Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/united_k.txt

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TITLE:  UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
        HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE


DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

     UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND*


The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK)
is a constitutional monarchy with a democratic, parliamentary
government elected in periodic, multiparty elections.  Human
and civil rights are recognized by statute and by strongly-held
traditions, but there is no written constitution.  The legal
system treats human rights as assumed unless limited by statute.

Throughout the United Kingdom, civilian police forces are
responsive to, and controlled by, elected officials.  In
Northern Ireland, because of terrorist violence, army units
reinforce the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

The United Kingdom has a highly developed industrial economy.
The Government provides comprehensive social welfare services.

Terrorist bombings and killings by the illegal Provisional
Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA) and other "Republican"
(Catholic) and "Loyalist" (Protestant) terrorist groups in
Northern Ireland and Great Britain continued to constitute the
greatest violations of public order.  However, on August 31 the
Provisional IRA announced a "complete cessation of military
operations," and the main Loyalist groups announced a similar
cease-fire on October 13.  Notwithstanding this, the
Provisional IRA continued to engage in vigilante "punishment"
attacks on alleged "antisocial elements," and to exile
"informers" by force; and one of its local units carried out an
armed robbery in which a participant killed a postal worker.
The Government has reacted cautiously to the cease-fire.

"The troubles" in Northern Ireland during the past 25 years
alone have taken a heavy toll:  over 3,167 people killed,
including 296 police and 647 military personnel, and over
38,558 injured (1,955 in vigilante "punishment shootings)."
Over 9,983 explosions have caused extensive property damage as
well as deaths.  In Great Britain, more than 100 people have
died in Provisional IRA attacks during the 25 years.  In 1994,
as in 1993, no deaths related to the troubles were caused by
the security forces, despite persistent and sometimes lethal
(see Section 1.a.) attacks on them by terrorists.  Nonetheless,
allegations of past use of excessive force by the security
forces continued to be a matter of contention.


*A separate report on Hong Kong, a dependent territory of the
United Kingdom, follows this report.

In Northern Ireland, there has been widespread criticism of
laws and procedures governing detention that deny the right to
immediate counsel and that encroach on the right to silence.
Also much criticized have been the use of uncorroborated
confessions and the placement of teenagers in detention
facilities filled mainly with adults.  There continued to be
allegations that security forces physically and psychologically
abused detainees in holding centers.

Emergency antiterrorist measures enacted during the past 20
years restrict freedom of movement for 69 suspected terrorists
and supporters.  Also, primarily due to fear of terrorist
violence, many Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern
Ireland have become segregated, and workers are sometimes
reluctant to commute across sectarian borders.

Parliament passed a Criminal Justice Act in November that,
among other things, extends to Great Britain the encroachments
on the right to silence that have been in effect in Northern
Ireland since a 1988 law.  This legislation, which has drawn
much public criticism, enables courts to draw a negative
inference from a suspect's refusal to answer questions under
some circumstances.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political killings by the Government,
although a human rights group questioned the police shooting of
an armed robber.  In Northern Ireland, 59 persons were killed
by terrorists (37 by Loyalists, 22 by Republicans); 6 were
British security personnel, killed by the Provisional IRA.

The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), an
independent Northern Ireland organization, has continued to
claim there have been some 340 killings by the security forces
under disputed circumstances since the current phase of "the
troubles" began in 1968, with criminal prosecutions in only 32
cases, and 4 convictions by the end of 1994.

During 1994 the Belfast coroner abandoned three inquests into
1982 killings by security forces--of three Provisional IRA
terrorists, two members of the terrorist Irish National
Liberation Army (INLA), and one youth, under what critics
charged was a shoot-to-kill policy--after the Government
refused on national security grounds to release the findings of
police investigations.

In the case of three Provisional IRA terrorists killed in
Gibraltar by UK security forces in 1988, the European
Commission on Human Rights decided the Government did not use
unnecessary force, but referred the case to the higher-level
European Court of Human Rights, whose decision is still pending.

The trial of a police officer for killing 19-year-old Kevin
McGovern concluded with a verdict that the officer had not
intended to kill the student.

The court trying a soldier in the Royal Irish Regiment, Alan
O'Leary, for the 1992 killing of a teenager acquitted him of a
murder charge but found him guilty of manslaughter, and
sentenced him to 4 years in prison.

There were no significant developments in the case of the 1986
killing of Patrick Finucane, counsel to many Provisional IRA
suspects.  The case remains open.

The RUC investigates all killings committed in Northern Ireland
by its officers as well as by the Army.  The Independent
Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC), established by the
Government, supervises police investigations.  Authorized to
review all complaints, it automatically supervises cases
involving death or serious injury.  It accepts information
provided by a complainant and by any other sources, as well as
that discovered by the police.  The ICPC can advise (but cannot
require) the Chief Constable to take disciplinary action
against police officers.

The European Convention on Human Rights stipulates that lethal
force should be used only when "absolutely necessary," while
British law calls for it to be "reasonable under the
circumstances."  Human rights groups have criticized the
British standard as deficient, but British courts have ruled
that lethal force may be applied only if there is imminent and
unavoidable danger to life.  Courts generally assume that a
police officer who aims and fires a weapon intended to cause
serious bodily harm; the issue then is whether there was
justification for such intent.  If not, the only applicable
charge is murder, requiring a life sentence; the courts have
been unwilling to impose such a heavy penalty in borderline
cases.  The alternative charge of manslaughter is applicable in
death cases only if there is no intent to cause bodily harm;
there have been few convictions on this basis.

Human rights organizations have called for the establishment of
an independent public inquiry to investigate allegations of
police threats to defense lawyers in Northern Ireland and of
alleged collusion between the security forces and the
Loyalists.  Amnesty International in February released a report
on political killings in Northern Ireland which included no new
information but concluded the Government had not "taken adequate steps
to halt collusion."  The
Government admitted that, while its policy explicitly forbids
collusion, on occasion some soldiers break the rules.  The
authorities charged two British soldiers with passing
information on Republican activists to Loyalist paramilitaries;
the cases are pending.

For the third year in a row, Loyalists killed more people than
did the Provisional IRA, although the latter launched a greater
number of potentially lethal attacks.  Loyalists tended to be
indiscriminate in shooting suspected Republicans and other
Catholics, while the Provisional IRA tended to target security
forces, known Loyalists, and, in widespread bombings,
commercial or security installations.  The Provisional IRA also
abducted, tortured, and murdered a Catholic mother of three
whom it suspected of cooperating with the police.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearances attributed to
government forces.  Terrorists in Northern Ireland continued to
abduct suspected informers, and to hold families hostage during
their operations.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

British laws forbid torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment.  Confessions thus obtained are not
admissible in court, and judges can exclude even voluntary
confessions.  Nonetheless, Helsinki Watch asserted that in the
United Kingdom, "evidentiary rules in nonjury courts permit the
admission into evidence of unreliable confessions, some of
which may have been secured by abusive treatment in
detention."

There continued to be allegations that police have physically
and psychologically abused detainees, including teenagers.  A
new code of practices took effect on January 1, 1994, further
standardizing police interrogation procedures and strengthening
the oversight requirements.  Detainees who claim physical
mistreatment have the right to an immediate medical
examination.  Such a claim must be examined by a trial judge.

The "Ballymurphy Seven," a group of teenagers arrested in
connection with an attack on the RUC, alleged police used
physical and mental coercion to elicit their confessions.
Charges against four of the seven were dropped in July after
the court decided there were significant questions regarding
their state of mind during interrogation; but the court firmly
concluded there had been no police abuse.  The remaining three
were released on bail in October, and their cases are pending.

An appellate court found the prosecution had failed to prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that the police had not intimidated
Paul Hill into confessing to the 1974 murder of a former
soldier; the court overturned Hill's conviction.

The ICPC (see Section 1.a.) reported that in 1993 it received
1,209 complaints of official abuse, that its investigations led
to the substantiation of 25, the disciplining of 88 police
officers, and the lodging of criminal charges against 6 more.
In 1993 the Northern Ireland Secretary named an Independent
Assessor of Military Complaints to deal with procedures
regarding complaints of abuses by the Army; he has no
independent investigative powers.  His first report, in May
1994, noted that, of 210 formal complaints in 1993, 16 were
substantiated, but in only one case was a soldier severely
disciplined.

The U.N. Committee Against Torture as well as many human rights
groups have raised concerns about ill-treatment of detainees in
Northern Ireland, and recommended that interrogations in police
custody be videotaped.  The Government has resisted doing so,
on the grounds that taping could compromise operations and
jeopardize informants.  Instead, in December 1992 the
Government appointed a senior barrister as Independent
Commissioner for Holding Centers in Northern Ireland, with
authority to make irregular, unannounced visits to any holding
center, observe interrogations on television monitors, and
interview detainees.  His first report, in January 1994, found
some substandard conditions but no significant human rights
violations.  A Helsinki Watch report, issued later, noted
allegations by detainees under age 18 that they were subjected
to physical and mental abuse while in holding centers, and were
pressured to become informers.

There are accusations that security forces in Northern Ireland
frequently harass citizens, particularly young people, in areas
where support for terrorists is considered strong.  The
Government strongly denies that such behavior is widespread or
officially tolerated.  Security forces have also been accused
of more serious abuses.  The CAJ (see Section 1.a.) reported
that the claimed harassment included threats to kill, kidnap,
or maliciously prosecute.  Most complaints come from Republican
neighborhoods, but after police crackdowns on Loyalist
terrorism, reports of house searches and street harassment in
some Protestant areas increased.  Officials assert that
soldiers and police found guilty of harassment are punished
severely, but the officials have provided no data or details.

Both Loyalist and Republican terrorists in Northern Ireland
have frequently carried out "punishment" attacks, typically
involving shooting the victim through one or both knees at
short range.  In April the Provisional IRA carried out 16
punishment shootings during a 2-hour period in Belfast.  Since
the August 31 cessation, both sides seem to have shifted to
punishment by beatings with iron pipes and baseball bats.

Prison facilities in the UK vary depending upon location.
Remand facilities tend to be antiquated, overcrowded,
unsanitary, and/or deficient in exercise areas.  Most permanent
facilities are good, but an official investigator found some
with overcrowding, other substandard conditions, or lax
discipline.  Facilities in the regular prisons in Northern
Ireland have improved notably in recent years, and are now
excellent, but conditions at the three holding centers are
substandard.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

British authorities can and often do make arrests or detentions
without judicial warrants--especially in Northern Ireland,
under laws applicable only there (see below)--when they believe
they have reasonable cause to suspect wrongdoing.

Outside Northern Ireland, suspects arrested without warrants
must be released within 36 hours unless brought before a
magistrate's court.  The magistrate may authorize extension of
detention by an additional 60 hours, or, in cases of crimes of
violence, for periods of up to 3 years pending trial.  Persons
charged with "nonserious" offenses can request release on bail;
bail is almost automatically granted in cases not involving
violence (unless the suspect previously committed a crime while
on bail), but otherwise is often denied.

Under the latest Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act
(EPA), passed in 1991, members of the armed forces on duty in
that province can arrest without a warrant any person they have
reason to suspect of any offense or intent to commit any
offense.  Such suspects may be held for up to 4 hours, and then
must be transferred to police custody or released.

Anywhere in the UK, the most recent Prevention of Terrorism
(Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA), passed in 1989, allows the
police to arrest without a warrant persons they have reason to
suspect of being involved in terrorism.  The authorities may
detain such persons (even those under 18) for up to 48 hours
without legal representation or judicial review.  Suspects may
be interrogated during this time, and confessions obtained may
be used in subsequent court proceedings.  Detainees under the
1989 PTA in England or Wales are granted the right to have
lawyers present during interrogation, but this is not the case
in Northern Ireland.  Judicial review may be delayed up to a
further 5 days on the authority of the Home Secretary or, in
Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Less than 25 percent of the detainees under the PTA are
subsequently charged with any criminal offense.

The Government does not practice exile (see Section 2.d.
regarding exclusion orders), but the terrorist organizations
do.  Provisional IRA and Loyalist paramilitaries in past years
have forced numerous people to leave Northern Ireland, by
threatening death or injury if they remain.  An organization
that assists threatened persons, Families Against Intimidation
and Terror, dealt with 35 cases in 1993 (latest data),
including seven entire families.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The law provides for fair trial, but in practice there have
been some serious exceptions.  In the late 1980's, after 10
years of public pressure, the Home Secretary directed the
courts to reconsider several cases.  Appellate courts did so
and concluded that:  lower courts often relied too heavily on
uncorroborated confessions and on presumed integrity of the
police; appellate judges tended to accept lower-court rulings
without checking for procedural flaws and new evidence, and
occasionally displayed open hostility to the defense; courts
sometimes accepted tainted forensic evidence; and prosecutors
sometimes withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense.

In response, the Government in 1991 established a Royal
Commission to review all aspects of the criminal justice system
in England and Wales.  The Commission's report, issued in 1993,
included 352 recommendations.  In 1994 the Government announced
its intent to establish in the following year an independent
review body for appeals of suspected miscarriages of justice.

In November the Parliament enacted a Criminal Justice and
Public Order Bill.  Under it, judges may instruct juries that
they can draw an inference of guilt from a defendant's refusal
to answer questions during interrogation or trial, though no
conviction may be based solely on such an inference.  Human
rights groups have sharply criticized this provision.  A
similar one has been in effect in Northern Ireland since 1988.

An indigent defendant has the right to free counsel of his or
her choice.  All criminal proceedings must be held in public
except those in juvenile court or involving public decency or
security.  In a trial under the Official Secrets Act, the judge
may order the court closed, but the sentencing must be public.
Convictions can be appealed to successively higher courts.

In Northern Ireland, special "emergency" restrictions affect
due process.  Under the 1973 EPA, the Government suspended the
right to trial by jury there for certain terrorist-related
offenses, because terrorists often intimidated the judiciary,
jurors, and lawyers.  Such offenses are tried instead by a
"Diplock Court," a judge presiding without a jury.  If the
decision is to convict, the judge must justify it in a document
that becomes part of the court record, and an  appellate court
may overturn it on substantive as well as legal grounds.  The
Diplock Courts have been widely criticized.  The EPA also
permits the use of uncorroborated confessions, but they cannot
be the sole basis for conviction anywhere in the UK.  The 1988
Criminal Evidence Order allows judges to draw adverse inference
when a suspect refuses to answer questions.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

Warrants are normally required for a police search of private
premises.  However, under the EPA, on-duty members of the armed
forces or policemen in Northern Ireland may enter any premises
if they believe they have "reasonable grounds of suspicion"
that the entry is necessary to preserve peace and order.

In Catholic communities in Northern Ireland, where distrust of
the Government has deep historical roots, many believe that the
conduct of some members of the security forces in carrying out
security checks constitutes unwarranted harassment and
intimidation.  Such allegations also occur in Protestant
neighborhoods, albeit less frequently.  The Government
intensively trains security personnel in proper procedures, but
acknowledges that violations of the rules occasionally occur.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

Strongly held common-law tradition, an independent press, and a
democratic political system combine to secure freedom of speech
and press.  Viewpoints critical of the Government are well
represented.  The print media are dominated by a handful of
national daily newspapers, all privately owned and independent
(though often generally aligned with a political party).  About
half the electronic media are run by the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC), which is funded by the Government but enjoys
complete editorial independence.  The remainder are run by
corporations under renewable government license.

In September the Government removed Sinn Fein from its list of
proscribed terrorist organizations and their supporters, whose
voices may not be broadcast in the electronic media.  The
broadcasting ban remains in place.

Human rights organizations continued to criticize the Official
Secrets Act of 1990, which prohibits disclosure of a broad
range of foreign policy and national security information.
They assert that, in the absence of freedom-of-information
legislation, the Act shields government activities from public
scrutiny, including improper or illegal activities if any.
Alleged offenses under the Act may be tried in secret, and the
Government need not disclose its justification for holding a
secret trial.  However, the Act is seldom invoked and has not
prevented the disclosure of numerous internal government
documents and alleged wrongdoings.  Attempts by the Government
in the 1980's to prosecute officials who leaked documents
generally failed.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Public Order Act of 1986 gives police broad powers to
restrict or ban public demonstrations, marches, and gatherings
when they deem that violence or vandalism is likely to result.
The police rarely ban demonstrations; in recent years they have
invoked the Act primarily to prevent "New Age travelers" from
gathering on private property or at ancient monuments such as
Stonehenge.

The PTA and EPA include sections prohibiting membership in, or
support of, specified organizations involved in terrorism.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

Government policy and practice ensure freedom of religion.  In
Northern Ireland, the Constitution Act of 1973 prohibits public
authorities from discriminating on the basis of religious or
political belief (see Section 5 regarding the Fair Employment
Act).  Ministers of the two official churches--the (Anglican)
Church of England and the (Presbyterian) Church of
Scotland--are ineligible to sit in the House of Commons, but
the most senior ones hold seats in the House of Lords.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

Citizens enjoy freedom of movement within the country and in
foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation.  However, the
Home Secretary may exclude from Great Britain anyone believed
linked with terrorism in Northern Ireland, except anyone born
in Great Britain or resident there for 3 years; and the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland can likewise exclude
persons not native to or resident in that province.  Currently
69 persons are subject to exclusion orders.  Several Members of
Parliament, human rights groups, and the media have objected to
exclusion orders.  The Secretary of State need not reveal the
grounds for exclusion, and the evidence is not tested in any
court.  There is no right of appeal to the courts, but appeal
may be made informally to an independent advisor.

The Government makes generous provision for political refugees,
but faced with an exponential rise in asylum applications in
recent years, it passed legislation in 1993 to speed processing
of unsubstantiated requests.  Human rights groups have claimed
the legislation undermines Britain's commitment to provide
haven for legitimate refugees.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

Citizens have this right, and freely exercise it.  The
Government is formed on the basis of a majority of seats in the
House of Commons, which are contested in elections held at
intervals not longer than 5 years.  Participation in the
political process is open to all persons and parties.  All
citizens 18 years of age and older may vote.  Northern Ireland
has city and district councils, as in the rest of the UK, but
with somewhat fewer powers.  England and Wales also have county
councils, while Northern Ireland does not.  (Scotland's
structure is different still.)  From 1922 to 1972, Northern
Ireland had a devolved provincial Parliament at Stormont, which
was suspended because its domination by the unionist majority
was seen as contributing to the troubles.  Attempts have been
made since then to restore devolved government.

Women and minorities face no legal constraints on voting or
holding office.  The Head of State is a woman.  The Head of
Government from 1979 to 1990 was a woman.  Two women are
members of the present Cabinet.  Both the Labour Party and the
Liberal Democrat Party have instituted a policy of reserving a
substantial number of candidacies for women, with the goal of
equalizing the number of their male and female members of
Parliament (M.P.'s).  Several members of minority ethnic groups
serve in Parliament.  British dependent territories--other than
Hong Kong--have small populations, under 60,000, and all are
ruled by appointed governors or administrators assisted by
executive councils (usually appointed) and legislative
assemblies or councils (partly elected).