Amnesty International warns Starmer is complicit in generational human rights crisis

Human rights organisation Amnesty International has warned that the UK is complicit in a generational human rights crisis. The NGO’s new report, published on 21 April, said the UK had “failed to register” spiralling global trends. And singled out Keir Starmer for, among other things, his pathetic decision to help the US attack Iran.

Surveillance, wars, crushing peaceful protest, hostility to migrants, social and economic policies and much more – the UK has covered itself in shame amid a global assault on basic human rights. The report, titled ‘The State of the World’s Human Rights: Amnesty International Annual Report,‘ is available to read in full here.

The document covers human right issues across the world. But the UK is a standout failure, despite claiming to be a bastion of liberal and democratic values.

Amnesty led with a series of bullets listing where the UK was failing. Our regular readers will recognise these as areas the Canary has covered energetically for years:

• Used counterterrorism powers to restrict peaceful protest
• Overseen the mass arrest of peaceful protesters, with courts ruling aspects unlawful
• Intensified hostile policies towards migrants and people seeking asylum
• Increased surveillance and policing powers
• Continued arms transfers to Israel despite clear risks of use in serious violations of international law
• Cut international aid amid escalating global humanitarian need
• Defended the use of national security vetoes in legacy Troubles cases, undermining truth, accountability and justice for victims and families
• Pursued economic and social policies that risk pushing more people into poverty, weakening protections for economic and social rights

Rest assured, we will continue to do so.

Amnesty International — generational crisis for human rights

Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive Kerry Moscogiuri had some stern words to say:

Human rights are facing the most dangerous moment in generations. We are at a tipping point.

This is the moment the UK’s moral mettle is being tested. In these desperate times we need strong leadership to defend human rights and international law, but right now we are falling short.

Moscogiuri slammed Starmer for his decision to:

criminalise peaceful protesters while ignoring the injustice they are speaking out against. Keir Starmer knows what is happening on his watch. He knows the peaceful protesters being treated as criminals are expressing their horror at the killing of children in Gaza.

Adding:

He knows powerful states are tearing up international law in pursuit of power and profit, and that the UK has not challenged this with the clarity and consistency required. And he knows a world in crisis will force more people to flee, requiring international protection, not performative hostility or attempts to shirk our responsibilities.

Powerful stuff.

Moscogiuri also blasted the ex-barrister PM over arms sales and allowing UK bases to be used for war – clearly a reference to the US use of British bases to bomb Iran:

You cannot claim to defend the rule of law while undermining it in practice, whether through arms sales, or allowing UK bases to be used in conflicts where international law is being violated. That is not moral leadership, it is complicity.

War displacement and fascism

The Amnesty chief said these matters needed to be addressed now to fend off a rising far-right, protect marginalised and vulnerable people and resolve wars:

The hour has come. This is exactly the moment human rights were created for when populism is rising, when people are struggling to afford the essentials, when asylum seekers and migrants are scapegoated, when war and displacement are everywhere, and when some lives are treated as worth less than others.

Moscogiuri then called on Starmer to meet the challenges of our times:

We can be better than this. The question now is whether the Prime Minister will rise to meet the challenge of our lifetime, or be remembered for standing by when it mattered most.

We don’t expect Starmer will pay much attention. His commitments to, for example, US hegemony and Israeli genocide have been made very clear. But the spirit of Amnesty’s criticism is correct. These are not normal times. And one way or another, we need to organise ourselves to confront the crises we face today.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

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