May 15, 2008...7:37 am
15 of the most valuable things you’ll ever own
You probably don’t ever think about them, but they are priceless. And trust me, you’d miss them if they were gone. I’m talking about your human rights.
Having just said I will be posting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, here I am on Thursday morning failing to write about East London. The reason is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights. You probably know about the amazing work that Amnesty does abroad, but if I can’t zoom in on the East End for this one, I can at least look at human rights in the UK, because - like charity - they begin at home. Liberty is probably the organisation that does the most on this in the UK and they rock pretty hard.
So what are your rights? Here’s a list of them as they stand in the Human Rights Act 1998:
Which one would you be happy to give up?
About 6 months ago I started working at a human rights charity. It was a completely new area for me. I have since come to realise two very important things:
- We are lucky to live in the country that we do. Once a nation’s human rights framework has been dismantled or compromised, there is no protection. There’s no way to complain, there’s no way to make a change, you cannot hold anyone to account. I know the total shambles that is parliamentary politics at the moment doesn’t provide a great deal of comfort, but it really is better than the alternative. Not that we can rest easy - I urge you to watch Taking Liberties if you get the chance. It’s pretty damn scary
- Human rights only work if everyone has them. If you are happy to see somebody imprisoned without trial, then you are forfeiting your own protection. If you are, like me, educated, white, and middle-class, it’s unlikely that They will be coming for you anytime soon. But use your imagination, and try to understand what it would mean for someone to be arrested and held without charge and with no explanation.
It is vital that we safeguard these principles, even if it means standing up for the rights of people that we despise. That is a tough pill to swallow, I know. But we mustn’t arm our government, our future governments, with weapons that could one day be turned on us.
6 Comments
May 15, 2008 at 8:49 am
Thank you. Even though I am an Indian citizen, your post made me think and list out the fundamental rights guaranteed to us by our constitution. Sadly, there is a growing trend - worldwide, I would think - where a lot of these rights, even though enshrined in the respective constitutions , are being diluted and limited under various pretexts. And that is what we should all guard against.
May 15, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I quite agree! It is “the fight that is never done”, in the words of my good friend EM Forster:
http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/about/1-history/index.shtml
Thanks for your comment
May 15, 2008 at 9:17 pm
A nice twist on the usual “x number of random things about me” meme. Now if only the mainstream was less hostile to the UN in my country (the US). Maybe that’s changing.
May 15, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Okay, I got my wires crossed. I was thinking of the Universal Declaration, but this is a British act, right? I didn’t know there was such a thing. I thought your common law took care of this. Why this act, which actually codifies rights?
May 16, 2008 at 12:06 am
Thanks Mark! Sadly my legal knowledge is quite scanty, but I think part of the reason was so that human rights cases didn’t have to keep going to the European Court of Human Rights, which can take years and years. There’s a summary all about the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights here if you’re interested: http://www.yourrights.org.uk/your-rights/the-human-rights-act/european-convention-on-human-rights/european-convention-on-human-rights.shtml
It’s the 60th anniversary of the UDHR this year, isn’t it? Shame to hear things aren’t so good over the pond either. What do you think of the ACLU?
May 16, 2008 at 1:49 pm
The fight will never end…but it’s worth fighting as if it will. Thanks for your thoughts on human rights. As the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reminds us, “…recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds
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