Our human rights are important!
Our human rights are under threat as a result of damaging press coverage as well as the negative attitude of the government towards our human rights legislation. Both have focused on how human rights have been used to protect suspected terrorists rights, rather than recognising the important role they play in protecting the most vulnerable in society, including disabled people and older people. Laura Matthews from our research team looks at the importance of human rights to us.
What are human rights?
Human rights provide a basic set of rules for public bodies to follow to ensure that all individuals are respected and protected. Human rights are universal; they apply to everyone. We cannot pick whose human rights we choose to defend.
Human rights carry particular importance for vulnerable people, like those with a disability or older people. They underpin much of what we as a charity campaign for. For example, the right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment can be used when challenging poor care in health and social care settings whether this be in a hospital, care home or in your own home.
The right to a private life also provides important protections for disabled people. For example, we all have a right to participate in the community and to make our own decisions. This can be important, if, say your local authority wishes to place you in residential care when you would rather stay in your own home. The right not to be discriminated against and the right to education provides a strong argument that a local authority and school should ensure that a deaf child is fully supported to participate in classes. Or if a deaf person is charged with a criminal offence, they have a right to a fair trial. If they use sign language, this could mean providing them with a sign language interpreter.
It is therefore important that we protect our human rights here in the UK, and we should be proud that we lead the world in terms of promoting and protecting human rights.
Where did our laws come from?
Our human rights in the UK have developed over centuries. For example, the Magna Carta, signed in 1215, was aimed at limiting the King's powers and some of these rights are still in law today.
Human rights in Europe
The Council of Europe developed the European Convention on Human Rights to protect the freedom and rights of everyone inside its borders. The convention came into force on 3rd Sept 1953 and the European Court came into being in 1959. The Convention was the first time that countries could be held to account by a court higher than its own.
The European Convention sets out a number of fundamental human rights including the right to life, the right to liberty and the right to free expression. If the UK does not respect the rights in the European Convention, we are breaking international law.
The UK Human Rights Act
The Human Rights Act was passed in the UK in 1998. A UK Act means that we can now take a case to a British court rather than having to take it straight to the European Court. The Act also means that all of our laws have to be compatible with the European Convention, so any new law needs to take into account human rights.
It is important to remember that most human rights need to be balanced against the needs and rights of other people. For example, the rights of the press and individuals to freedom of expression must be balanced against the rights of people to a private life.
What are we doing as an organisation?
The government want to cut red tape and we need to make sure that these vital pieces of legislation are not seen as red tape, but rather as fundamental building blocks for a fair and just society. We are therefore working as part of a coalition of organisations, the Equality and Diversity Forum, to influence government to ensure the Human Rights Act and our equalities legislation are protected.
For further information on human rights please visit the website for the British Institute for Human Rights(external link, opens new window).
You can also view the Declaration of Human Rights in BSL(external link, opens new window).
For further information on the work of the Equality and Diversity Forum, please visit www.edf.org.uk(external link, opens new window).
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