United Kingdom

The Human Rights Act and the European Court of Human Rights and domestic Human Rights Act face ongoing political and media attack. The government failed to honor its promise to convene an independent judge-led inquiry into UK complicity in overseas rendition and torture, giving the task instead to a parliamentary committee lacking the necessary independence and transparency. Legislation that enables the government to conduct phone and internet surveillance on a mass scale continues to be in force, despite inadequate safeguards and oversight. A new law aimed at tackling “modern slavery” failed to restore the right of migrant domestic workers to change employer while in the UK, leaving them at risk of abuse.