British deportations spark human rights fears
Amnesty International labelled the practice of returning people deemed a threat to national security to certain countries that promised humane treatment as a “failed experiment”.
Such promises were “unreliable” and “unenforceable”, according to the organisation.
In Dangerous Deals: Europe’s Reliance On ‘Diplomatic Assurances’ Against Torture, Amnesty called on the EU to end the practice.
It said: “The UK government has been the most influential and aggressive promoter in Europe of the use of diplomatic assurances to forcibly return people it considers threats to national security to countries where they would face a real risk of serious human rights violations, including torture or other ill-treatment.”
Amnesty criticised the Foreign Office for negotiating “memorandums of understanding” (MoU) with countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Libya and Ethiopia.
The report comes as the Special Immigration Appeals Commission is set to consider the case this week of an Ethiopian threatened with deportation based on an MoU promising the man will not be tortured on return.
Amnesty said it had “serious concerns” based on Ethiopia’s “exceedingly poor human rights record”.
The report stated: “As the research and opinion in this report demonstrates, governments are using diplomatic assurances in their own self-interest to rid themselves of foreigners alleged to be involved in acts of terrorism, instead of prosecuting those persons for any crimes of which they are accused.
“But under international law, the ban on torture and other ill-treatment, including sending a person to a place where he or she is at risk of such abuse, is absolute: the status of the person or crimes he or she might be suspected of committing is simply irrelevant and cannot be taken into consideration in assessing the risk.”
Amnesty International’s expert on counter-terrorism and human rights in Europe, Julia Hall, said: “The best way to prevent torture is to refuse to send people to places where they risk being harmed.”
