Baha Mousa Annual Memorial Lecture 2010

“The International Struggle Against Torture"

Keynote speech by Professor Manfred Nowak, The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. Chaired by Professor Nigel Rodley (UN Special Rapporteur on Torture 1993-2001).

Organised by Public Interest Lawyers in cooperation with the Law Society and Solicitors International Human Rights Group (SIHRG).

7pm on Tuesday 16 November 2010 at the Law Society, 110-113 Chancery Lane, WC2A.

Professor Nowak’s keynote address will include an overview of the five and a half years he has spent as U.N. Special Rapporteur. During that time he has issued 17 country reports, jointly authored a report on the global web of secret prisons and recently hit the headlines when he was detained and refused entry to Zimbabwe. Chairing the event and facilitating discussion will be Professor Nigel Rodley who was Special Rapporteur for eight years between 1993 and 2001. He is a member of the UN Human Rights Committee, a founding head of the legal office at the International Secretariat at Amnesty International and currently chair of the esteemed Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex. Professor Nowak’s discussion of his work will be followed by a question and answer session.

RSVP to tessa.gregory@publicinterestlawyers.co.uk

CPD Points Available

7:00pm Introduction by Professor Nigel Rodley

7:10pm Keynote Address from Professor Manfred Nowak “ The International Struggle Against Torture”
8:10pm Remarks from Phil Shiner, solicitor to the family of Baha Mousa

8:25pm Question and Answers

8:45pm Drinks Reception

Who was Baha Mousa?

Baha Mousa was an Iraqi civilian who died after 36 hours in British custody in Iraq. Baha Mousa was hooded, along with nine other Iraqi civilians, and deprived of sleep and food. A post mortem examination found that he had suffered at least 96 injuries before death. In a landmark ruling in the case of Al Skeini the House of Lords held that there was jurisdiction for the purposes of Article 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights at the place of UK detention and that the Secretary of State for Defence was therefore liable for breaches of the Human Rights Act in refusing to hold a public inquiry into his death. The Government announced the Baha Mousa Inquiry in May 2008 which is due to finish this Autumn and report back later in the year or early 2011. http://www.bahamousainquiry.org/

This lecture series is being held in the memory of Baha Mousa so that his and others’ suffering is not forgotten. The inaugural Baha Mousa lecture in 2009 was given by Professor William Schabas.