Britain has come under fire in a UN report that raises concerns over counterterrorism laws, legislation that limits free speech and the use of the Indian Ocean territory of Diego Garcia in the extraordinary rendition of terror suspects.
The UN Human Rights Committee report also singled out Britain’s Official Secrets Act — legislation enacted during the Cold War to safeguard national security information — as a means of silencing whistle-blowers and keeping information out of the public domain. The act was used last year to convict a British civil servant of leaking a classified memo about a meeting between US President George W. Bush and former British prime minister Tony Blair over Iraq.
Since the suicide bombings that killed 52 rush-hour commuters in 2005, Britain has pushed through a raft of counterterrorism measures. The human rights committee issues its reports every three years after countries offer their own assessments.
“The UK has a proud record in human rights,” the British Home Office said in a statement. “We see the country reviews ... as a process based on collaboration and co-operation, and above all, a commitment to improving human rights on the ground.”
Britain has been in the spotlight over measures that rights groups say go beyond what is needed to protect against terrorism. Already one of the leading countries in surveillance, it also has some of the most impenetrable secrecy laws.
“The committee remains concerned that powers under the Official Secrets Act 1989 have been exercised to frustrate former employees of the crown from bringing into the public domain issues of genuine public interest, and can be exercised to prevent the media from publishing such matters,” the UN report said.
The committee also urged a full probe into alleged rights abuses at Diego Garcia, the British territory leased by the US military, where at least two terror suspects were taken on extraordinary rendition flights.
There have been allegations that suspects were also interrogated there.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
RSS