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making up 14% of the population in the
counties reviewed), and that 40% of young
people in custody were from ethnic minority
backgrounds.
In August, the UN Committee on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities severely criticized
the UK for failing to ensure the rights of
people with disabilities with respect to,
among other things, education, employment,
and an adequate standard of living and social
protection.
RIGHT TO LIFE
During the night of 13-14 June, at least 71
people died and dozens were injured in a fire
at the Grenfell Tower social housing block in
London. In September, a public inquiry into
the cause of the fire, the emergency services’
and authorities’ responses, the building’s
construction and modifications, as well as the
adequacy of the regulatory framework began.
The fire raised questions concerning the
authorities’ and private actors’ compliance
with their human rights obligations and
responsibilities including protection of the
right to life and guaranteeing an adequate
standard of living, including the right to
adequate housing.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
The government continued to extend
immigration-related controls across public
and private life, collecting children’s
nationality and country of birth data from
schools and widening nationality and
immigration checks on access to free health
care.
In July, the government ended its so-called
“Dubs Amendment” scheme under which
480 unaccompanied refugee children who
were already in Europe were to be resettled in
the UK. No children were resettled in 2017,
despite 280 local authority places available
for them. A legal challenge to the
government’s limited implementation of the
scheme, brought by the NGO Help Refugees,
was unsuccessful before the High Court and
an appeal was lodged.
In September, the government introduced a
Data Protection Bill that included a provision
to exclude basic safeguards on taking,
holding and using personal data for the
purpose of “effective immigration control”.
In October, the High Court ruled that the
Home Office’s “Adults at Risk” policy on the
detention of victims of torture was unlawful.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In June, the Prime Minister announced plans
for adopting a new Domestic Violence and
Abuse Bill and appointing a Domestic
Violence and Abuse Commissioner. The
government was yet to ratify the Council of
Europe Convention on Violence against
Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul
Convention), which it signed in 2012.
Concerns remained about the impact of
austerity-led cuts on funding for specialist
services for women who had experienced
domestic violence or abuse.
ARMS TRADE
The UK continued to supply arms to Saudi
Arabia despite ongoing serious violations of
international humanitarian law by the Saudi
Arabia-led coalition in Yemen.
UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA
United States of America
Head of state and government: Donald Trump
(replaced Barack Obama in January)
Executive orders to suspend travel to the
USA from several Muslim-majority countries
sparked legal challenges, which continued
through the year. There were major attacks
on the rights of women and girls. Eighteen
detainees were transferred from the US
naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; 41
detainees remained at the base and pre-
trial military commission proceedings
continued. Gun violence remained high.
Death sentences were handed down and
executions were carried out.
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BACKGROUND
On 20 January, Donald Trump was sworn in
as President, following an election campaign
in which he made comments and promised
policies that were discriminatory or otherwise
contradicted international human rights
principles.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
A number of executive orders affecting
migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees were
signed by President Trump during the year.
Two orders dated 25 January called for a wall
to be built along the USA-Mexico border,
allowed for refoulement (forcible return) and
the increased detention of asylum-seekers
and their families, increased the functions
and number of immigration and customs
enforcement agents, prioritized deportation of
migrants, especially those suspected of
crimes, and cancelled funding for “sanctuary
cities” that did not co-operate with federal
authorities in apprehending irregular
migrants.
A third executive order signed on 27
January banned entry of foreign nationals
from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria
and Yemen for 90 days, suspended the US
Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for
120 days, reduced the number of refugees
eligible for entry during the 2017 fiscal year
from 110,000 to 50,000, and imposed an
indefinite ban on the resettlement of refugees
from Syria. The order immediately led to
chaos, protests and legal challenges on the
basis of discrimination towards Muslims. A
week later a federal judge issued a
nationwide temporary injunction, which was
upheld on appeal. The government issued a
revised version of the order on 6 March,
again suspending USRAP for 120 days,
repeating the limit of 50,000 refugees, and
imposing a 90-day ban on entry into the USA
of nationals of six countries (the original
seven minus Iraq). Federal judges in the
states of Maryland and Hawaii issued
nationwide injunctions temporarily blocking
its implementation. On 26 June, the Supreme
Court allowed a limited version of the order to
take effect. The Court also ruled that the ban
could be applied to refugees being supported
by resettlement agencies.
A second revision of the order, signed on 24
September, indefinitely banned immigration
into the USA by nationals of seven countries:
Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia,
Syria and Yemen. It also banned the issuance
of certain types of non-immigrant visas to
nationals of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea,
Syria and Yemen, and specifically barred
visas for Venezuelan officials from certain
government agencies and their families. On
17 October, federal judges in Hawaii and
Maryland again ruled against the measure,
blocking the government from enforcing it on
nationals from six of the countries. On 13
November, a federal appeals court panel
allowed the third ban to take effect for people
with no legitimate ties to the USA.
On 24 October, President Trump issued an
executive order to resume USRAP “with
enhanced vetting procedures”. On 4
December the Supreme Court granted the
administration’s request to temporarily allow
the latest so-called “Muslim ban” to take full
effect as the case continued to be litigated.
On 16 August, the federal Department of
Homeland Security terminated the Central
American Minors programme. The
programme had allowed those under 21
years of age fleeing violence in El Salvador,
Guatemala and Honduras, whose parents
had regular status in the USA, to apply for
refugee resettlement interviews before
travelling to the USA. Children from those
three countries who did not qualify for
refugee status and had no other means of
reuniting with their parents had also been
able to apply for entry under the programme.
On 5 September, the government
announced that it would end the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
programme in six months if Congress did not
find a legislative solution regarding the
immigration status of those protected by the
programme, placing more than 800,000
individuals at risk of deportation. DACA’s aim
was to protect from deportation migrant youth
who came to the USA as children and met
certain eligibility criteria. Congress introduced