The importance of The Human Rights Act 1998
- Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
- Type: News Item
- Published: 4th April 2023
The ALLIANCE has created two documents explaining the importance of human rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 in Scotland.
The ALLIANCE has created two explainers to review the status of human rights in Scotland. These two documents aim to look at where we are with human rights in Scotland, and the importance of human rights in health and social care.
The Human Rights Act 1998 provides important human rights protections for individuals, including disabled people, people living with long term conditions and unpaid carers. The explainers outline why human rights protections are so important in the delivery of health and social care services, by highlighting two specific areas of protection provided by the current Human Rights Act 1998, those being positive obligations, and a duty to interpret laws in a way that upholds human rights.
Recent attempts to undermine the Human Rights Act have caused concern throughout the UK, and particularly in Scotland where it is unclear what impact this would have on Scotland’s devolution settlement. Due to this, the ALLIANCE feels that it is essential to properly understand and call attention to the essential role human rights play in our day to day lives.
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