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ALLIANCE responds to consultation on Human Rights Act Reform

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 8th March 2022

We are concerned that the proposals will weaken existing human rights protections.

The ALLIANCE has submitted a response to the UK Government’s consultation on proposals to reform the Human Rights Act.

The consultation document sets out fundamental changes to the way that our rights work and protect everyday people. Any proposals that weaken human rights protections in the UK are not a sufficient replacement to the Human Rights Act. The Human Rights Act, in its current form, should not be diluted; any changes to the Human Rights Act must be progressive and enhance the protections that are currently offered, not regressive.

As summarised in a recent ALLIANCE Opinion piece:

“Human rights are not just any legal rights; they are the legal entitlements that are most directly rooted in fundamental values of universality and respect for equality and dignity. They are not civil freedoms that we enjoy at the pleasure of each passing government.”

The ALLIANCE believes that replacing the Human Rights Act with a new Bill of Rights, as set out in the consultation document, would have negative consequences on people’s human rights. This includes disabled people, people living with long term conditions, unpaid carers, as well as people with other protected characteristics and from other marginalised groups. We reject any changes to the Human Rights Act which may reduce the ability of people to enforce their rights, or which may weaken obligations on public authorities to take human rights seriously and to embed human rights based approaches in their work.

Our response outlines case studies and examples which highlight how human rights, and a human rights based approach, make a tangible difference to the lives of ALLIANCE members and partners, and the people that they support. These everyday examples of people being able to use and campaign for their rights in all aspects of their life are at risk under the proposals in the consultation document, which stand in direct contrast to the work of the organisations who seek to make human rights real.

You can read our full response in both Word and PDF form in the resource list below.

We have also submitted a joint response together with Human Rights Consortium Scotland and many other Scottish organisations (this link will take you away from our website).

End of document.

Resources:

ALLIANCE Response - Human Rights Act Reform Consultation (WORD version)
Download Word Document (89 KB)
ALLIANCE Response - Human Rights Act Reform Consultation (PDF version)
Download PDF Document (313 KB)
Download all document resources

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