Clive Baldwin
@cliveabaldwin
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Senior Legal Advisor, Human Rights Watch. Audere est facere
London
Joined November 2008
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Pinned Tweet
There is a lot of discussion at the moment about international humanitarian law - the laws of war. Here I set out the key legal principles, including explaining what are war crimes, and how the law applies in Israel and Gaza now.
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@legsidelizzy
@allisonpearson
Scrapping that rule would mean tearing up the UN treaty against torture, which Thatcher’s govt helped draft and put into English law.
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The forced displacement of the entire Chagossian people from their homeland by the UK & US, and the UK's continued blocking of their return and racial persecution are crimes against humanity.
#Chagos
#RightToGoHome
New
@hrw
report & video on colonial crimes and reparations
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20 years after the US and UK invasion of Iraq, there is still no accountability for many war crimes committed by UK forces against Iraqis. The ICC Prosecutor's office found evidence of rape, killing and torture by UK forces of hundreds of detainees.
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The Geneva Conventions, which have put a limit on suffering in war, are 70 years old today. Their protection is needed more than ever.
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On this day in 1948 the world agreed that "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for [their] health and well-being ... including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services." It was possible then, it can be done today.
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May should tell Trump that anyone who tortures, orders or assists torture will be prosecuted in the UK.
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Why are apartheid and persecution the forgotten crimes against humanity; what are their legal definitions; and how can they be prosecuted?
My piece in
@opiniojuris
.
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A sad day for international justice. Despite finding extensive evidence that UK forces committed war crimes in Iraq, including wilful killing/murder and serious abuse of detainees, the
@IntlCrimCourt
prosecutor closes her examination of the UK. More detailed comment to follow.
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This week, the UK government has proposed a new law that would make it difficult to prosecute members of its armed forces for torture & other crimes committed overseas. It probably hopes this won’t get much attention. It should. My Dispatch for
@hrw
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1. UK forces committed numerous war crimes in Iraq 2. UK has one domestic prosecution for war crimes since 2001. 3. UK govt interferes in justice, shut down criminal inquiry. And yet ICC Prosecutor drops the case. Why?
My piece in
@opiniojuris
.
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Have war crimes been committed by Israel and Hamas? The answer is yes - including collective punishment, and deliberate killings of civilians and hostage-taking.
@ChrisMcGreal
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It’s not just a health issue, but part of the global move to stop the use of children as soldiers. The UK is the only European country to still recruit children.
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Israeli govt says the only purpose of
@hrw
is to ‘besmirch’ Israel. Our purpose is to expose human rights abuses.
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I was at an extraordinary UK court ruling today where as a result the UK government has suspended arms exports to Saudi Arabia.
@hrw
had intervened in the case.
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Am now back from court and digesting the extraordinary ruling by the Court of Appeal in the
@CAATuk
case challenging the UK govt’s licensing of arms exports to Saudi Arabia. A short thread on the key points. The full ruling is here.
#StopArmingSaudi
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@legsidelizzy
@allisonpearson
The English court that (temporarily) stopped the deportation of Abu Qatada due to the risk of torture evidence being used did not.
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"Take me back to my Chagos". A very short video on the displaced people of
#Chagos
and their
#RightToGoHome
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On
#IndigenousPeoplesDay
in the Americas, remember the Indigenous peoples across the globe, such as the Endorois people in Kenya. They won a landmark court case 10 years ago, but still do not have legal title to their homeland in beautiful Lake Bogoria.
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A report published today finds Australian special forces unlawfully killed Afghans. Prosecutions need to follow. But in the UK, the govt’s
#OverseasOperationsBill
would make it almost impossible to prosecute UK forces for many crimes committed overseas.
That Australian special forces unlawfully killed 39 people in Afghanistan is shocking news for Australians & Afghans. The Brereton report must be followed by prompt, independent criminal investigations leading to prosecutions. New from
@hrw
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As Charles III visits Kenya, he is called on to apologise & offer repair for the colonial crimes committed in Kenya in his family’s name. He should also apologise and offer repair for the crimes still being committed against the Chagossian people.
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Victory! The UK govt finally says it will be excluding war crimes from its Bill that will create a presumption against prosecution of some crimes. Extraordinary work by many to get the govt to back down. But also extraordinary that they tried to block prosecutions of war crimes.
BREAKING: ANOTHER U-TURN!
Wow. Thanks to public pressure, the government have just announced they're also excluding war crimes from the
#OverseasOperationsBill
.
Together, we've guaranteed the removal of:
✅Torture
✅Genocide
✅Crimes against humanity
✅ War crimes
1.
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The
@IntlCrimCourt
Prosecutor today announced she was closing her examination of UK war crimes in Iraq. But the most important paragraph is this, where her office concludes there is clear evidence that UK forces committed numerous war crimes in Iraq. /1
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Freedom of movement is about human connection. Growing up in rural Lincolnshire, UK being able to work, live and study in other countries changed my life. This freedom can still be saved after Brexit, so others can benefit as I did. My piece in
@huffpost
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The
@IntlCrimCourt
ruling today confirms it has jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, since 2015. Individuals suspected of these crimes can be prosecuted at the court.
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The BBC and Sunday Times exposed evidence of a cover-up of UK war crimes.
@hrw
& other human rights groups have asked
@BorisJohnson
@jeremycorbyn
@joswinson
@NicolaSturgeon
to ensure all those responsible for war crimes & cover-up are held to account.
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A shameful anniversary for the UK and the US - 50 years ago this week they forced the last Chagossians from their home islands in the Indian Ocean. An ongoing, colonial, crime against humanity. The UK and US owe full reparations to the Chagossian people.
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Anyone credibly implicated in committing, aiding or covering up war crimes should be in a court room facing justice. Not being shielded from the law by the UK government and military. My response to the
@BBCPanorama
allegations of UK war-crimes cover-up.
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The
@IntlCrimCourt
prosecutor makes clear that UK forces committed multiple war crimes in Iraq. The UK has prosecuted precisely one soldier for war crimes in nearly 20 years. And yet the prosecutor lets the UK govt off the hook. Double standards?
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What the UN can and should do about the crimes against humanity of persecution and apartheid, by
@hrw
's UN director
@loucharbon
in
@FPIF
Here's my take in
@FPIF
on what lies behind the current bloodshed in
#Gaza
-- crimes against humanity of persecution &
#apartheid
that
#Israel
's authorities are committing against millions of Palestinians -- and what the UN can & should do about it.
@hrw
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In the Caribbean, British colonial laws cemented deep racial and economic inequality that persists in the region today. Amid new calls for the UK to reckon with crimes of the British Empire, Caribbean people need justice for slavery and colonization
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Boris Johnson’s govt is proposing a new law that would make it almost impossible to prosecute British soldiers for war crimes committed overseas. Here, I show how this is the latest step in a long British history of protecting such criminals.
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President-elect Lula in Brazil will take office in January with a huge in-tray on repairing human rights harms. Protecting Indigenous rights is vital, not just in Brazil, but the world.
President-elect Lula should prioritize human rights after 4 years of very serious setbacks under President Bolsonaro in the environment, women's, LGBT and Indigenous rights.
He should restore the defense of democratic principles and the rule of law.
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Charles III could, at his coronation, help undo a colonial crime - by apologising for the forced displacement of the Chagossian people from their homeland by the UK and US. An ongoing crime in which the UK monarchy was involved. My piece for
@ipsnews
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Boris Johnson’s government says it will suspend the UK parliament & suggested it may ignore laws it doesn’t like. Bad for human rights & the rule of law as the government hurtles towards a no-deal Brexit without scrutiny. By
@HRW
’s
@Benjamin_P_Ward
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So much evidence has come out about UK involvement in torture in Libya & other countries. But the inquiry into this was shut down and the Crown Prosecution Service decided to prosecute precisely no one.
@Kartik__Raj
& I have set out what needs to be done.
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UK Supreme Court rules Boris Johnson’s government suspension of parliament was unlawful. “No justification’ given and effect on fundamentals of democracy was extreme.
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.
@thetimes
on
@hrw
's report on Israeli authorities committing crimes of apartheid & persecution, quotes
@philippesands
"It is a wake-up call by a serious & authoritative organisation — balanced & rigorous, with principled factual & legal conclusions..."
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UK at UN: «The United Kingdom strongly supports justice & accountability, & an end to impunity for the most serious crimes» But the UK govt is pushing a bill through parliament which would create effective impunity for many war crimes for UK soldiers.
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The UK still prevents the Chagossians from returning to their homeland, a crime against humanity. Meanwhile, as
@LalehKhalili
writes in
@LRB
, "The most frequent non-military visitors to the Chagos islands are affluent yacht owners."
Also see
@hrw
report
‘Despite the fond wish of military planners for another terra nullius on which to build a base, hundreds of people lived on Peros Banhos and Diego Garcia. To achieve their goals the inhabitants were expelled.’
@LalehKhalili
on the Chagos Islands:
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Deeply disappointing judgment.
@hrw
comment to follow.
UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia can continue, high court rules
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UK government announces it is going to start trying to issue new licences for arms sales to Saudi Arabia, claiming any Saudi violations of the laws of war in Yemen are ‘isolated’. It is abandoning its appeal against last year’s court ruling.
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Today
@Mx_Emilie
& I conclude the
@ejiltalk
symposium on legal issues raised by
@hrw
's report A Threshold Crossed, which found Israeli officials are committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution. Thanks to
@ejiltalk
for this. [1]
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UK judge has just ruled that Iraqis suffered inhuman & degrading treatment + unlawful detention by UK forces. Ministry of Defence ordered to pay compensation. Case brought by
@LeighDay_Law
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5 key rights violations in 50 yrs of occupation: unlawful killings/war crimes; settlements; displacement; Gaza closure/movement restrictions
Palestine:
5 decades of Israeli occupation,
5 core human rights violations
#50YearsofViolations
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More than 1 million people in the UK regularly struggle to afford food, new report says.
No one should go hungry because of govt policy. Time to properly protect everyone’s
#RighttoFood
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The UK has a long history of politicians preventing investigations and prosecutions for crimes committed overseas, including in the British Empire. The blocking of prosecutions for war crimes in Iraq is just the latest.
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Rouhani said in electing him Iranians would choose a lawyer who defends peoples’ rights. Time for him to act.
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After Brexit, the UK govt can scrap workers' rights that were protected by EU law. Covid may be giving it the opportunity to do so by stealth.
@pollytoynbee
.
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I’ve spent a lot of time in courtrooms - but 15 minutes in a London court yesterday will remain long in the memory. My short account of why it matters for UK arms, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
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The UK govt supports ending child marriage -except in the UK. A new bill in Parliament would change that -will the government support it?
@heatherbarr1
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A senior UK military commander in 2011 feared British troops had a policy of unlawful killings of Afghans . I write for
@hrw
on repeated UK failures to prosecute British war criminals & a new government bill that would make it almost impossible to do so.
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#Peterloo2019
200 years ago today in Manchester, England, peaceful protesters demanding the vote were massacred. The UK government followed up with its Six Acts, a blueprint for political repression. The Act tried to ban meetings & free speech and make it easy to lock people up.
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Re-circulating my assessment -published Friday evening in
@opiniojuris
- of the
@IntlCrimCourt
Prosecutor’s finding that the UK govt has been genuinely willing to prosecute war crimes. Given all the evidence, this decision is beyond belief.
1. UK forces committed numerous war crimes in Iraq 2. UK has one domestic prosecution for war crimes since 2001. 3. UK govt interferes in justice, shut down criminal inquiry. And yet ICC Prosecutor drops the case. Why?
My piece in
@opiniojuris
.
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Wonderful to be back in Sarajevo on the 10th anniversary of a case I helped litigate at the European human rights court. The case ruled that the Bosnian constitution’s exclusion of Jews and Roma the highest political offices was unlawful discrimination.
@hrw
@MinorityRights
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“You don’t have rights here any more”. Poles leaving UK due to abuse. Govt needs to act decisively on hate crimes.
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HRW's
@balkeesjarrah
on
@BorisJohnson
's extraordinary assault on the independence of the
@IntlCrimCourt
. He attacks its investigation into war crimes in Palestine & seems to be pressurising a judge and the new prosecutor to serve his govt's agenda.
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“dangerous, harmful and a stain on Britain’s reputation.”
@guardian
rightly condemns the UK govt’s proposed new law that would make it nearly impossible to prosecute torture and other war crimes committed by UK armed forces overseas.
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Nepal has a pretty good constitution on human rights. Its government should respect it and protect the independence of its human rights commission.
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"This crime should be acknowledged for the colonial crime it is, and the UK and US governments need to do everything in their power to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again."
@nthonygale
interviews me about
@hrw
's new report on
#Chagos
.
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Freedom of speech means political discussion can be robust, direct, even offensive. It doesn’t mean UK government ministers can incite violence against individuals - and calling their opponents ‘traitors’ risks that.
@Benjamin_P_Ward
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Ending UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia is a political as well as a legal struggle. The decision on how to comply with the court ruling is now with Liam Fox. Will he try to avoid considering Saudi Arabia’s terrible record in Yemen?
@beltrew
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Even UK ministers involved in removing
#ShamimaBegum
‘s citizenship say it’s important to follow international law. But that means more than avoiding statelessness. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says no one should be ‘arbitrarily’ deprived of their nationality. (1/6)
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" In one word? Hope." The International Criminal Court is 20 years old this year. Law students in Nottingham, UK tell
@hrw
why it is important to them.
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The construction of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, built on ‘Happiness Island’, was a very unhappy story for migrant workers
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Whilst Saudi Arabia commits war crimes in Yemen, Boris Johnson & rest of UK govt sell more arms to them.
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Fallon should stop harassing human rights lawyers who sue govt, after
@LeighDay_Law
cleared of all charges. My take
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New
@hrw
research on why the UK's
#Windrush
compensation scheme is unfit for purpose. The generation from former UK colonies who have experienced racial injustices need effective remedies now.
See the great thread by
@AlmazTeffera
, and the new research and video in the links.
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.
@abcnews
can find the legal definition of the crime against humanity of apartheid in the Rome Statute of the
@IntlCrimCourt
and the Apartheid Convention (an international treaty).
@hrw
has explained this here & here
I have a copy of the
@abcnews
internal memo the
@australian
was referring to. It's very concerning the ABC does not accurately explain apartheid as a legal term. While reporters not banned from attributing it to others, I believe this has led to self-censorship & misunderstanding
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Egypt says it speaks for Africa, opposing UN action on violence based on sexual orientation. South Africa disagrees.
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On Int'l Day on Elimination of Violence Against Women, will UK ratify Istanbul Convention as PM promised in 2014?
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Egypt: Morsy’s Isolation Violates Rights | Human Rights Watch
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.
@Kartik__Raj
speaking on
#right2food
at
#Lab19
.
@hrw
report on how cuts to welfare massively affect families and children, meaning food poverty, & risk of families going hungry has increased due to govt decision-making. This is a human rights violation.
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@hrw
's 18 minute video illustrates the abuses Chagossians have suffered and their ongoing campaign for their right to return to their homeland.
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A final thread on the recognition of the work of
@Hrw
and other NGOs in today’s court ruling on
#StopArmingSaudi
. A key point is that
@hrw
,
@amnesty
, other NGOs and the UN have been researching and documenting violations of IHL in Yemen for years. /1
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King Charles III of the UK received a standing ovation at the German parliament today. But neither the UK nor the German government deserve applause for their denial of reparations to those harmed by their colonial abuses. 🧵
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50 years ago the UK forced the Chagos Islanders to leave their homes so the US could build a military base. It has ever since fought tooth & nail to stop them returning. Now Chagossians living in the UK are labelled ‘intentionally homeless’.
@chagosUK
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The UK Supreme Court has ruled Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament unlawful. As parliament reopens on Wednesday, it needs to urgently stop a rights-violating no-deal Brexit. My summary:
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Today the Court of Appeal will hear the case challenging UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Is there a clear risk they could be used in serious violations of the law of war?
@hrw
@amnesty
&
@rightswatchuk
have intervened.
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