Politics
The House Article | The UK cannot champion the torture ban while dismantling it
4 min read
Most of us abhor torture – we know it is one of the most terrible crimes. And at Freedom from Torture, we see the long-lasting damage it causes to the people who arrive at our therapy rooms daily to try and rebuild their lives.
But even though it is absolutely prohibited, torture still happens every day – in conflicts, in prisons, behind closed doors – often with no accountability or justice for survivors.
Yet in the UK, public support for the torture ban is strong and growing – even at a time when world leaders are openly endorsing torture and human rights protections are under sustained attack.
That makes it even more troubling that, this week UK officials are at the table in Strasbourg negotiating with European partners on language that could limit protections against torture, inhuman and degrading treatment under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
At the same time it was revealed that the UK is using universal jurisdiction powers, which allow for prosecution of international crimes wherever they are perpetrated, to bring charges against a man in the UK accused of committing torture and crimes against humanity in Syria.
Before its collapse in 2024, torture was a hallmark of Bashir Al- Assad’s regime. Freedom from Torture has been supporting Syrian survivors for years. Their experiences of the cruellest physical and psychological punishment meted out by Assad’s enforcers to crush dissent is beyond comprehension.
It’s vital that people understand that torture continues to cast a long and painful shadow, even many years on. And that accountability matters. The UK’s decision to prosecute a man for crimes committed under Assad – following similar prosecutions in Germany – demonstrates that international law has real teeth.
One man might seem like a drop in the ocean, but it sends a powerful message: there is no safe haven for those who commit international crimes. History is littered with torturers who’ve tried to evade accountability by fleeing the scene of their crimes. Universal jurisdiction means they have nowhere to hide.
For survivors of torture, justice and accountability is integral to the healing process. But these protections are increasingly under assault across the globe. Over recent years, human rights have come under attack in the UK – duplicitously reframed by those in pursuit of unchecked power as a threat to security rather than the bedrock of a just and peaceful society.
Article 3 is absolute. It guarantees that no one – no matter who we are or where we come from – can be subjected to torture or other ill treatment. There are no exceptions, no circumstances in which this right can be suspended. At its heart is the recognition of inalienable human dignity, the foundation of human rights law.
That is why it is so alarming that the UK Government appears to be a willing player in efforts at the Council of Europe to place limits on the scope of “inhumane and degrading” for certain groups. It risks undermining this principle and in so doing contributing to the erosion of the absolute ban on torture.
Even seemingly small steps to narrow Article 3 protections could trigger a domino effect – emboldening authoritarian states to follow suit and “legitimise” their own abuses. This would be a betrayal of torture survivors everywhere.
And survivors know better than most that when rights are lost, they are almost impossible to win back. Every safeguard we dismantle today will be a gift to those who seek to abuse power tomorrow.
Britain was a trailblazer in the evolution of the torture ban, stretching back centuries and helped shape the very human rights treaties now under threat. The UK has always been at its strongest when it has displayed moral leadership – showing that even in times of hardship, we do not abandon our principles.
It has never been more important that our political leaders defend and champion the torture ban that the UK played such a proud role in creating. This week the UK sent a signal that torturers may run, but they cannot hide from the law. Now, it must reinforce this by resisting any regressive steps in Strasbourg that could lead to the erosion of vital protections against torture. The world is watching.
Sonia Sceats is Chief Executive of Freedom From Torture
