CAT/C/GBR/CO/6
5.
The Committee commends the State party’s initiatives to amend its policies and
procedures in order to afford greater human rights protection and to apply the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, in
particular:
(a)
The adoption in 2014 of the Modern Slavery Strategy;
(b)
The launch in 2014 of the Rape Action Plan; the updating in 2016 of the
Ending Violence against Women and Girls Strategy and the publication, also in 2016, of a
new national statement of expectations for local action on violence against women and girls;
and the publication in 2016 of the Stopping Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse in
Northern Ireland Strategy;
(c)
The implementation of Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights
2013–2017;
(d)
The launch in 2016 and updating in 2018 of the Hate Crime Action Plan, for
England and Wales; the adoption in 2017 by the government of Scotland of a plan of action
to tackle hate crime and prejudice; the publication in 2014 by the government of Wales of a
framework for action on hate crime and related incidents; the enactment in 2015 by the
States of Jersey Police of a hate crime policy; and the establishment by the Parliament of
the United Kingdom of all-party parliamentary groups on combating anti-Semitism and
Islamophobia;
(e)
The establishment in 2015 of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual
Abuse to consider the growing evidence of institutional failures to protect children from
sexual abuse and to make recommendations to ensure the best possible protection for
children in the future;
(f)
The introduction in 2013 of a procedure for the identification and
determination of statelessness.
6.
The Committee appreciates that the State party maintains a standing invitation to the
special procedure mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, which has allowed
independent experts to carry out visits to the country during the reporting period.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Pending follow-up issues from the previous reporting cycle
7.
In its previous concluding observations (CAT/C/GBR/CO/5, para. 38), the
Committee requested the State party to provide follow-up information on the steps it had
taken to implement the Committee’s recommendations relating to inquiries into allegations
of torture overseas (para. 15), the transfer of detainees to Afghanistan (para. 19),
deportations to Sri Lanka (para. 20), the prompt release and return to the United Kingdom
of Shaker Aamer (para. 21) and transitional justice in Northern Ireland (para. 23). The
Committee appreciates the information provided by the State party in response to that
request, received on 30 May 2014 under the follow-up procedure
(CAT/C/GBR/CO/5/Add.1). In light of the information provided, the Committee finds that
the recommendations in paragraphs 15, 19, 20 and 23 have not been implemented.
Incorporation of the Convention into the domestic legal order
8.
While taking note of the fact that the United Kingdom has a dualist legal system and
that a combination of policies and legislation has been put in place to give effect to the
Convention, the Committee is concerned that, 30 years after ratifying the Convention, the
State party has not yet incorporated it into the domestic legal order. It also notes the replies
provided by the State party according to which British courts can and do refer to
international conventions if there is ambiguity in domestic law but regrets that no
information was provided concerning cases in which this has occurred with respect to the
Convention (art. 2).
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