Last modified on Wed 7 Apr 2021 01.03 EDT
Amnesty International has published a stark rebuke of the UK government’s stance on human rights, saying that it is “speeding towards the cliff edge” in its policies on housing and immigration, and criticising its seeming determination to end the legal right for the public to challenge government decisions in court.
In its annual report on human rights around the world, Amnesty International says the UK’s increasingly hostile attitude towards upholding and preserving human rights legislation raises “serious concerns”.
The report also highlights Britain’s poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic, recent assaults on the right to protest, police discrimination against black and Asian communities, and the resumed arms trade with Saudi Arabia.
Scotland editor
BRITAIN’S high Covid-19 death rate, the scandal of care home deaths and the ongoing assault on the public’s right to protest have been singled out in a new report on the inequalities exposed throughout the pandemic.
A report published today by Amnesty International singled out the British government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, highlighting the country’s “shameful” record.
The charity’s 2020 annual report outlines Britain’s poor response to the global pandemic, including the violation of both the right to health and the right to life of care home residents.
Amnesty highlighted failures to provide adequate PPE and regular testing in clinical and care settings, as well as the discharge of infected patients from hospitals to care homes.
Amnesty warns of transphobic fear-mongering in UK human rights report pinknews.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pinknews.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Amnesty’s 408-page report –
Amnesty’s report shows how those already most marginalised – including women and refugees – have borne the devastating brunt of the pandemic. Health workers, migrant workers and those in the informal sector – many on the pandemic’s frontlines – have also been betrayed by neglected health systems and inadequate economic and social support.
The pandemic worsened the already precarious situation for refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, said Amnesty, trapping many in squalid camps.
Amnesty’s report also highlights a marked increase in gender-based and domestic violence, with many women and LGBTI people facing increased barriers to protection and support due to restrictions on freedom of movement and lack of confidential mechanisms for victims to report violence while isolated with their abusers.
Follow RT on The UK likes to lecture other countries on how to behave, but it doesn’t fare well in the Amnesty International annual report on human rights, with its growing disregard for individual freedoms causing serious concern.
There is a sense of relief upon reaching Page 378 of the Amnesty International Annual Report for 2020/21, as you read the organisation s findings about the United Kingdom’s record on human rights. That relief soon vanishes.
Before that point, you would have encountered the evil the usual global basket cases have demonstrated over the past year. Those classic human rights infringements are there by the bucketload: the extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detention and torture, egregious displays of discrimination against women, children, ethnic minorities, and lesbian, gay and transexual populations, denial of food, water, sanitation, education, and freedom of expression.