Thursday, 19 May 2016

A British Bill of Rights?



Amongst the announcements in the Queen’s Speech was that “proposals will be brought forward for a British Bill of Rights”.

The scrapping of the Human Rights Act and its replacement with a British Bill of Rights poses a serious risk to the basic human rights which we enjoy. The move is a political one, which prioritises appeasing David Cameron’s more Eurosceptic backbenchers given the upcoming EU referendum over protecting our fundameltal rights.

The Human Rights Act (1998) incorporates the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, requires all public bodies to respect and protect human rights, and means that Parliament will nearly always seek to ensure that new laws are compatible with the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights.

Just last month Theresa May, the Home Secretary, advocated abandoning the European Convention entirely, regardless of the outcome of the EU referendum. The scrapping of the Human Rights Act would erode the protection that we receive from the European Convention. And given comments made by members of this Conservative UK Government, including Theresa May, it would be a significant step towards the removal of the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights.

The European Convention on Human Rights protects our basic rights, including the right to life, the freedom from inhumane treatment, the right to liberty and security, the right to a fair trial, respect for private and family life, freedom of thought, belief, and religion, freedom of expression, and protection from discrimination, amongst others.

Supporters of scrapping the Human Rights Act in favour of a British Bill of Rights argue that the new legislation would continue to protect our rights. Yet if one wants to see how a domestic Bill of Rights can fail on a mass scale to protect human rights, you only need to look to America. Despite the Americans’ fierce protection of their Bill of Rights, millions of Americans are subjected to inhumane legislation and discrimination.

In America today cities can pass laws making it illegal to be homeless. States can carry out capital punishment, and often keep prisoners on death row for decades. The individuals sentenced to death are disproportionately African-Americans from poor backgrounds, reflective of what many perceive to be a vastly unequal justice system. Police in the US have been in the spotlight for their use of excessive force and disproportionate use of lethal force against minority ethnic groups, and what many feel is a lack of accountability in this regard.

Many commentators have argued that since the beginning of the “War on Terror” there has been creeping infringement on human rights by the US Government which the Bill of Rights is intended to protect. The Patriot Act, passed in October 2001, places substantial restrictions on the right to privacy and freedom of speech. Additionally, there have been reports of numerous abuses of human rights by the US Government, military, and CIA, including the invasion of privacy, torture and illegal detention, through spying by the NSA, the use of CIA Black Sites, the prison at Guantanamo Bay, and others.

Those who advocate for the repeal of the Human Rights Act and a withdrawal from the European Convention argue that the European Convention on Human Rights, and in turn the Human Rights Act, binds the hands of Parliament from making certain decisions. But given the disposition towards the erosion of human rights by this Tory UK Government, for example, its introduction of the Investigatory Powers Bill, there is a strong case to be made that any Government must be held accountable by an internationally accepted code.

The fact that Prime Minister is willing to play politics with the basic human rights we in Scotland enjoy demonstrates exactly why membership of the EU is so vital- so that neither this majority Tory UK Government, nor any future UK Government without mandate from the people of Scotland, does not have unfettered power.