UK's deportation deals for terror suspects under fire

Amnesty International labelled the practice of returning people deemed a threat to national security to certain countries that promised humane treatment as a "failed experiment".

Such promises were "unreliable" and "unenforceable", according to the organisation.

In "Dangerous Deals: Europe's reliance on 'diplomatic assurances' against torture", Amnesty called on the European Union to end the practice.

The report highlights examples of the use of diplomatic assurances by European governments and claims: "The UK government has been the most influential and aggressive promoter in Europe of the use of diplomatic assurances to forcibly return people it considers threats to national security to countries where they would face a real risk of serious human rights violations, including torture or other ill-treatment."

Amnesty criticised the Foreign Office for negotiating "memorandums of understanding" (MoU) with countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Libya and Ethiopia.

The report comes as the Special Immigration Appeals Commission is set to consider the case this week of an Ethiopian threatened with deportation based on an MoU promising the man will not be tortured on return.

Amnesty said it had "serious concerns" based on Ethiopia's "exceedingly poor human rights record".

The report stated: "As the research and opinion in this report demonstrates, governments are using diplomatic assurances in their own self-interest to rid themselves of foreigners alleged to be involved in acts of terrorism, instead of prosecuting those persons for any crimes of which they are accused.

"But under international law, the ban on torture and other ill-treatment, including sending a person to a place where he or she is at risk of such abuse, is absolute: the status of the person or crimes he or she might be suspected of committing is simply irrelevant and cannot be taken into consideration in assessing the risk.

"Amnesty International calls on the member states of the European Union and the Council of Europe to reject unequivocally the failed experiment of accepting unreliable, unenforceable promises of humane treatment from governments that torture and to recommit to comply with their absolute obligation not to send persons, no matter what their alleged crime or status, to places where they are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment."

Amnesty International's expert on counter-terrorism and human rights in Europe, Julia Hall, said: "The best way to prevent torture is to refuse to send people to places where they risk being harmed.

"European governments must recommit to the fundamentals of human rights protection."

Pressure urged in war crimes probe

Israel and Hamas have failed to conduct credible investigations of alleged war crimes during last year's Gaza war, Human Rights Watch said in a review of those efforts.

The New York-based group urged the international community to pressure both sides to launch independent investigations before a July deadline set by the United Nations.

UN investigators headed by former war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone wrote in a report last year that they found evidence that both sides committed war crimes.