Saturday 10th December 2022 was the 74th International Human Rights Day. On Thursday 8th December, on the same day as BIHR’s Human Rights Day 2022 event, Independent MP Margaret Ferrier led a debate in Parliament.
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP for Islington North, then emphasised the need to educate young people on the Human Rights Act. This was a key finding by the Independent Human Rights Act Review panel (IHRAR) set up by the UK Government in 2020, which strongly recommended a focus on civic, constitutional education. Far from suggesting scrapping the Human Rights Act (as the Government hopes to do with its Rights Removal Bill), the IHRAR panel found “a need to convey to the public that the rights in the HRA were their rights and not just the rights of those who were unpopular or vilified in the media”.
Jeremy warned that by walking away from human rights legislation, we leave “a terrible legacy for the next and future generations”.
Bambos Charalambous, Labour MP for Enfield Southgate, shared this sentiment, elaborating on the ways the right to protest has been weakened by the current Government and supported Jeremy Corbyn in saying, “we cannot lecture the world on human rights when the UK is watering down its own rights.” Read our blog on The Human Rights Act and protest here.
Anne Marie Trevalyan, Conservative MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed and Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, then said the Government is “committed to being a force for good in the world with human rights”. She said their approach is anchored in the “enduring belief in freedom, openness and the rule of law”.
However, this is in stark contrast to the provisions in the Rights Removal Bill, which would, among other things, introduce an extra barrier to bringing court cases against the UK Government effectively weakening the rule of law. You can read our guest blog on Why Our Human Rights Act Matters to the Rule of Law by the Public Law Project here.
Margaret ended by reflecting “on dignity, freedom and justice for all. Those six short words summarise what we are fighting for, together with so many others across the world.”
Find out how you can play your part in standing up for human rights across the UK: