Submission on a UK Bill of Rights

The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has emphatically rejected the proposal of a UK Bill of Rights. This was the primary question posed in the consultation process of the UK Government appointed Commission of Inquiry on a Bill of Rights, which closed on Friday 11th November.

The Commission on a Bill of Rights was established to investigate the creation of a UK Bill of Rights that “incorporates and builds on … obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, ensures that these rights continue to be enshrined in UK law, and protects and extend our liberties.” It aims to report no later than the end of 2012.

The SHRC made the following key points:

• There is a definite need to retain and build upon the Human Rights Act. It should not be substituted by a weaker UK Bill of Rights which makes government less accountable to the public. To ensure practical and effective implementation of the European Convention of Human Rights all of the human rights contained in the Human Rights Act and all of the mechanisms within the Act should be retained - not weakened.
• The status quo is not acceptable either. SHRC’s recommendation is that all of the UK’s international human rights obligations are incorporated into domestic law, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is overdue. These protections for the public are all the more necessary in the present times of austerity when budgetary decisions need to be made in ways which do not disproportionately impact upon the most vulnerable in our community.
• In addition to retaining the Human Rights Act, SHRC is promoting a more forward and outward looking approach of engaging with the public, Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government in shaping Scotland’s National Action Plan for human rights. This will be a practical roadmap to progressively bring the living experience of all, particularly the most vulnerable, up to the standards of the international human rights legal obligations already ratified by the UK.

Professor Alan Miller, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission said:

“Within Scotland SHRC is promoting a forward and outward looking approach – to include the active engagement of the public, Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government – in shaping Scotland’s National Action Plan on human rights. This will be a practical roadmap to progressively bring the living experience of all, particularly the most vulnerable, up to the standards of the international human rights legal obligations already ratified by the UK.”