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UN says Prevent extremism policy is 'inherently flawed'
The report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the UK, first published in May, was highly critical of Prevent, UK counter-terror legislation, the impact of lobbying laws on charities, and trade union laws.
The author of the report, Kenyan human rights specialist Maina Kiai, said unclear Prevent guidelines gave decision makers "excessive discretion", which rendered the application of the policy "unpredictable and potentially arbitrary".
This, he said, risked "dividing, stigmatizing and alienating segments of the population".
Legislation covering political lobbying also came in for criticism for having a chilling effect on charities.
Commonly known as the Lobbying Act, the laws were described as having a disproportionate effect upon civil society and trade unions compared to business interests.
This was, the report said, because the actions of in-house lobbyists, who generally work for these business interests, were not restricted by part one of the Act.
The report also criticises the implementation of counter-terrorism policies.
It said that the Investigatory Powers Act, which increased government powers to intercept private communications, "contained procedures without adequate oversight, coupled with overly broad definitions, which might result in unduly interfering with the right to privacy, the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to freedom of association."
It criticised the planned Counter Extremism and Safeguarding Bill, which would allow clamp downs on non-violent extremist groups, as unnecessary, saying it could leave people "fearful of exercising their rights" and could end up proving counterproductive.
Balloting restrictions on public service trade unions to force higher turnout before industrial action could be taken, introduced under the Trade Union Act, were labelled as "profoundly undemocratic".
When's the referendum on leaving the UN?