In a statement coordinated by Human Rights Consortium Scotland, 125 Civil Society organisations called for the Rights Removal Bill to be stopped. British Institute of Human Rights have co-signed the letter alongside experts from devolved nations who are concerned about the impact the Rights Removal Bill will have in removing human rights protections across the UK. The statement says: The UK Government’s proposals for reform are out of step with political and public opinion in Scotland. There is overwhelming support across Scotland to go forwards and not backwards on human rights, for a strong human rights legal framework and not one that is watered down. Click here to read the full letter.

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s human rights news is all about the Rights Removal Bill. On 22nd June 2022, the Government published a new Bill that would get rid of our Human Rights Act. They’re calling it the Bill of Rights – but it’s exactly the opposite. This is a Rights Removal Bill and represents the latest step in plans to reduce their responsibilities to uphold the human rights protections people rely on every day across the UK. Our CEO, Sanchita, wrote a response to the new Bill, saying: ““People and power, that’s what our Human Rights Act is about, and it’s what this Government’s plans to reduce our protections are about – weakening our rights and reducing their responsibility to us. Every single day people rely on our Human Rights Act, because we know this world isn’t perfect. Working with 1000s of people each year, including public officials, we know people won’t be fooled by this power grab by the Government.” Click here to read Sanchita’s full response. There’s lots to be co…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

In December 2021, when he unveiled his plans to scrap our Human Rights Act, the Justice Secretary quoted John Stuart Mill in saying, “he who knows only his side of the case knows little of that.”  And you know what? We agree with him. In fact, this may be the one point the Government has made so far that it has been able to back up with evidence – time and time again. From ignoring the views of the panel it commissioned to dismissing the public opinions that it asked for, the Government has refused to pay any attention to the other side of the case and has instead put forward confused, unsupported, and often incoherent arguments that conclusively show it doesn’t know its own side, either.    The IHRAR  Our recent briefing, “Human Rights Act reform: nothing about us, without us” explains in detail our concerns with the way the Government has approached its plans to scrap our Human Rights Act. It starts with the Independent …

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

22 June 2022 Today the Government has published its Anti-Bill of Rights, the latest step in plans to reduce their responsibilities to uphold the human rights protections people rely on every day across the UK. Commenting on the publication of this new proposed bill of rights, Sanchita Hosali, CEO of the British Institute of Human Rights said: “Everyone in the UK, wants to be able to live with dignity and respect, where those who hold power follow the rules; this is what our law, the Human Rights Act, helps secure. Sadly, what we now face is a UK Government intent on ripping up the rulebook.” “Rather than championing our human rights protections, this new anti-rights bill is a power grab from the Government. Unsupported by the evidence of people across the UK, and in direct opposition to the findings of the Independent Review it set up, which concluded there was no case for replacing our Human Rights Act.” “The Human Rights Act has worked w…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s human rights news includes our final Rights in Recovery Leadership workshop and details of the European Court of Human Rights ruling on the Rwanda flight. News from BIHR We held our final Rights in Recovery Leadership workshops in Glasgow! We partnered with Scottish Recovery Consortium to co-design and run a Rights in Recovery Leadership programme with people with direct experience of working with people in recovery from substance abuse. The Programme covered human rights frameworks in Scotland, and how they apply to people in all stages of recovery. On Friday 17th June 2022, we hosted our final workshop in person in Glasgow. Participants told us how valuable the Programme has been to them, with one saying: “this course has met all the goals we wanted and exceeded them. When I came into this role, I didn’t have a clue about human rights. Over the last year I taught myself some things but over these 10 sessions, I’ve learnt more than in the past y…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s human rights news includes our final Lunch & Learn Campaigning Workshop and an update on legal challenges to the Rwanda policy.  News from BIHR  We spoke to public body staff about human rights in social care  On Thursday 9th June 2022, our Human Rights Officer, Annie, met with staff working in Social Services to talk about respecting and protecting human rights in everyday policy, practice and decisions.   Annie discussed the Hillingdon v Neary case that was decided exactly 11 years ago. In this case, then-21-year-old Steven, who has autism and a severe learning disability, was kept in a care unit for over one year against his and his father’s wishes. It was only when his Independent Mental Capacity Advocate and solicitor raised his Article 8 right to family life and Article 5 right to liberty that Steven was able to return home.   Steven’s father, Mark, said our Human Rights Act “saved Steven’s life…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s news includes our Lunch & Learn Campaigning Workshops and a human rights claim over hospital waiting times.  News from BIHR  We hosted our second Lunch & Learn Campaigning Workshop  Our Human Rights Officers, Annie and Lauren, are leading a series of 45-minute Lunch & Learn workshops for anyone who wants to help campaign to protect our Human Rights Act. On Wednesday 25th May, they led the second workshop which focused on the Government’s plans to replace our Act and why we’re concerned. Participants told us, “I’ve gained a better understanding. This highlights the necessity of winning the campaign.”  Click here to sign up to the next workshop, which will cover sharing stories and getting involved.  We asked some questions about the Human Rights Act Reform consultation On the 8th March 2022, the Government closed its consultation on Human Rights Act Reform (not including the extension granted for thos…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

The Government’s consultation on replacing the Human Rights Act with a “Modern Bill of Rights” closed for most people on 8th March 2022, unless you needed to use a more accessible version of the 129 page consultation document. You can read our response here. We asked the Ministry of Justice if they were planning on publishing the responses to the consultation at their roundtable in February and were told that there were no plans to do so. Instead, they said they would be publishing a summary of the responses. To date, nothing has yet been published. We have been collecting responses in our response hub.  We have been calling for the Government to be more transparent throughout the Consultation process. On 17th March 2022 we asked the Government using a Freedom of Information request, how many individual responses they had received up until the deadline of 8th March. On 19th May 2022, we received a response: The number of individual responses received in response to the…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s news includes legal challenges to the Rwanda policy and brand-new Easy Read Human Rights postcards! News from BIHR We launched our new Easy Read Human Rights postcards! We’re very proud to share our new Easy Read postcards which tell you about human rights. These were created as part of our co-design a human rights support “solution” programme. They cover: The right to life The right to be safe from serious harm The right to liberty The right to respect for private and family life, home and contact The right to be treated fairly Real life stories where rights have and have not been looked after ‘What it means’ cards for hard words What to do if you are worried about your rights We hope the postcards will help people with learning disabilities understand what rights they have and how their rights work. The postcards talk about real life stories of where rights have or have not been looked after. We created these postcards together wit…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

On Tuesday 18th May 2022, we joined over 40 advocacy, information and advice charities in writing to the Prime Minister to raise our concerns about plans to scrap our Human Rights Act. The letter was organised by the national advocacy charity POhWER to bring attention to the important rights and protections our Human Rights Act provides us all. The letter says: We are calling on a wider study and equality impact assessment to understand the realities on the wider UK population, requesting for a meeting to share case studies and evidence on how HRA benefits the people we support every day through public authority independent scrutiny and mitigates often wider escalations in the legal process. Click here to read the full letter. To have your charity or organisation added to this letter digitally, be added to the mailing list for future campaign activity or for other queries relating to this letter please contact POhWER Chief Executive at helen.moulinos@pohwer.net. …

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s news is a Queen’s Speech special edition! On Tuesday 10th May 2022, Prince Charles read the Queen’s Speech 2022 At the beginning of every parliamentary session, the Queen reads a speech in the House of Lords. It’s read by the Queen but written by ministers and sets out the UK Government plans for the upcoming year. This year it took place on Tuesday 10th May 2022, and it confirmed the Government wants to introduce a new Bill of Rights that would replace our Human Rights Act. Our CEO, Sanchita, wrote a response to the speech In it, she said: “People won’t be fooled by the Government’s attempts to dress up a new law that lessens their accountability to us, as something positive by calling it a bill of rights. We all know rules matter, not just the rules the Government wants to play by, but the rules that make sure we can hold them to account for treating us with dignity and respect. People won’t be fooled; we know that our Human Rights Act …

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

Tuesday 10th May 2022 was the State Opening of Parliament. This marks the beginning of a new parliamentary session and includes a Queen’s Speech, announcing which laws the Government wants to introduce or amend this year. In this year’s speech, the Government said it wants to introduce a new Bill that will replace our Human Rights Act and make it harder for all of us to access our rights. Our CEO, Sanchita, said: People and power, that’s what our Human Rights Act is about, and it’s what this Government’s plans to reduce our protections is about – weakening our rights and reducing their responsibility to us. Every single day people rely on our Human Rights Act, because we know this world isn’t perfect. As the Queen’s Speech was read, at BIHR we’re working with staff in mental health hospitals to know and uphold their duties in the Human Rights Act to support children. Our Human Rights Act is about us all. People like you and me. Our loved ones and neighbours. All of us. Wor…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

On Tuesday 3rd May, we wrote to the prime minister along with more than 50 organisations concerned about the “dire consequences” of the Government’s plans to “overhaul” the Human Rights Act. The letter comes following the Government’s consultation on Human Rights Act reform, in which it set out its plans to replace our Act with its own “Bill of Rights”. Read our CEO, Sanchita’s, response to the consultation, in which she says: [The Government’s proposals] give the appearance of keeping the same rights whilst attempting to drive a coach and horses through the very ways in which these rights protect each and every one of us across the UK. The “problems” identified in the Government’s consultation centre on technicalities which at times bear little resemblance to reality, with a hodgepodge of selective case law and legal theory, and a romanticisation of the UK’s history, as some sort of licence to remove us from universal standards with the accountability neede…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s human-rights news includes predictions for next week’s Queen’s Speech and a free, online event all about our Human Rights Act. News from BIHR We’re hosting a free, online event about the Human Rights Act We expect to hear more about plans to reform our Human Rights Act on Tuesday 10th May. Join us on Thursday 12th May to reflect on what has happened so far, learn about how the Human Rights Act works now and why it matters, and find out how you can take action. BIHR will be launching our resources and sharing how we will be supporting advocacy and campaigning over the coming weeks. Click here to save your spot. We talked to young people and parents about human rights in CAMHS wards On Thursday 5th May, we hosted an online workshop with young people accessing Children and Young People’s Mental Health Inpatient Services and their loved ones. The session was led by our Lived Experience Expert Consultant, Charli, and our Human Rights Office…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s human rights news includes five new laws passed by Parliament, a Human Rights Act event and an in-person BIHR team meeting! News from BIHR We’re holding a free, online event for anyone who wants to learn more about human rights We’re expecting the Government to announce its plans to change our Human Rights Act on Tuesday 10th May 2022. We want everyone to be informed and able to have their say on any proposals, so we’re holding an open access event on Thursday 12th May 2022. The event will be on Zoom and will be free, open to everyone and will explain the law in plain English. We’ll talk about how the Act works now and what resources we’re putting together on Human Rights Act reform. Click here to sign up to the event. We continued our work with the Scottish Recovery Consortium We’ve been working with the Scottish Recovery Consortium to develop and deliver a five-day Rights In Recovery Leadership Programme to advance awareness of…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s human rights news includes our work with Scottish Recovery Consortium and an explanation of the new deal between the UK and Rwanda.  News from BIHR We hosted our first Rights in Recovery Leadership sessions with Scottish Recovery Consortium We’ve been working with Scottish Recovery Consortium to create a free leadership programme to advance awareness on rights-based addiction recovery in Scotland. The programme has been co-developed with people with lived experience working directly with people in recovery. Click here to read more about the Rights in Recovery programme. On Thursday 21st April and Friday 22nd April, we ran our first sessions and had great feedback from our participants, who told us it made them feel “empowered”, “passionate” and “motivated”. We continued our work with NHS Trusts on human rights in health and social care Our Human Rights Officer, Annie, met with health and social care workers to talk abou…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s human rights news includes our Easy Read template letter for responding to the Human Rights Act Consultation and updates on two human rights cases brought against the police.  News from BIHR We created an Easy Read template letter for responding to the Human Rights Act Consultation If you need to use the Easy Read or audio versions of the Human Rights Act Reform consultation paper, you can email HRAreform@justice.gov.uk to ask for extra time to respond. This would give you until 19th April to respond. Click here for more information on asking for extra time. We’ve created an Easy Read template letter to help you respond. It has suggestions for things you can tell the Government. You do not have to use it and you can change it so it says what you want to say. Click here to download the letter and instructions on how to use it. We’ve been sharing updates from people who told us #WhyOurHumanRightsActMatters In the run up to Human Rights Day 2021, we …

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s human rights news includes updates on the Borders Bill and the Elections Bill as well as a new addition to our team of Human Rights Officers! News from BIHR We welcomed our new Human Rights Officer, Florence! This week, we welcomed a new addition to our team of Human Rights Officers: Florence! Florence has a professional background in research and policy work, including human rights and public law, as well as being a qualified solicitor, having previously worked at a commercial law firm and in housing law at a law centre. We submitted our response to the consultation on the Covid-19 Inquiry’s Terms of Reference In March 2022, the Inquiry released its draft Terms of Reference. Terms of Reference set out the aims of an inquiry and how it plans to go about meeting these. The Inquiry will not look at any matters that aren’t included in its Term of Reference. The Inquiry held a four-week public consultation, asking what people think should be included and how the In…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s human rights news includes an Equality & Human Rights Commission report, an update on the Ockenden review and a new team member! News from BIHR We welcomed our new Human Rights Officer, Lauren! Our team is growing! This week, we welcomed a new Human Rights Officer: Lauren. Lauren has a professional background in casework, housing, and migrant rights as well as human rights law. We’re also still recruiting for a new Admin Assistant to join us part-time! Click here to find out more about the role and apply before 10am on 04 April 2022. We spoke to social care staff in Somerset about human rights in practice On Thursday 31 March 2022, our Assistant Human Rights Officer, Katie met with staff working in adult social care to discuss human rights in practice. They covered the rights to privacy, liberty and to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment as well as freedom from discrimination. Katie finished up with our top tips for embedding a rights-based approach, in…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

Read about our work with community projects, an update on free school meals and a new Government group looking at protest rights. News from BIHR We worked on human rights resources with our community partners, Hopscotch Hopscotch is a London charity that provides services for women experiencing inequality and abuse, including a homecare service. They’re one of the communities working with BIHR to co-design a human rights solution. This week, our Human Rights Officer, Katrin, met with staff from the women’s centre to discuss the best way to help advocates and service-users understand and access their rights and to progress our written resource tool. Read more about our work with Hopscotch here. We met with the Stop People Dying Young project about the Government’s response to our joint concerns about Do Not Resuscitate orders In February 2022, Stop People Dying Too Young published an open letter to the Chair of the Ministerial Oversight Group on Do Not Attemp…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

Read about our work with Learning Disability England and new mandatory training for NHS staff. News from BIHR We celebrated World Social Work Day 2022 with a workshop! On Thursday 17th March 2022, we joined social workers in Leeds and Wakefield for a workshop focusing on rights, responsibilities and possible reform. Participants told us they “really enjoyed” the session and we had a great time discussing human rights in real-life contexts. We spoke at a Learning Disability England conference about Government consultations On Wednesday 16th March 2022, our Head of Policy & Programmes, Carlyn, spoke at a Learning Disability England conference about Government consultations and the barriers to responding to them. Carlyn talked about the work BIHR is doing to influence a human-rights based approach to consultation and shared our new resource to help people challenge consultations that don’t comply with equality requirements. Get our top tips for responding t…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

Read this week’s update on Human Rights news in the UK, including the latest on the Government’s Consultation on Human Rights Act reform and Reclaim These Street’s success in the High Court. News from BIHR  We submitted our response to the Government Consultation on Human Rights Act reform  On Tuesday 8th March 2022, we submitted our response to the “Human Rights Act Reform: A Modern Bill of Rights” Consultation. It was informed by the views of the 250+ people who responded to our surveys and attended our workshops as well as our work with over 400 people around the Independent Review of the Human Rights Act in 2021.  The consistent message from our stakeholders, and drawing on over 20 years of our own expertise, is to not replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights. We need Human Rights Act implementation, not tampering with our protections, by the very people who have responsibility to uphold our rights: the Government and bodies exercising publi…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

On 07 March 2022, one day before the Government’s Consultation on the Human Rights Act was due to close, the Government announced a six week extension to submit responses. This means that the deadline for some people is now the 19 April 2022. If an Easy Read or audio version of the Consultation would make it easier for you to respond, you can now email HRAreform@justice.gov.uk  to ask for the deadline to be extended to 19 April. This also applies to organisations who represent people who may find an Easy Read or audio version helpful. Click here for an Easy Read PDF of this information Last week we took part in two actions about the accessibility of this consultation. What happened last week? On 14 December 2021, the Government released a Consultation Paper setting out plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights. The Government asked 29 questions to gather people’s views on the plans and gave the public 12 weeks to respond, with the Consulta…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

Today (04 March 2022), user-led learning disability campaign group Pembrokeshire People First wrote to the Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, about the Government’s failure to provide an Easy Read version of the Human Rights Act Reform Consultation Paper. Pembrokeshire People First are leading a group of organisations run by and for people with learning disabilities in this action, including My Life My Choice, Warrington Speak Up and All Wales People First.  The letter was produced in collaboration with British Institute of Human Rights and Pembrokeshire People First instructed Rook Irwin Sweeney solicitors. What happened? On 14th December 2021, the Government released a Consultation Paper setting out plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights. The Government asked 29 questions to gather people’s views on the plans and gave the public 12 weeks to respond, with the Consultation due to end on 08 March 2022. The Consultation Paper is 123-pages long …

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

3 March 2022 Click here to read the letter. The Joint Committee on Human Rights is a group of people who look at human rights issues in the UK. Today the Joint Committee on Human Rights in UK Parliament has been sent an important letter telling them about problems with the UK Government’s consultation on the Human Rights Act. The letter has been signed by more than 200 people and organisations. These are people with learning disabilities and other communication needs, and the organisations that support them and their rights. In the letter, people say the consultation on the Human Rights Act is important to them and they want to tell the Government what they think. But, they are not happy because the Government has not made any translations of the consultation, like BSL or Easy Read, which would help them to take part. They think the UK Government’s new Easy Read version has lots of problems. For example, it is …

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

News from BIHR We attended a Ministry of Justice roundtable and called on them to make the notes public On Thursday 17th February 2022, our CEO, Sanchita, and our Head of Policy & Programmes, Carlyn, took part in a Ministry of Justice roundtable about their planned changes to the Human Rights Act. Participants were asked to share two key points about the changes. Sanchita explained that before we can dissect the Government’s proposals and the 29 questions in the Consultation Paper, there are two practical points that need to be addressed: Consultation on the Human Rights Act has already happened in the form of the recent Independent Human Rights Act Review. Charities and individuals put a lot of time and effort into responding to that Review and the findings were clear that no changes are needed. This Consultation seems to be a clear reduction in rights because despite retaining the same list of rights, it will reduce their meaning and accessibility as well as the Gover…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

24 February 2022 This week, Stop People Dying Too Young published an open letter to Maria Caulfield MP, Chairperson of the Ministerial Oversight Group on Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (MOG). The letter was produced in collaboration with Difference North East, Learning Disability England and the British Institute of Human Rights. Who are Stop People Dying Too Young? Stop People Dying Too Young is a group of self-advocates including people with learning disabilities, autistic people and family carers.  Who are the MOG? The MOG is a group set up by the Government, tasked with finding solutions to problems with how some Do Not Resuscitate decisions were made during the Covid pandemic. Some groups of people were particularly affected by this poor practice – people with a learning disability, older people, people with dementia and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. However, no-one with lived experience from the g…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

Read our brief summary of this week’s top UK human rights news, from BIHR and beyond. News from BIHR We published our plain language survey on Human Rights Act reform Want to have your say on the Government’s plans to “overhaul” the Human Rights Act but short on time? You can answer our plain-language survey and we’ll include your views in our response. There are tick-box questions as well as open text boxes where you can choose to share your opinions. Click here to complete the survey. Click here for an Easy Read version of the survey.   We met people with lived experience to help us design training for NHS staff We’re working on a new project to provide training to NHS staff about upholding human rights in health and social care services. Because we want all of our work to be informed by people’s real experiences, we ran a workshop with people who have accessed NHS services to build their knowledge and confidence around human right…

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

News from BIHR We launched our Question-by-Question Guide to Human Rights Act Reform Consultation! The Government has given everyone until 8th March 2022 to respond to its Consultation on proposed changes to human rights in the UK. However, the Consultation is very long and uses complex language and they have not yet published an Easy Read version. To help everyone have their say, we’ve created a Question-by-Question Guide to responding to the Consultation. We’ve broken down each question into the question as it appears in the Consultation; a plain(er) language translation; what we think the Government means; how the Human Rights Act currently works; what the Independent Human Rights Act said about each issue; and what BIHR will be saying in our response. For Question 29, we’ve identified the three parts of the question with suggestions for how you can approach your answer. Remember, you don’t have to answer every question in the Consultation. If you only answer one, …

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .

This week’s round-up of human-rights news, from BIHR and beyond. News from BIHR We hosted our Human Rights Act Reform workshop! On Monday 31st January 2022, we hosted an online workshop for individuals and organisations to explain what’s happening with the Government’s planned “overhaul” of the Human Rights Act. Our participants shared their reasons for attending including getting help with their responses and passion for human rights! See what happened with our live Tweets from the event! Get help with your response with our Unofficial Guide to the Consultation. We also posted our recap of last week’s Ask the Experts event! On Wednesday 26 January 2022, we hosted an online webinar with speakers from Liberty, LSE, Human Rights Consortium Scotland and more to get their views on the Government’s planned Human Rights Act reform. You can now read a write-up of this event and watch clips from each of our panellists. Click here to catch up! …

This post was originally published on British Institute of Human Rights News .