Weekly Human Rights News: 06/09/2024

ACEVOFest, organised annually by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, is a two-day festival of leadership.

On Wednesday 5th March 2025, our CEO, Sanchita, will be chairing a panel discussion on activism and how civil society leaders can organise to influence and build power for change. She will be joined by Ben Gilchrist, CEO of Caritas Diocese of Shrewsbury, Tom Brake, Director of Unlock Democracy, and Matthew Bolton, Executive Director of Citizens UK. 

We are delighted to share that BIHR and the Scottish Recovery Consortium (SRC) have published a joint guide which highlights the importance of human rights for people whose lives have been, or continue to be, affected by substance use.

The guide has been developed as part of a SCR and BIHR programme which aims to support and empower recovery advocates in Scotland to use human rights in their work. This guide has been designed for people accessing, or trying to access, recovery services, as well as their loved ones and supporters, to know and claim their human rights every day.

The guide sets out how and why human rights matter in a recovery context, providing an overview of our UK Human Rights Act and some of the key rights that come up all too often for people in recovery when they interact with public services, including their right to be free from discrimination (Article 14, HRA). The guide also features real-life anonymised stories to bring human rights law to life, including some from members of recovery organisations that have worked with SRC.

The Human Rights Consortium Scotland has released a podcast recording taken from their “Our International Human Rights: the Human Rights Act” event that took place in July this year. Our Head of Policies and Programmes, Carlyn Miller, had the pleasure of being invited to speak about the Human Rights Act and the impact it has on Scotland.

Scottish Human Rights Bill delayed

In 2023, the Scottish Parliament began developing a Scottish human rights bill that would compliment the Human Rights Act 1998 and introduce new rights into Scottish law. The bill intended to bring four UN human rights treaties into Scottish law, as well as a new right to a health environment.

Following a consultation period, the bill was expected to have been introduced by now. However, it has now been revealed that the bill has not appeared on the   to be brought forward in Scotland. This will delay the progress of the bill, making it unclear when it may come to fruition.

We will continue to provide updates on the progress of the bill as it develops.

On the morning of 4^th September 2024, over 7 years on from the Grenfell disaster, the final report from the Grenfell tower inquiry was published. The report drew several significant conclusions with regards to the Grenfell Tower fire, including actions taken by public authorities such as the government, local authorities, the fire brigade, and regulators. It’s important to remember that public authorities have legal duties to respect, protect and fulfil people’s human rights under the Human Rights Act.

The full implications of this report will develop over time.