UK Government should be scrutinised over human rights

The Scottish Human Rights Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission have urged the United Nations to scrutinise the UK Government’s intention to replace the Human Rights Act with a UK Bill of Rights.

The Commissions’ are giving evidence with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the UK’s human rights record as part of the Universal Periodic Review process, where the UK is examined every four years by the Human Rights Council.

The joint submission also calls on the UK government to:

• Develop a plan to implement the recommendations which come from the Universal Periodic Review. The UK government should timetable when actions would be taken, with civil society and the commissions holding the government to account on its delivery.
• Sign and ratify international human rights treaties and protocols guaranteeing the right to individual petition. For example, the UK has still not ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, under which children would be able to bring allegations of human rights violations directly to the responsible UN Committee.
• Adopt the many specific recommendations made to it including improving legal safeguards for those in immigration detention, acting on the UK’s record of violence against women and children in society, conditions of detention, especially for children and people with disabilities, and tackling discrimination, especially against members of ethnic or religious minorities.

Source: Scottish Human Rights Commission