UN official challenges terror expulsions

The Guardian
Aug. 27, 2005

A senior UN representative on Wednesday threatened to cite the British government for violation of human rights over its planned deportations of alleged terrorist sympathizers.

Manfred Novak, the UN human rights commission's special investigator on torture, said he is seeking permission through the UK Foreign Office to visit Britain to discuss the issue with Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

In a statement on Tuesday night, Novak said that the government's intention to return radical preachers to their countries of origin, even though some of those countries have a track record of rights abuses, "reflects a tendency in Europe to circumvent the international obligation not to deport anybody if there is a serious risk that he or she might be subjected to torture."

Clarke has rejected the UN's criticism. But Novak refused to accept the rebuke.

"The UN is strongly concerned about terrorism and counter-terrorism. But there are certain standards that have to observed in the context of counter-terrorism," he said on Wednesday. "We in the Western democratic countries, in the fight against terrorism, should not step over these limits by violating international law."

Novak said he could cite Britain when he reports to the UN general assembly in October but he hoped the issue could be sorted out before then.

His main objection is to London's policy of seeking memorandums of understanding from countries to which people would be deported that they would not be tortured. He said such memorandums were not an appropriate tool to eradicate the risk of torture.