On 12th March 2025, Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew's Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers gave evidence to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, chaired by Lord David Alton of Liverpool.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights consists of twelve members, appointed from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, to examine matters relating to human rights within the United Kingdom, as well as scrutinising every Government Bill for its compatibility with human rights.
Ben gave evidence highlighting the growing threat posed by authoritarian regimes exploiting INTERPOL mechanisms to target dissidents, journalists, human rights defenders, and businesspeople abroad.
The select committee launched an inquiry in January into Transnational Repression, which aims to examine how foreign governments use repressive tactics to silence critics beyond their borders. Both barristers gave evidence to the committee on how the misuse of INTERPOL Red Notices has devastating consequences, including wrongful arrests, asset freezes, and compromised asylum applications. Ben called for stronger UK leadership to safeguard human rights and prevent international policing tools from becoming instruments of repression.
The session can be viewed here.
The Committee will continue gathering evidence before issuing recommendations.
Ben Keith specialises in international human rights law and INTERPOL cases. He has represented clients at the UN and the African Commission on Human and People's Rights. In 2021, he co-authored Undue Influence: The UAE and INTERPOL, a landmark report exposing political interference in INTERPOL's leadership elections. His work has been featured in CBS 60 Minutes and Sky News' Dirty Work podcast series.
