About the Programme_
One of INTERIGHTS’ main areas of focus is the legal issues surrounding Security and the Rule of Law. Since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington there has been a worrying trend to view human rights as an obstacle to security, particularly security from terrorism. The threat of terrorism is used as a justification for the disregard of international human rights law; abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay are only the best known examples of a larger, and sadly, ever greater dilution of human rights standards.
Attempts to reinterpret and curtail fundamental rights, such as freedom from torture and the right to liberty, and to legalise abuses undermine the rule of law, and render necessary a coherent and urgent response. INTERIGHTS’ Security and Rule of Law Programme, together with its regional programmes on Africa, Europe, South Asia and the Commonwealth, attempts to counteract this increasing threat to human rights.
Announcements_
Landmark ruling by UK House of Lords on extra-territorial applicability of human rights lawOn 13 June, the UK House of Lords ruled that under the European Convention, the British government is obliged to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the death of a civilian killed while in UK custody in Iraq.
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European Court to consider complaint concerning death of former Chechen leader, Aslan MaskhadovINTERIGHTS, the legal representatives for the family of the former Chechen leader, Aslan Maskhadov, provided written details to the European Court of Human Rights of their complaint against Russia regarding the circumstances surrounding his death.
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Litigation_
On 7 November 2007 INTERIGHTS and the International Commission of Jurists filed a third party intervention to the European Court of Human Rights in a case concerning the 'extraordinary rendition' of six Algerians from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Guantanamo Bay.
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Capacity Building and Standard Setting_
On 11 October 2007 INTERIGHTS' Legal Director gave a lecture at the London School of Economics exploring some of the key human rights challenges posed by the ‘War on Terror’ and the experience of resorting to the courts to address them.
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The Security and Rule of Law Programme hosted a meeting on 16 and 17 March 2007 which focused on particular practices which have come into sharp focus in the context of counter-terrorism and human rights, such as extra-legal rendition, disappearances and secret detention.
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