SASW stands up for Human Rights

Alongside 124 Scottish organisations, SASW has submitted a joint statement to UK Ministers asking them to reverse their decision to replace the Human Rights Act.

Social work is built on protecting, upholding and advancing individual and collective human rights. Abolishing the Human Rights Act would be a regressive and damaging move that we simply cannot stand by and accept. That's why SASW is calling on UK Ministers to reconsider their policy. You can read the full statement below.

Joint Statement on UK Rights Removal Bill

Our human rights are about the values we hold dear and the way we treat one another – they are about dignity, fairness, equality, tolerance, and respect. They are the foundations that help us live together freely and fairly - a safety net to protect us all. We are therefore alarmed that the UK Government has introduced a Bill to Parliament which, if enacted, will repeal the Human Rights Act and will significantly diminish protection for human rights in law.

Our experience of working with individuals and communities across Scotland is that the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) is an essential protection for our human rights. Indeed, many of our organisations submitted evidence to the Independent Review of the Human Rights Act detailing the ways in which the HRA is working well. We also collectively gave many hours of our time to respond to the UK Government’s consultation on proposals for this Bill of Rights. However, both the Panel’s recommendations and the consultation responses have been disregarded by the UK Government in the development of this Bill.

We are very concerned that there are many elements to this Bill that will significantly reduce human rights protection. These include, for example, restricting / narrowing our relationship with the European Court of Human Rights, lowering standards of protection, and making it harder for the court to protect us from serious and irreparable harm.

The rights removal bill will undermine all of our human rights and significantly impact the realisation of rights for individuals whose human rights are currently most at risk. The UK Government's proposals for reform are out of step with political and public opinion in Scotland. There is overwhelming support across Scotland to go forwards and not backwards on human rights, for a strong human rights legal framework and not one that is watered down.

We therefore strongly urge the UK Government to reconsider this Bill and instead, consider what can be done to better protect human rights for all in Scotland, and across the UK.