EHRC submission to CAT on list of issues on the UK 5th periodic report EHRC Submission to the UN Committee Against Torture: list of issues on the UK's 5th periodic report August 2012 1 EHRC submission to CAT on list of issues on the UK 5th periodic report Contents List of abbreviations ................................................................................................... 5 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 6 Scope of this report ................................................................................................ 6 Structure of the report ............................................................................................ 7 Sources .................................................................................................................. 7 Section 1: UK involvement in conflict overseas .................................................... 9 Extent of the jurisdiction ............................................................................................. 9 Applicability of UNCAT outside the UK .................................................................. 9 Allegations of torture and ill-treatment of civilians and detainees in Iraq .................... 9 Allegations of ill-treatment by UK forces in Afghanistan ........................................... 12 Allegations of complicity in torture abroad ................................................................ 12 Section 2: Counter-terrorism ................................................................................ 16 Counter-terrorism measures .................................................................................... 16 Control orders ...................................................................................................... 16 Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures ............................................... 17 Pre-charge detention ............................................................................................ 19 Closed material proceedings .................................................................................... 20 Reliability of evidence derived from secret intelligence sources .......................... 20 Justice and Security Bill – proposed extension of the use of closed material ..... 21 Compliance with Article 15 ................................................................................... 23 Oversight of the security and intelligence services ................................................... 23 Section 3: Immigration ........................................................................................... 24 Refoulement ............................................................................................................. 24 Memoranda of understanding .............................................................................. 24 Return to a risk of torture ..................................................................................... 26 Immigration detention ............................................................................................... 28 Detention of victims of torture .............................................................................. 28 Care of detainees with mental health conditions .................................................. 32 Care of detainees with physical health problems ................................................. 35 Detention of children ............................................................................................ 35 Destitution ................................................................................................................ 38 Failed asylum seekers ......................................................................................... 38 People who are unable to make an asylum claim ................................................ 39 Use of force in immigration detention / removals ..................................................... 39 2 EHRC submission to CAT on list of issues on the UK 5th periodic report Section 4: Police and Prisons .............................................................................. 42 Policing ..................................................................................................................... 42 Policing protests ................................................................................................... 42 Meaning of ‗reasonable force‘ .............................................................................. 43 Police use of electroshock weapons (Tasers) .......................................................... 44 Prison conditions ...................................................................................................... 45 Overcrowding ....................................................................................................... 45 Women prisoners ................................................................................................. 46 Older prisoners .................................................................................................... 47 Prisoners with mental health conditions ............................................................... 48 Accessibility and services for disabled prisoners ................................................. 51 Transgender prisoners ......................................................................................... 52 Restraint ................................................................................................................... 52 Restraint techniques ............................................................................................ 52 Recording and reporting on deaths in custody due to the use of restraint ........... 54 Investigations of deaths in custody and deaths by lethal force (Article 12) .............. 55 Prosecutions following deaths in custody ............................................................. 57 Promptness of investigations ............................................................................... 58 Section 5: Children ................................................................................................. 60 Children in custody ................................................................................................... 60 Restraint of children and young people in custody .............................................. 60 Authorised restraint techniques ............................................................................ 63 Extent of the use of restraint ................................................................................ 64 Investigations of incidents of alleged mistreatment .............................................. 65 Investigations into deaths of children in secure children‘s homes ........................ 67 Age of criminal responsibility .................................................................................... 68 Corporal punishment ................................................................................................ 70 Reasonable punishment ...................................................................................... 70 Corporal punishment in schools ........................................................................... 71 Mosquitos ................................................................................................................. 72 Section 6: Health and Social Care ........................................................................ 74 Ill-treatment amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in health and social care settings (Article 16) ........................................................................................... 74 Private health and social care provision ............................................................... 75 Better inspection of care settings ......................................................................... 77 Deaths in mental health settings .............................................................................. 78 Investigations ....................................................................................................... 78 Section 7: Protection from abuse ......................................................................... 79 3 EHRC submission to CAT on list of issues on the UK 5th periodic report Failure to protect ...................................................................................................... 79 Ill-treatment of children, disabled people, and women at risk of domestic violence ............................................................................................................................. 80 Local authority mechanisms to investigate and learn from serious cases of ill- treatment .............................................................................................................. 84 Police investigations in cases of rape and domestic violence .............................. 86 Hate crime against disabled people ..................................................................... 88 Female Genital Mutilation .................................................................................... 90 Section 8: Legislative framework ......................................................................... 92 The threat of repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 ................................................. 92 Legislative change needed to fully