source of great frustration and concern.

12.2.1 Administration of justice

Civil society, academics and lawyers point to a widespread "moral panic" among Africans in the UK. This means widespread fear caused by false or exaggerated perceptions of these people regarding their threat to society's values, interests, or security.

Relying on the discretionary principle of public authorities undermines the physical dignity of black people in England. The Task Force received credible reports of abuse of power, strip searches, deportation of juveniles by police to remote locations, systematic targeting and harassment, searching for the ashes of a young girl's mother, and other cruel practices. Mothers who are grieving the loss of their children report rude and unpleasant police behavior even when initially reporting their child's death. Black men also reported frequent stops, searches, and increased strip searches or illegal use of force against them.

The use of force against Africans is a serious concern, and deaths from police actions are on the rise. Victims' families provided firsthand testimony about structural obstacles to justice, including indefensible delays, police brutality, misinformation, and the significant financial costs of forcing effective investigations. In 2018, the task force raised concerns about patterns of racial inequality, violence and impunity in 15 separate cases in the UK government. The Human Rights Committee also announced in its recent report that the police of this country continue to use conductive energy devices known as Tasers, especially against Africans.  

Many people reported body searches by police where they were sexually assaulted and harassed. Full body searches, including strip searches, are used by the police as a punitive measure. These are specific examples of degrading and inhumane treatment that are prohibited under the United Nations Convention against Torture, Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and local laws.

The practice of strip-searching children is a police tactic against children of colored-skin. Of the 7,852 strip searches, 90% were drug-related, with blacks 15 times more likely than whites to be subjected to this type of body search, although nothing was found in more than half of them. 2847 children were subjected to physical examination. Of the 78 girls searched at London police stations last year, 32 were black or mixed race. This group is exposed to racism since childhood.  An increase in the arrest rate of blacks leads to an increase in the trial of this group, and when a person enters the justice system, it is not easy to get out of it, including social labels, and they face problems in obtaining educational and economic opportunities.

The United Nations Committee against Racial Discrimination also expressed concern about the disproportionate impact of stop and search methods, including strip searches, on ethnic minorities, especially children. It also raised warnings about excessive use of force and lethal actions by law enforcement, lack of accountability and inadequate support for victims' families, all of which disproportionately affect Africans and other ethnic minorities. It also highlighted concerns about institutional racism in the police and criminal justice system. The Committee called on the State party to establish an independent complaints mechanism to investigate allegations of racial profiling, stop-and-search practices, strip searches and excessive use of force by the police. The committee called for the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators and emphasized the need for victims and their families to access effective solutions. In addition, it recommended decisive action to eliminate racial discrimination in the police and criminal justice system, including its institutional dimension.

Many African prisoners in England face more than twenty hours of solitary confinement in a cell and abuse of power by prison personnel, including depriving prisoners of food, bathing, or attending court. African children are overrepresented in prisons and are disproportionately victims of staff mistreatment, use of restraints, and prolonged periods of solitary confinement. Africans and lawyers suffer from racial slurs, hate speech and misbehavior by prison staff.

Black youth face prosecution and lengthy sentences for violent crimes they did not commit for producing or listening to certain types of music with their friends. Also, the threat and separation of children from their parents by child protection service centers seems shockingly arbitrary, illegal and racist, and parents and lawyers witness widespread abuse of this authority and constant fear of removal.

Despite claims made by the UK government to support human rights defenders and immigration lawyers who defend the principles enshrined in international treaties, they face reprisals including government smear campaigns, defamation and defamation, raising concerns across civil society, including Bar associations, academics, human rights and racial justice organizations have been mobilized.

12.2.2 Racial discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights

African people in the UK suffer more than twice as much unemployment and poverty and more than four times more homelessness than other people. Nearly half of black people in England live in poverty. Black women are almost four times more likely to die during pregnancy or soon after childbirth. Even black legislators experience significant amounts of racist harassment. The racist "moral panic" evident in criminal justice policy has led to the abuse, violation, and trampling of the economic, social, and cultural rights of Africans.

12.2.3 Education

Black children in the UK are typically more vulnerable to human rights abuses. According to parents, lawyers and civil society, the administrative processes governing the suspension of these students from school, their permanent exclusion from schools, coercive and cruel measures and racism have been institutionalized.

In existing school policies, the expulsion of black children and their disciplinary proceedings, the parents of these children are often ignored; For example, in one case, a five-year-old child was strip-searched by the police at school for allegedly carrying marijuana. While his parents were called to school and were not informed. At the university level, black students experience unfair admission procedures.

In Northern Ireland universities, black students, staff and researchers are subject to systematic racism, lack of participation, inequality in funding and opportunities for advancement or promotion, exclusion of intellectual contributions relevant to people of African descent in Northern Ireland and so on. Cases of discrimination and racist actions against people of African descent are common in universities in England to the extent that students at Queen's University Belfast are demanding to deal with widespread racial abuse and harassment, including racial slurs, touching hair or skin without consent, labeling them as Aggressive and violent people generally became a culture of ignoring these people. But in the end, despite the requests of the student union and the social justice charter of the university, the university did not organize the work.

12.2.4 Health and sanitation

Across the UK, people of African descent have lower levels of health and well-being than other people. Africans in England experience racial stress, inhumane housing, barriers to accessing health care, chronic and harmful hypertension and food insecurity. Breast cancer, which is significantly prevalent among African women, is becoming more deadly and affecting younger ages. According to black women in England, they are often either ignored or not believed in reproductive health and experience institutional racism during pregnancy and childbirth.

Black babies are twice as likely to be stillborn as white babies. Black women are almost four times more likely to die during pregnancy or after childbirth and 13 times more likely to experience postpartum depression. Also, according to the "Mental Health Law", blacks are almost five times more likely to be arrested and eleven times more likely to be sentenced to social treatment.

12.2.5 Housing

Around half of black families in England live in social housing, but 21% of all black families live in homes that do not meet the standard of decent housing. Feelings of fire insecurity, rent arrears, fuel shortages and lower energy efficiency and dissatisfaction are particularly common among black households in England. When the working group visited one of these houses, they saw mold, damp smell, collapsed roofs, active meetings and significant damage. In addition, the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire experienced numerous discrimination, denial and indifference from the English government before, during and after the fire. People who lost their documents in this fire are facing significant legal challenges.

12.2.6 Employment, art and culture

Professionals and creative people in the UK music industry have reported institutional racism including pay differentials, having less qualified colleagues being promoted more than them and its impact on their mental health and well-being. Additionally, there are numerous reports of racism in sports, including the frequent use of racial slurs and online bullying.

The culture of denial and institutional racism in English courts has a negative impact on lawyers and court staff of African origin to the extent that 95% of lawyers have personal experience in this field and believe that institutional racism in courts is a permanent thing. When appearing in court, African attorneys are interrogated about their purpose for being in court, called clerks illegal or disruptive, and interrogated if they raise issues of race, even when the issue at hand is directly an issue of "race."

12.2.7 Multilateral discrimination

In England, when people of African descent belong to one of the different groups of the elderly, disabled and immigrants, they experience violence and vulnerabilities that lead to death and are more severe. Elderly Rastafari report staying at home with unaddressed mental health concerns since the Covid-19 outbreak. Older blacks also cite increased rent, relocation, and increased difficulty accessing social services in an online environment.

In addition, people of African descent with disabilities who live in social housing face problems such as lack of access to their needs and lack of respect for human dignity, independence and proper quality of life. For example, according to a woman in a wheelchair, her family three times during her childhood. They were denied living on the ground floor, and until the age of 18, when he could apply for independent housing, his parents had to move him between floors. Nevertheless, the government refused to implement the recommendations of the "Grenfell Tower Investigations" regarding the investigation of a case for the evacuation of the homes of disabled people living in high-rise residential buildings, and the Supreme Court also refused judicial review despite recognizing that the issue was political.

 

12.2.8 Counter narcotics

Drug law enforcement disproportionately targets ethnic minority communities, including people of African and Asian descent. As the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated in the 2023 report titled "Human Rights Challenges in Addressing and Countering Aspects of the Global Drug Problem," "The war on drugs has served more as an effective system of racial control than as a tool to reduce the drug market." And race-based police intervention remains widespread while evidence-based behavior toward Africans is limited."  Evidence shows that this is the experience of black people in England. The context of the implementation of the drug law in this country shows that drug policies are a stimulus for discriminatory police behavior and imprisonment. Disproportionate use of stop and search is part of the cycle of the racial criminal justice system. Black people in England and Wales are up to six times more likely to be stopped and searched for drugs. 

13. Disabled individuals

Laverne Jacobs, the Disability Rights Committee expert and joint rapporteur said on 18 March 2024 that the reports received indicate that the amount of benefits for disabled people is insufficient and that this group lives in poverty in the UK. A frequent pattern of disabled people committing suicide after being deprived of proper living standards and social support is observed. What compensation will the government provide to those who have been traumatized as a result of the benefits eligibility process? Disturbing reports suggest that disabled people accessing food banks are being exploited.

warned against the presence of people with autism or learning disabilities in detention, which was done based on the Mental Health Law of 1983.  This committee asked England to cancel the mental health law, abandon all the methods that led to the detention of disabled people under this law, and guarantee the provision of mental health services and preventive support. 

 

Violation of human rights at the international level

1. Exporting human rights violations

1.1 Sending weapons to the Zionist regime

According to the report of the campaign against arms trade, the British industry BAE Systems supplies about 15% of the components of the F-35 radar-evading warplanes of the Zionist regime; The jets used in the recent bombing of Gaza.  Considering the catastrophic situation in Gaza and the recent temporary order of the International Court of Justice, the continued sale of weapons to the Zionist regime and the suspension of aid to UNRWA by the UK is a gross violation of international laws. The condition of the arms export license is compliance with international humanitarian laws by the importing country.  Refusal to stop arms sales to the Zionist regime has made England an accomplice in the killing of innocent civilians. At the same time, the actions of the government are not aligned with public opinion.

According to published government statistics, the British government has issued more than 100 arms export licenses to the Zionist regime since October 7, 2023. Currently, there are a total of 345 licenses for the sale of weapons to the Zionist regime, including licenses to send weapons before October 7. Since 2008, the license to export weapons by England to the Zionist regime has been equal to 574 million pounds and only in 2022, 42 million pounds; Data for 2023 is still unknown. Statistics confirm that no arms export license application was rejected or canceled during the conflict. By rejecting the request to suspend exports in the months of December, April and May, the British government claimed that it acted according to legal advice! Many international organizations have declared the sending of military equipment to be used in the Gaza war as the cause of the death of thousands of Palestinians and a violation of international humanitarian law. 

1.2 violation of international human rights standards

Great Britain always undermines international human rights standards with the cooperation of its political partners; The following can be mentioned among them:

1-       Preventing a ceasefire in Gaza by vetoing Security Council resolutions

2-       The abstention vote in the Security Council meeting related to Palestine's membership in the United Nations

3-       Continuing opposition to the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Lands and the Zionist Regime

4-       Vote against the resolution of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia

5-       Openly supporting the ongoing aggressions and crimes of the Zionist regime against the oppressed people of Gaza

6-       More than two hundred flights over Gaza by the air force of this country

7-       Air invasion of northwestern Yemen, the city of Saada

8-       Attack on the city of Bajal, located in Hodeidah and Taiz provinces in Yemen

1.3 Moral scandal in Kenya

The CNN news channel has revealed the heinous dimensions of the crimes committed by the British army soldiers during the training mission in Kenya in the last few decades and the rape and murder of the women of this African country. In this report, it is stated that as a result of these violations, multiracial children are born in remote villages in the center of Kenya, about 200 kilometers north of Nairobi, where the mission of the British Army Training Unit was to train its soldiers. It is estimated that at least 69 children were born as a result of sexual assault by British soldiers. The remaining illegitimate children of these British soldiers did not receive any support from their fathers who returned home after completing their mission and have no relationship with them, and their neighbors also reject them.