Inquiry into alleged UK involvement in the mistreatment of detainees held abroad

Published on Refworld, Thursday 23rd September 2010

Following the announcement by Prime Minister David Cameron on 6 July of an inquiry into allegations of UK involvement in the mistreatment of detainees held abroad, the AIRE Centre, Amnesty International, British Irish Rights Watch, Cageprisoners, Justice, Liberty, Redress, Reprieve, and the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, write to offer a number of constructive comments to ensure the success of the inquiry.

A sufficiently empowered and transparent inquiry could discharge the United Kingdom's duty to effectively investigate damaging allegations of knowledge and/or involvement by state actors or agents in the torture, ill-treatment or rendition of individuals that have arisen in the last decade. Such an inquiry could also play an important role in clarifying how involvement in torture, ill¬treatment or rendition might be prevented in the future.

It is incumbent on governments to promptly and effectively investigate all allegations of torture and other related human rights abuses. In order to comply with basic human rights standards, it is essential that the inquiry be:

(1)   Prompt - The earliest events that this inquiry must consider occurred at least a decade ago. Delay has increased the damage caused by allegations of involvement in torture and ill¬treatment and has already reduced the potential for the inquiry to uncover the truth.

(2)   Independent - The persons responsible for and carrying out the inquiry must be fully independent of any institution, agency or person who may be the subject of, or are otherwise involved in, the inquiry. Where allegations of involvement in torture and ill-treatment have been made, an independent response is particularly important in order to preserve confidence in the administration of justice.

(3)  Thorough - The inquiry must be sufficiently empowered, staffed, and resourced to be thorough, wide-ranging and rigorous. It must be able to pronounce on state responsibility for knowledge and involvement in the serious human rights violations that have been alleged and to identify any individuals responsible for such abuses, including establishing the responsibility of superior officers for crimes committed by subordinates under their effective control. The inquiry must be capable of determining whether any conduct was unlawful and thus must be empowered to: secure all relevant evidence and testimony; interview victims and their families; question any eye witnesses; take statements of any officials alleged to have been involved in violations; secure appropriate medical reports; and consider any evidence which implicates any public officials or agents of the state.

(4)  Subject to public scrutiny, with the participation of victims - The inquiry must be open to adequate public scrutiny. Survivors or victims must be involved in the process to ensure their right to effective investigation and redress, and special measures must be adopted to ensure this participation is supportive, safe and effective; non-governmental organizations have an important role to play in this regard. The participation of survivors, victims and civil society ensures the adherence of the inquiry to the rule of law, prevents any appearance of collusion in or tolerance of illegal acts, and helps safeguard victims' rights to an effective remedy and reparations.

It is fundamental to the legality, credibility and utility of the inquiry that it complies with the United Kingdom 's international human rights obligations, including standards arising from the Convention against Torture, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the common law.

Terms of reference
The terms of reference of the inquiry must permit the consideration of the full range of alleged abuses. To that end, we propose the following terms:

"The inquiry shall be empowered to inquire into knowledge of and involvement in the unlawful rendition of individuals, and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees held abroad, by any UK state actors and agents, including corporate bodies, in the lead up to the 11 September 2001 attacks in the USA and subsequent to them. The inquiry shall examine both policy and practice, and make recommendations. "

The development of satisfactory terms of reference - in consultation with the survivors and victims of abuses, their representatives, and interested non-governmental organizations - is essential to ensure that the inquiry provides effective redress for all victims of the alleged abusive practices, identifies the policies that gave rise to them, and suggests appropriate reforms.

Download the full recommendations here . . . .