Request
for the investigation of systematic abuses of human rights in
Submission
to the United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner
Councillor John A. M. Hemming,
House of Commons
SW1 0AA
Tel: 00 44 7219 4345
Email: hemmingj@parliament.uk
Introduction
- This
document is submitted to the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the
United Nations with a request for a formal investigation into the
operation of Public Family Law within the
- It
is the view of the author that there is a widespread abuse of human rights
in the
- The pressure on local authorities (that are responsible for prosecuting child protection cases) to increase the number of children adopted caused a system that was badly creaking to go into overdrive. The statistical evidence on an age basis is clear that the additional children that are adopted are not those that were targeted, but instead a different group that was not previously taken into state parentage (care).
- A
very wide number of human rights have been abused for many tens of
thousands of people through this process and as a consequence the author
is requesting that the UN Human Rights Committee investigate the
The different areas of responsibility
- The
UN will not be familiar with the different departments and arms of the
state that deal with the issues of Public Family Law in the
The Department for Education and Skills
- A
National Department of the
Childrens’ Services in Local Authorities
- There are a number of levels of local administration with elected officials. In each area of the country there will be one level responsible for Education and Childrens’ Services. In urban areas these will be what are known as Unitary Authorities. In more rural areas they may be County Councils. These are responsible for the handling of individual cases where the state is intervening in family life. In this document the Local Authority or Council may be referred to meaning the Childrens’ Services department of the Local Authority.
Family Division of the Courts
- The Courts in the UK have a number of levels starting with the Magistrates Courts, through the County Courts, to the High Court and then to the Court of Appeal. The final equivalent to a Supreme Court is the House of Lords. In each of these levels can be found a family division. The lowest level is the Family Proceedings Court, then the County Court, then High Court etc.
CSCI and Ofsted
- The Commission for Social Care Inspection inspected Social Services and these responsibilities are moving towards Ofsted.
CAFCASS
- The Children and Families Courts Advisory and Support Services is another arm of the state that is theoretically meant to represent the interests of the child in hearings in court, but frequently operates to represent the interests of the state.
Recent Structural Change
- Prior to a change introduced in April 2006 the Department of Health was responsible for these issues and the department in local authorities responsible was called Social Services or Social Care. There will, therefore, be some documents that refer to “Social Services” which now should be considered as “Childrens’ Services”.
Targets and Statistical Changes
- In 2000 the government introduced Public Sector Agreement Targets for Local Authorities. Those rewarded Local Authorities by giving them extra central government funds if they managed to achieve certain targets. One key target has been to increase the number of children adopted from care. (Care is when the state has taken responsibility for a child and is acting as its parents). There had been some pressure on increasing adoption of children prior to this point, but at this point very heavy pressure came from government to increase adoptions.
- The logic was laudable in that the theory was that otherwise children would only have the state as their parents and the evidence is that the outcomes for children with the state as their parents are very bad.
- The statistical evidence (which follows) however demonstrates that the children that have been adopted have on the basis of an age cohort analysis not been those children that would have remained in care, but instead a new group.
- Arguably there are two potential causes for this. Either
a) Children are taken into care because they satisfy market demand for adoption, or
b) There is some other factor as yet unidentified that is causing the massive growth in young babies being taken into care.
- Potentially additional adoptions can also occur where children would historically have returned to their birth parents.
Forced Adoption
- The process of forced adoption is whereby the state forcibly removes a child from its parents and threatens them with imprisonment if they try to contact that child. Those children are then allocated to other parents who are considered by the state to be acceptable parents.
- A process of voluntary adoption has always been accepted. The difficulties arising in the UK arise from the increased amount of forced adoption and the changes to the law (such as the 2004 Adoption and Children Act) that make forced adoption easier.
Adoption Statistics
- The following tables are from DfES figures and look firstly at the children adopted in a given year from the basis of the age at which the state took responsibility for the child from the family and then secondly at a pattern of children in care.
20. What
the first table demonstrates is that the increased numbers of children adopted
are essentially very young children.
The second table demonstrates that there has not been a similar growth
in the number of older children taken into state parentage.
Individual Cases
21. The
author is also aware of a large number of individual cases. In essence the state has been tending towards
imprisoning mothers in hospital until their babies are removed from them to
feed the adoption machine.
Privacy and Secrecy
22. One
of the reasons why this has been allowed continue over many years is the actions
of the state in terms of threatening people who talk about individual cases
with imprisonment. The author himself
was threatened with imprisonment by a local authority (Enfield
Investigation Request
23. As
this is a request for an investigation the author is of the view that the
statistical evidence is sufficient to warrant an investigation of the system of
Public Family Law within the UK
Contravention of Articles of the UN Charter
24. The
following Articles of the UN Charter on Human Rights are systematically
contravened by the United
Kingdom
Article 4.
“No one shall be held in
slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all
their forms.”
25. The operation of UK Family
Law treats certain mothers as slaves whereby they are imprisoned in hospital
whilst the state takes legal action to remove their child and over a period of
time transfer that child to other parents.
In essence this is a form of slave trade where children are treated as
commodities.
Article 5.
“No one shall be subjected
to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
26. The Statistical Evidence
above demonstrates that very young children are being removed from their
mothers. This causes emotional and
physical trauma to both the mother and the child as it causes difficulties
where mothers cannot breast feed their children. There is a case recently where a mother of
Ugandan origin is being imprisoned prior to deportation, but her two children
including a very young baby have been removed from her for the adoption
machine. She is likely to be deported at
some stage soon, but without her children.
Article 8.
“Everyone
has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for
acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by
law.”
27. The operation of the secrecy in the family courts has prevented the prosecution of authorities for perjury in the family courts.
Article 10.
“Everyone
is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and
impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of
any criminal charge against him.”
Article 11.
(1)
Everyone
charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved
guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the
guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2)
No one shall
be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did
not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the
time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one
that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
28. The action of removing children from their parents is clearly a penal sanction. However, this happens in secret. This, therefore, clearly contravenes Article 10 and Article 11.
29. The family courts are particularly flawed in terms of human rights.
30. Normally when a family finds itself in the family courts it is the family’s first experience of a judicial process. The family, therefore, does not understand how the procedures operate and relies upon their legal advisors.
31. Many of the legal advisors work both for families and also for the other parties (the local authorities and CAFCASS) they therefore have a conflict of interest. This results in them not acting properly on behalf of their clients.
32. The orders and judgments given in the family courts are generally given orally. Because it is necessary to get a copy of the judgment to appeal against a decision in the family courts this gives the parties some difficulty in enforcing their rights. The short timescales which are permitted for appeals (21 days) mean that by the time that appellants know what they need to do it is too late to appeal. Judges frequently refuse to provide copies of the judgments. Furthermore the orders are written to the advantage of the local authority.
33. The judgments are covered by the secrecy regulations and without the permission of the court cannot be discussed publicly.
34. There is an inbuilt bias in the system toward state intervention in families. The evidence is that the state intervention is damaging to the children as well as the parents.
35. There is no financial support for grandparents, uncles, aunts and other members of the extended family in terms of getting legal advice.
36. Frequently medical evidence is used which requires that the parents prove their innocence rather than the state having to prove their guilt. The medical evidence is often based upon unproven theories. There is also no equality of arms in terms of expert evidence and parents are often refused the chance to get their own experts.
37. The courts are in a rush to handle the large number of cases and frequently rush to judgment without having sufficient time to consider properly the arguments.
Article 12.
“No one
shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the
right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”
38. Frequently the actions of the state result in “arbitrary interference with … family”
Article 16.
“(1) Men
and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or
religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to
equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
“(2)
Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the
intending spouses.
“(3) The family
is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to
protection by society and the State.
- These
articles are perhaps most heavily contravened by the actions of Public
Family Law in the
John A. M. Hemming, MA (Oxon), FRSA, MP
House of Commons
SW1 0AA
24th May 2007