Amal Clooney, the prominent human rights lawyer and wife of famous American actor George Clooney, has resigned from her position as UK envoy on media freedom, after the House of Commons earlier this week passed the Internal Market Bill presented at the beginning of the month by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The new legislation seeks to scale back some of Britain's obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement, related to state aid and customs checks on the Irish border.
In a letter to UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Clooney argued that “undermining the rule of law 'threatens to embolden autocratic regimes that violate international law with devastating consequences all over the world'", as quoted by AFP.
"Although the government has suggested that the violation of international law would be 'specific and limited', it is lamentable for the UK to be speaking of its intention to violate an international treaty signed by the Prime Minister less than a year ago", she wrote.
Clooney also remarked that she had accepted her role as envoy because she believed in “the importance of the cause”, and appreciated “the significant role the UK has played and can continue to play in promoting the international legal order".
"However, very sadly, it has now become untenable for me, as special envoy, to urge other states to respect and enforce international obligations while the UK declares that it does not intend to do so itself", she added.
Johnson said that the Internal Market Bill was seeking to scale back some of the country's obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement concerning state aid and customs checks on the Irish border. He added that the new legislation was aimed at protecting the UK's integrity.
