Report calls for change in law to protect British nationals abroad from torture

Beyond Discretion: The protection of British nationals abroad from torture and ill-treatment looks at the experiences of several British nationals that sought the UK government’s’ protection while detained abroad.

Report publishers REDRESS said the matter has received increasing attention in the wake of the detention of British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran since 2016.

Under international law, States have a right to provide consular protection to their detained nationals, in order to ensure that basic needs are met and fundamental rights are respected. Where rights have been violated, States can exercise diplomatic protection to uphold and protect their nationals’ rights.

However, in the UK, consular assistance and diplomatic protection are not enshrined in law but are regulated instead as a matter of policy and thus are actions that are taken at the discretion of the UK government.

The report concludes that the unclear legal framework means that the approach can be inconsistent and lacking transparency.

It calls for the introduction of a right to consular assistance as part of law and an obligation on the UK government to exercise diplomatic protection when requested by UK nationals, including dual nationals, suffering or facing a risk of serious rights violations while abroad.

Josie Fathers, advocacy officer at REDRESS and report co-author, said: “It can be highly problematic to have the UK government exercise such wide discretion regarding consular protection, especially when this may be the only link between the detainee and the outside world and their only protection against abuse from their captors.

“The current position of the UK government regarding its own citizens stands in stark contrast with its public position on human rights cases regarding nationals from other countries.

“The often difficult experiences of victims and their families described in the report demand a review of the current approach.”