Weekly Human Rights News: 28/02/25

This week’s news includes a speech from the UK Government Minister for Human Rights, a new blog from our CEO on how we protect the Human Rights Act in a new political climate, and a judgment in the Court of Protection on the importance of considering wishes and feelings in treatment decisions.

In December 2024, Lord Ponsonby, the UK Government Minister for Human Rights, spoke at our Human Rights Day event where we launched four new human rights resources co-designed with community groups from across the UK.

In his speech, Lord Ponsonby recognised “human rights aren't just about historic declarations – they have a tangible connection to people’s lives. The human rights we enjoy, and the accompanying responsibilities we share, bind us together in our common humanity, and are an essential tool in maintaining a society based on tolerance and respect...Renewing the Government’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law is an important first step – and a welcome change – but warm words alone aren’t enough. Action must follow."

We're pleased to now be able to share his speech in full on our website.

In a new article, our CEO Sanchita reflected on the work that still needs to be done to strengthen human rights protections for everyone in the UK.

Explaining that the law needs to be not just in place but put into practice, Sanchita explained, “the realisation of law, surely, begins and not stops with its passing, at the start of the things it was passed to do. This is, to be frank, the hard, ordinary, everyday often non-newsworthy work of implementation. Campaigning for the full use of what we have will often not feel like campaigning at all. But laws are not ends in themselves; they are a means, they are meant to be used, to do something. That can be no truer than for human rights law, and we are by no means done with this work."

She also looked at some of the practical human rights resources co-created with community groups over the past year and the speech given by Lord Ponsonby, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Justice, at our recent Human Rights Day event.

Southall Community Alliance is one of our partners on the London Communities Human Rights Programme, working together until 2028 to develop and implement a human rights approach locally. The Community Forum meeting was widely attended by representatives from voluntary sector organisations, residents, councillors and council staff, coming together to discuss local. This month our CEO, Sanchita, joined the meeting to talk about the Human Rights Act and the power it can give communities in driving forward positive local changes.

A range of issues were discussed at the Forum, including specific questions from the community about using human rights to challenge concerns about housing, no recourse to public funds, a lack of access to justice, and cuts to children's centres that will disproportionately impact Southall. We also discussed the importance of using the language of human rights to challenge the idea that they are only for certain people, and make the Human Rights Act part of our toolkit for social action. 

Judge finds that neuro-disability hospital failed to consider a man’s wishes and feelings in their decision to continue treatment for nine years

Mr Justice Hayden handed down a judgment in the Court of Protection relating to a man who has had a ‘prolonged disorder of consciousness’ since 2016. From the early stages of his admission to the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in London, there had been ‘powerful and strong’ evidence, expressed by his family, that he would have hated to be in the circumstances in which he found himself. Despite this, the hospital continued to provide nursing care and clinically-assisted nutrition and hydration for nine years, which the judge said was not in his best interests under the Mental Capacity Act because it did not consider the man’s past wishes and feelings, and that such treatment had compromised his dignity.

Mr Justice Hayden said “JP has an inviolable right to be valued, respected, and treated ethically solely because he is a human being. The inherent dignity of a human being imposes an obligation on those treating him, actively to promote his dignity.”

The Mental Capacity Act is a law in England and Wales which is about enabling people to make decisions and providing a framework for making decisions in the best interests of people who lack capacity to do so. This law is underpinned by the Human Rights Act, which says we have a right to respect for our private life (Article 8, HRA), and this includes autonomy over our own lives. This is a non-absolute right, meaning that sometimes public officials can make decisions that restrict our autonomy, but they have to make sure a 3-stage test is met: it must be allowed by a law (for example, the Mental Capacity Act allows restrictions on this right), it must be for a legitimate aim (like to protect you or someone else from harm), and it must be proportionate, having explored less restrictive ways of meeting the legitimate aim.

Source: BAILII