Amnesty International has called for the government’s Prevent programme to be abolished, saying there is no way for the programme to comply with human rights obligations.
In a recent report, This is the Thought Police, Amnesty have lambasted Prevent’s approach and impact. Across the 90-page document they address discrimination caused by the policy, a lack of clarity about what constitutes ‘radicalisation’ and extremism’, and concludes that the policy has a ‘chilling effect’ on human rights in the UK.
The organisation’s Chief Executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said: ‘Prevent has a chilling effect cross many human rights, including freedom of expression, assembly and the right to equality and non-discrimination. There is no transparency and individuals are having to pursue costly multi-year battles for information about their own referrals.’
The report also raised shocking examples of people being flagged to Prevent simply for airing non-violent political opinions, including one individual whose employer referred them for their left-leaning social media postings. They have also criticised the inefficiency of the scheme. Nearly 87% of Prevents referrals did not meet the criteria for intervention.
According to Amnesty’s report, ‘people were often not told why they had been referred to Prevent, or what the outcome of their referral was.’ They said such ‘secrecy’ and ‘lack of clarity’ is difficult to justify in what is supposed to be a voluntary programme where a crime has not yet even been committed.
Their Chief Executive also criticised a ‘dragnet approach’ which inevitably ‘sweeps up innocent people and can destroy their lives and futures.’
Emphasising its use in other countries, The Home Office has claimed that ‘Prevent is a vital safety net against the threats posed by terrorists.’ According to the Home Office, ‘encouraging disengagement from the initiative jeopardises its capacity to reach at-risk persons, and is both irresponsible and harmful.’
A government spokesperson noted that the government fears that eliminating Prevent would significantly jeopardise the fight against terrorism.
