The Human Rights Act is under threat and with it the rights of everyone in the UK. Emma Taggart explains why migrant community organisations should add their voices to the debate and respond to the Commission on a Bill of Rights public consultation.
Emma Taggart works across several charities to support them in influencing policy and practice. She is currently working with the Equality and Diversity Forum to help mobilise equality and social justice NGOs to advocate for human rights and in particular for the Human Rights Act.
The Equality and Diversity Forum (EDF) is the network of national non-governmental organisations working on equal opportunities, social justice, good community relations, respect for human rights and an end to discrimination based on age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation.
Debate about the Human Rights Act continues to rage across the political spectrum and in the media. Theresa May, the Home Secretary, falsely claimed that the Act allowed an illegal immigrant to remain in the UK because he had a pet cat. The UK Border Agency’s recent consultation on family migration is further evidence of a drive in some quarters to undermine human rights. Now the Commission on a Bill of Rights is asking ‘Do we need a UK Bill of Rights?’. Engaging with the Commission is an easy way to advocate for migrants’ rights.
There are serious concerns that introducing an UK Bill of Rights is code for eroding existing human rights protection. There is a danger that the Human Rights Act will be weakened, or that attempts will be made to propose UK withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. This could have serious consequences for people in the UK, including migrants, who may end up with fewer rights and find it harder to access justice. It is therefore important that migrant community organisations engage with this debate.
Why is the Human Rights Act under threat? The Conservative party went into the last election with a manifesto promise to replace the Act with a UK Bill of Rights. By contrast, the Liberal Democrat manifesto promised to protect it. When no party managed to win the election and the Coalition was formed, the two parties agreed to create a Commission to consider the case for creating a new UK Bill of Rights.
There is a real risk that this process will be used to restrict the rights of people who are not UK citizens. Some politicians (backed up by parts of the media) regularly cite the Human Rights Act as a barrier that prevents the deportation of non-UK nationals who have committed an offence and others they would like to see expelled from the UK.
There is a tendency for migrants to be stereotyped in political and media debate as illegal immigrants, terror suspects or ‘benefit scroungers’. It is important for migrant community organisations to challenge this characterisation and bring the voices of migrants – in all their diversity – to the fore.
By infusing human rights values into the British legal system, legal protection for the rights of everyone in the UK has dramatically expanded and the remedies that exist against discrimination have been greatly reinforced.
The Human Rights Act places all public authorities in the UK – such as NHS Trusts, local authorities and central Government departments – under a duty to respect human rights in everything they do. The Act protects everyone in the UK, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. Anyone who is in the UK for any reason is protected by the Human Rights Act.
The Act provides important protection from human rights violations for migrants and other vulnerable groups. For example, a case brought using the Act led to rule changes that required some non-UK nationals to seek special permission from the Home Secretary before they could marry.
The HRA can also provide protection from slavery and forced labour for migrants who find themselves exploited by, for example, unscrupulous people who promise to help but end up exploiting them (the EHRC website contains an example of how human rights offer protection from slavery and forced labour).
The Act has also had considerable impact outside the courtroom. Its provisions have made it possible for individuals and families to challenge their treatment by public authorities, and to succeed in vindicating their rights, without having to go to court. For example, public services have become more sensitive to the needs of service users.
The Commission on a Bill of Rights has published a discussion paper and is seeking views on it as a ‘first step’ in its programme of public consultation. The deadline for contributing your views is 11th November 2011. The Equality and Diversity Forum (EDF) has produced a template response to help you reply to the consultation. Click here to download it. It contains everything you need to know to understand the issues, and suggests some answers to the questions posed by the Commission.
EDF is the network of national non-governmental organisations working on equal opportunities, social justice, good community relations, respect for human rights and an end to discrimination based on age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation.
EDF’s goal is to help strengthen the voice of migrants in this debate by enabling migrant community organisations to engage with this important policy issue. EDF is collaborating with the Migrants’ Rights Network (MRN) to inform migrant community organisations about the Commission on a Bill of Rights and to enable and encourage such organisations to get involved in the Commission’s public consultation.
Human rights belong to everybody – let’s defend them!
Monday 24 October 2011
Human rights are for everyone – don’t let them be taken away | Migrants' Rights Network (MRN)
