Joint Submission for the United Kingdom’s Universal Periodic Review in 2017

Joint Submission for the United Kingdom’s Universal Periodic Review in 2017 submitted by a coalition of the following international human rights, fair trial and jurist organisations:

• Center for Constitutional Rights
• Eva Joly Institute
• National Lawyers Guild
• International Association of Democratic Lawyers 
• Liberty Victoria 
• Courage Foundation Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)
• Derechos Humanos en Accioìn
• Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
• Australian Lawyers Alliance
• Swedish Professors & Doctors for Human Rights (SWEDHR) 
• Digital Rights Watch
• Sydney Peace Prize Foundation

This joint submission highlights issues about respect for and implementation of United Nations’ Human Rights Council special mechanisms, domestic human rights protection, ratification of individual complaint mechanisms under international treaties to which the United Kingdom (UK) is a party, as well as specific human rights concerns regarding the right to liberty, due process, equal treatment, freedom from arbitrary deprivation of liberty and inhuman and degrading treatment, fair trial, privacy and family life, and health.

We call upon the UK to commit to the following recommendations:

1. Respect and take all necessary measures to ensure the implementation of UN special mechanism findings and recommendations;
2. Continuing existing domestic law protections for human rights in the UK, including the Human Rights Act and European Convention on Human Rights;
3. Ending all cases of arbitrary deprivation of liberty in the UK, including under state detention and other forms of deprivation of liberty, as recognised by the UN;
4. Ensuring all persons who are deprived of their liberty are afforded the basic protections under UN Minimum Standard on the Treatment of Detainees and against inhuman and degrading treatment;
5. Ratifying international treaties which provide individuals the right to petition UN committees to ensure better human rights protection for all individuals in the UK.