The Ministry of Justice used the most powerful rights tool this country has ever had. However, the press release announcing the bill suggests that this is somehow good news for all of us. Suspend your disbelief, but obviously the “underlying” of the Human Rights Act will in some way amount to “extending” the right to freedom of expression. The Ministry of Justice invokes journalists and their right to protect sources, suggesting that this will be a valuable new protection. In fact, just a few months ago, journalist and former MP Chris Mullen relied on the Human Rights Act for just that purpose in an important press freedom case. Believing that we are going to gain rights through this legislation requires serious mental acrobatics. The bill specifically targets “positive obligations”. These are the obligations that apply to public authorities and oblige them to take positive measures to protect human rights instead of simply being limited to violating them. Positive rights are a vital tool that allows victims to be held accountable by the police for serious failures in rape investigations, for example, the horrific mismanagement of the case of serial rapist John Worboys. Repeated failures in the way police and prosecutors investigate endemic violence against women have caused a crisis of public confidence – but Raab is now reducing victims’ rights to hold authorities accountable. Positive commitments are also an integral part of ensuring effective public inquiries into state-responsible deaths, such as the long-delayed Covid investigation. It is no coincidence, you might think, that the very politicians that the Human Rights Act potentially holds accountable may want to see it removed and replaced with this version of ersatz. If the government believes that depriving ordinary people of their rights in this country at the touch of a pen will be popular, it is wrong. In a recent poll commissioned by Amnesty International, nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) said they believed it was important to keep the Human Rights Act as a vital tool to hold the government accountable when things went wrong. And when I say wrong, I mean terrible catastrophes that can be avoided, such as the Hillsborough tragedy or the sad handling of the Covid pandemic. This is not just a domestic issue. Our poll showed that the horror of Ukraine has highlighted the value of basic human rights for almost everyone in this country. Four in five (79%) said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had made it particularly important that countries such as the United Kingdom defended human rights and almost two-thirds (65%) said they believed human rights at home would be negative. impact on Britain’s ability to defend human rights on the world stage. It gets worse. As the government has repeatedly warned, any significant change in the Human Rights Act could violate Good Friday agreement, upsetting a delicate peace balance. Our government is increasingly resisting legal scrutiny. Following the cessation of refugee flight from Rwanda last week, we have witnessed the kind of bitter sniping for the European Court of Human Rights that could have come directly from Victor Orban or Vladimir Putin. The UK is now throwing its toys out of the cart. However, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an invaluable last resort for millions. Indeed, lawyers working for British Prisoners sentenced to death in Ukraine can appeal to this court. Ignore the name of this new legislation. It is a bill to abolish rights and it will leave us all poorer.
