Thomas Probert
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Thomas Probert
@thomasprobert.com
640 followers 950 following 62 posts
Researcher on human rights and development. Formerly @UNHumanRights. Writes slowly on the politics of human rights. Posts slower.

London • Cambridge • Pretoria • Geneva
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Thomas Probert
theguardian.com
International law meant to limit effects of war at breaking point, study finds
International law meant to limit effects of war at breaking point, study finds
Report covering 23 conflicts over last 18 months concludes more than 100,000 civilians have been killed as war crimes rage out of control An authoritative survey of 23 armed conflicts over the last 18 months has concluded that international law seeking to limit the effects of war is at breaking point, with more than 100,000 civilians killed, while torture and rape are committed with near impunity. The extensive study by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights describes the deaths of 18,592 children in Gaza, growing civilian casualties in Ukraine and an “epidemic” of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
February 2, 2026 at 5:07 AM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
reposting both for underlying insight and for solid use of "zugzwang"
louisevans.bsky.social Louis @louisevans.bsky.social · 4d
one of the key motions of protest is that it places the adversary in zugzwang: either they abide the protest, and look weak, or attack the protest, and look cruel
February 1, 2026 at 9:46 AM
thomasprobert.com
The second phase of the SA Human Rights Commission's inquiry into Operation Vala Umgodi is due to get underway next week, including hearing evidence from the police
Stilfontein disaster exposed a systemic failure to gather and act on information
Last year’s tragic events at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa show the danger of poor information in policing operations.…
www.dailymaverick.co.za
January 31, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
vp-centre.bsky.social
We’re delighted to offer bursaries covering the cost of delegate fees and accommodation for up to 16 PhD students to attend the LEPH2026 conference (6-9 September) and Postgraduate Day (5 September 2026).

Deadline: Monday 9 February 2026, 17:00 GMT

Read more and apply:

leph2026.org/funded-places/
Postgraduate students sat around a table in discussion.
January 19, 2026 at 4:35 PM
thomasprobert.com
Today Dr Kwanele Pakati, Head of #SouthAfrica's National Preventive Mechanism, will discuss their detailed new position paper on how NPMs can more robustly address the tools of torture, including their manufacture and trade, in line with obligations under the UNCAT & the Robben Island Guidelines
January 19, 2026 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
benansell.bsky.social
I am 100% certain that this is standard partisan views of the economy stuff. Just our partisanship is so age-structured this is how it manifests

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Partisanship and Economic Behavior: Do Partisan Differences in Economic Forecasts Predict Real Economic Behavior? | American Political Science Review | Cambridge Core
Partisanship and Economic Behavior: Do Partisan Differences in Economic Forecasts Predict Real Economic Behavior? - Volume 103 Issue 3
www.cambridge.org
January 18, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
chadbourn.bsky.social
Lowest murder rate in London since records began.
LONDON'S HOMICIDE RATEIS LOWESTIN RECORDED HISTORY Targeted measures led by the Mayor to tackle violent crime have helped London achieve its lowest per capita homicide rate on record in 2025, despite a growing population. 3.0 Г Homicide rate per 100,000 residents 55% LOWER THAN 1997 2.5 V 2.0 - 1.5 T 1.0 1997 2001 2009 2013 2017 Source: MPS recorded homicide data for period 1s January to 31s December, 1997 to 2025 Population Source: ONS Mid Year Population Estimates for London, 2024 2025
January 12, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
davidgreene.bsky.social
good (and extremely timely) first step to removing qualified immunity for all governmental actors
gregsargent.bsky.social Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 27d
NEWS --> Reps Eric Swalwell and Dan Goldman are introducing a new bill to strip ICE officers of qualified immunity, making lawsuits and prosecutions easier. They also say agent who killed Renee Good should be prosecuted in Minnesota.

They break this news on our pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2051...
Trump Shooting Fiasco Worsens as Dems Find Fresh Line of Attack on ICE
As the Minneapolis killing gets darker for Trump, Representatives Eric Swalwell and Dan Goldman talk to us about their plan to rein in ICE—and about Trumpworld’s broader plunge into violence and lawl...
newrepublic.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:06 PM
thomasprobert.com
One for @omegarf.bsky.social…?
andyscollick.bsky.social Andy Scollick @andyscollick.bsky.social · 29d
Can anyone out there identify what less-than-lethal (presumably) weapon system this is?

Thanks
January 8, 2026 at 6:58 PM
thomasprobert.com
Yes, but it *is* also a case of business failure...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
EVs, though a clear improvement on their petrol predecessors, reproduce many of the same problems of car-based urbanism, binding us into a system of maintaining expensive machines that are stationary 95% of the time. The loss of Zipcar isn’t a business failure; it’s a warning that our leaders’ transport priorities are out of whack. Ultimately, if we want a country built for people rather than parked cars, we need to get serious about sharing.
December 7, 2025 at 1:33 PM
thomasprobert.com
It's being reported that a first family of victims has sought remedy before the Inter-American Commission (I'm sure others will join): www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Worth noting that (I think before that news broke) the Commission issued a press release yesterday:
www.oas.org/en/IACHR/jsF...
The IACHR reiterates that, under the standards of the Inter-American Human Rights System, the use of military force for public security purposes should be exceptional, strictly regulated, and limited to circumstances where civilian authorities are unable to respond effectively. The deployment of armed forces in operations against alleged criminal groups, particularly outside the territory, carries a high risk of arbitrary deprivation of life, lack of accountability, violations of due process, and erosion of civilian oversight.
December 3, 2025 at 12:02 PM
thomasprobert.com
www.justsecurity.org/125948/illeg...
The law of armed conflict is generally a more permissive legal regime for the use of military force than international human rights law (IHRL). In particular, the LOAC permits targeting members of the armed forces, including members of organized armed groups, based on their status, and others if and for such time as they “directly participate in hostilities,” which encompasses more than conducting attacks. By contrast, targeting based on status outside an armed conflict is prohibited. Acts opening the door to the use of force against an individual are generally limited to situations in which they pose an imminent threat of death or grievous bodily harm. If the Hegseth and Bradley orders and the ensuing second strike had been violations of LOAC in a non-international armed conflict, they would, a fortiori, have violated human rights law as a matter of peacetime law enforcement. With respect to the U.S. lethal strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels at issue here, two of us (Schmitt and Goodman, along with co-author Marko Milanovic) have explained why “there is absolutely no question that the U.S. lethal strikes on the boats are a violation of international human rights law.” Without rehashing that analysis here, the bottom line is that the U.S. strikes on suspected drug traffickers at sea are clearly arbitrary deprivations of the right to life under IHRL, an obligation that the United States acknowledges applies extraterritorially. As they wrote: The widely-accepted standard for arbitrariness prohibits the use of force likely to cause death or grievous bodily injury “except in self-defence or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives” (Basic Principles on…
December 2, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
libyanjustice.bsky.social
#LFJL welcomes the transfer of Khaled Mohamed Ali Al Hishri to #ICC custody after his arrest in Germany earlier this year. Al Hishri, a senior member of the Special Deterrence Force, is accused of overseeing torture, rape, and other serious crimes at Mitiga Prison.
December 1, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
drsarahliu.bsky.social
✨ A hard copy has arrived! 📘

Excited to share my contribution "A Feminist Critique" to the @oxunipress.bsky.social Handbook of Peaceful Assembly, edited by T. Abu El-Haj, M. Hamilton. @thomasprobert.com, and S. Srinvasan!

@edinburghpir.bsky.social @uoe-sps.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
omegarf.bsky.social
📣 Torture equipment found at Paris arms fair: A team from @amnestyfrance.bsky.social
& Omega discovered Chinese companies marketing illegal torture equipment at the Milipol arms & security trade fair. As a result of our intervention, fair organisers took measures against the firms involved.
November 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
sirjjkc.bsky.social
A counterclaim might be an interesting idea
aiannucci.bsky.social Armando Iannucci @aiannucci.bsky.social · Nov 15
BBC has a case against Trump. WhiteHouse Chief Press Officer called the BBC ‘100% fake news.’ Which is defamatory and untrue.
stevepeers.bsky.social Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · Nov 15
Trump says he will sue BBC for between $1 billion and $5 billion despite apology www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 15, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
lrb.co.uk
‘A Muslim’s rights are secondary to perceived security concerns.’

Asim Qureshi on the case of Fahad Ansari, and the uses and abuses of Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Asim Qureshi · Short Cuts: Misuses of the Terrorism Act
Thousands of people each year are detained and questioned under Schedule 7, the majority of them from ethnic minority...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
theguardian.com
Police and crime commissioners to be abolished, government to announce
Police and crime commissioners to be abolished, government to announce
System introduced in 2012 across England and Wales has faced criticism from police chiefs * UK politics live – latest updates The controversial system of police and crime commissioners is to be abolished by the government, the Guardian has learned. Under the system, introduced under the Conservatives, all 43 police forces covering local areas across England and Wales had to answer to an elected official. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
jonathanhopkin.bsky.social
Amazing how a few TikToks of e-bike thieves can create a completely false impression observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
‘Lawless London’ is safer than it’s been in decades
Official data suggests the capital may be safer than at any time in the past half century, comfortably beating other major cities
observer.co.uk
October 27, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
verityc.bsky.social
Grateful to Juliana Miranda, from CELS for the UNGA 1C statement on Torture-Free Trade.

This is a human rights issue, and an export control trade issue - at the heart of it though is the prevention of torture - more action is needed from states to end the trade in tools of torture.
October 24, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
normative.bsky.social
I’m sorry, why are we using “critics accuse” language here? These are factually, unambiguously, extrajudicial killings. It’s not an opinion. It’s not a disputed or disputable claim.
Financial Times headline says “critics accuse” Trump of extrajudicial killings
October 25, 2025 at 2:58 PM
thomasprobert.com
Excellent post from @davidallengreen.bsky.social on the Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv match.

Underlines for me the importance of an understanding of “peaceful assembly” that incorporated sporting events.

And the importance of understanding that no limitation can be an “absolute” priority
October 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
davidallengreen.bsky.social
NEW

Either public safety is an absolute priority at sporting events or it is not.

Reflections on the Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv match

By me

emptycity.substack.com/p/either-pub...
Either public safety is an absolute priority at sporting events or it is not.
Reflections on the Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv match
emptycity.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 8:54 AM
thomasprobert.com
Very exciting to have unboxed these earlier. Available in hard copy from next week - so do reach out to your libraries or departments to get it on their shelves, but all of the chapters are available online from @oxfordacademic.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/edited-volum...

#PeacefulProtest
Hard copies of the Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Assembly (OUP, 2025)
October 17, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Thomas Probert
cghrcambridge.bsky.social
Thanks to everyone who came and supported our first seminar of the series on #AlgorithmicGovernance last night. There are still tickets available for the forthcoming seminars. Register here: shorturl.at/l2GPO
October 16, 2025 at 10:18 AM