Equality and Human Rights Commission

Overview of the Morning EHRC – What we do Human Rights Inquiry Making sense of Human Rights Table sessions

EHRC – a snapshot Great Britain’s first National Human Rights Institution with UN ‘A’ status Our remit: –Encourage good practice in relation to human rights –Promote awareness, understanding & protection of human rights –Monitor the effectiveness of laws relating to human rights and compliance with equality laws 3

Nine teams for nine regions

Human rights – the values Fairness Respect Equality Dignity Autonomy Equality is central to Human Rights, but not the whole story....

Human Rights – the history Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948: first formal statement in modern era  Think of the roots of this: limiting state control over inhabitants European Convention on Human Rights, 1950: making rights binding  People can now call on and use rights in the courts Human Rights Act, 1998  Bringing rights home

Human rights – the law Human Rights Act 1998 Almost identical to ECHR Can be used in courts in UK – don’t have to go Strasbourg Legislation must be interpreted with the HRA in mind Articles are absolute, limited or qualified

Absolute v non-absolute Absolute rights – can never be interfered with Limited – can be engaged in certain circumstances Qualified – can be balanced for the public good

Human Rights Act 1998 Part I: The Convention Article 2: Right to life Article 3: Prohibition of torture (inhuman or degrading treatment) Article 4: Prohibition of slavery and forced labour Article 5: Right to liberty and security Article 6: Right to a fair trial Article 7: No punishment without law Article 8: Right to respect for private and family life Article 9: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion Article 10: Freedom of expression Article 11: Freedom of assembly and association Article 12: Right to marry Article 14: Prohibition of discrimination Part II, First Protocol Article 1: Protection of property Article 2: Right to education Article 3: Right to free elections

What does the Human Rights Act mean for Public Authorities It makes it unlawful for public authorities to act in a way that is incompatible with a convention right Anyone who feels that a public authority has acted incompatibly with their Convention rights can raise this before an appropriate UK court or tribunal

Taking Legal Action Only the ‘victim’ can take a case Action can only be taken against a public authority Time limit is usually 12 months but depends on the type of proceeding used

Our human rights work so far Policy: Effective opposition to Government’s attempts to increase the maximum period of detention without charge for terror suspects to 42 days –Used threat of legal action Cases: –R (RJM) v Department for Work and Pensions Enforcement: 300 matters considered for enforcement action in our first 18 months. –80% of matters dealt with without need for formal enforcement proceedings 12

Human Rights Inquiry Purpose of the Inquiry –Assess the state of human rights –Consider a culture of human rights & its benefits to individuals –Focus on human rights approach in public service delivery –Define a Human Rights Approach 13

Findings: Barriers to embedding a Human Rights Approach Negative and sensationalist media coverage Lack of political leadership Lack of understanding and mainstreaming in policies and practices 14

Best practice Health and social care Local authority services Education Criminal justice NGOs and voluntary organisations 15