Amnesty report condemns assault on human rights by governments around the world

International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world.

“Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, secretary general of Amnesty International.

The United Nations’ human rights bodies, the International Criminal Court, and regional mechanisms such as the Council of Europe and the Inter American Human Rights system, are “being undermined by governments attempting to evade oversight of their domestic records” according to the report.

Amnesty International has documented how many governments “brazenly broke” international law in 2015 in their national contexts: more than 122 states tortured or otherwise ill-treated people and 30 or more illegally forced refugees to return to countries where they would be in danger. In at least 19 countries, war crimes or other violations of the “laws of war” were committed by governments or armed groups.

The organisation is also warning of a worrying trend among governments increasingly targeting and attacking activists, lawyers and others who work to defend human rights.

In its assessment of the UK, Amnesty International attacked the planned repeal of the Human Rights Act as well as the Trade Union Bill, which it said would “significantly’ restrict trade unions’ rights.

It also referred to concerns about UK complicity in torture of detainees in counter-terrorism operations and the independence of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) raised by the UN Human Rights Committee, which has called on the British government to launch a judicial investigation into the allegations.

The group also cited the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and its worries that the statutory “prevent duty” is potentially discriminatory.

It mentioned numerous concerns with UK surveillance measures and planned measures including the Investigatory Powers Bill, stating: “NGOs raised concerns that the Bill did not contain adequate human rights protections and provided for practices that 386 Amnesty International Report 2015/16 threaten human rights.”