A Rights Discourse

1
A Rights Discourse

• The role of the law in defending freedoms,
  protecting liberty, providing remedies and the
  means to counter discrimination and oppression

2
What do we mean by a right

• a thing one may legally or morally claim the
  state of being entitled to a privilege or
  immunity or authority to act
• The Concise Oxford English Dictionary 9th Ed

3
How do you recognise a right?
4
What rights did the people entering these gates
have?
5
How do we recognise a right?

• Are they really self evident as the American
  Declaration of Independence asserts or are they
  won or lost through being contested between those
  that have the power to decide who has them and
  those that do not have them but decide to try to
  claim them?

6
Rights as

• Positive rights
• Negative rights
• Legal rights
• Moral rights
• Absolute, qualified and conditional rights
• Claims and entitlements
• Who confers these upon us?

7
Written and unwritten constitutions

• The UK does not have a written constitution based
  on a bill of rights. This results in a negative,
  reactive response in which there is a vague
  presumption that one may act unless there is a
  law that expressly prohibits that act.
• The position is clearer where there is a written
  constitution based on a bill of rights laying out
  what rights are conferred on people and which
  freedoms and liberties the state will defend.

8
Rights as a valid claim and rights as
emancepatory activity

• Justified in accordance with a set of rules.
• a right is more than a claim which may be
  weak or strong but a right exists as either
  something one is entitled to or not
• 
  
  Feinberg in Banks
  (2006), p104
• Proclaimed as a manifesto, objectives to be
  brought about through advocacy, activity and are
  aspirational in nature.

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Properties of a (valid) right

• Identifies who is responsible for upholding the
  right
• Where a right has been violated a remedy is
  available
• Confers a greater level of equality, status,
  power and access to resources on the holder
• Involves a corresponding degree of sharing (some
  may consider a dilution) of the same on those
  responsible

10
Our status as

• Citizens
• Subjects
• Clients
• Services Users
• Consumers

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The development of human rights

• The universal declaration of human rights 1948
• Article 2
• Everyone is entitled to all the rights and
  freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without
  distinction of any kind, such as race, colour,
  sex, language, religion, political or other
  opinion, national or social origin, property,
  birth or other status. Furthermore, no
  distinction shall be made on the basis of the
  political, jurisdictional or international status
  of the country or territory to which a person
  belongs, whether it be independent, trust,
  non-self-governing or under any other limitation
  of sovereignty.

12
This included

• Article 26
• Everyone has the right to education. Education
  shall be free, at least in the elementary and
  fundamental stages.
• Article 23 (2)
• Everyone, without any discrimination, has the
  right to equal pay for equal work

13
Council of Europe Convention for the Protection
of human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950

• Article 14- Prohibition of discrimination
• The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set
  forth in this convention shall be secured without
  discrimination on any ground such as sex, race,
  colour, language, religion, political or other
  opinion, national or social origin, association
  with a national minority, property, birth or
  other status

14
Anti discrimination Law in the UK

• Sex Discrimination Act 1975
• Equal Pay Act 1970
• Race Relations Act 1976
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• Disability Rights Commission Act 1999
• Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
• SEN and Disability Act 2001

15
Continued

• Employment Equality (religion or belief) Regs
  2003
• Employment Equality (sexual orientation) Regs
  2003
• Gender recognition Act 2004
• Disability Discrimination Act 2005
• Employment Equality (Age) Regs 2006

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Equality Act 2006

• Replaces CRE, DRC,EOC with CEHR, with a remit to
  encourage and support-
• Peoples ability to achieve their potential not
  limited by prejudice or discrimination
• Respect and protection for individuals human
  rights
• Respect for the dignity and worth of each
  individual
• Each individual have equal opportunity to
  participate in society
• Mutual respect for groups based on valuing
  diversity and respect for equality and human
  rights

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The legal provision identified

• Makes it unlawful to discriminate against another
  person on the grounds of their -
• Belief and Religion
• Gender (including reassignment of gender)
• Sexual orientation
• Age
• Race
• Disability
• However exemptions may be applied for in certain
  circumstances, e.g. some job advertisements.

18
Human Rights Act 1998

• A principle effect of the Human Rights Act 1998
  is to incorporate the European Convention on
  Human Rights into UK domestic law. This will have
  a significant influence on the development of UK
  legislation as legislators will need to be
  mindful of potential incompatibility with an
  article

19
The Human Rights Act 1998

• Article 3 Prohibition against torture, inhuman
  or degrading treatment or punishment ( absolute)
• Article 6 The right to a fair trial (Limited)
• Article 8 The right to respect for private and
  family life, home and correspondence (qualified)

20
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989

• The 40 articles contained in the convention are
  not enforceable as in the case with the HRA 1998
  but as the UK ratified these in 1989 they are
  judged against the extent to which the way public
  bodies comply with the spirit of the articles in
  the convention

21
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

• A child is anyone below 18 years (Article 1)
• Respect for responsibilities, rights and duties
  of parents (Article 5)
• Every child has the inherent right to life
• (Article 6)
• Children have the right to be protected from
  abuse, including sexual abuse neglect and
  exploitation (Articles 19 and 34)

22
Continued

• The child has the right to express an opinion and
  have this taken into account (Article 12)
• Mentally and physically disabled children should
  enjoy a full life (Article 23)
• Children have a right to a high standard of
  health (Article 24)
• The right to a standard of living adequate for
  the childs well-being (Article 27)
• Right not to be tortured (Article 37)

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Article 12 (in detail)

1. States parties shall assure to the child who is
   capable of forming his or her own views the right
   to express those views freely in all matters
   affecting the child, the views of the child being
   given due weight in accordance with the age and
   maturity of the child.
2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular
   be provided the opportunity to be heard in any
   judicial and administrative proceedings affecting
   the child, either directly or through a
   representative or an appropriate body, in a
   manner consistent with the procedural rules of
   national law.

24
Children Act 1989

• Although this comprehensive piece of civil
  welfare legislation does not make any specific
  provision to promote childrens rights, nor does
  it specify the word partnership as a principle of
  engagement. It is compliant with Art 12 as it
  does, on occasion, make it a requirement to
  obtain the views of children, taking into account
  their age and level of maturity.

25
Other measures to safeguard welfare

• The care standards Act 2000 introduced a range
  of National Minimum Standards and regulations on
  services that Local authorities and other
  statutory bodies provide and are inspected
  against. This represents another way by which the
  work of public bodies is scrutinised.

26
Progress?

• Monday 19th November 2007 was world toilet day.
  This was held to remind us that 2.6 billion
  people dont have access to a toilet that secures
  the separation of foul and portable water. That
  is 40 of the worlds population and has the
  result of 5 million child deaths per year from
  sanitation related diseases such as diarrhoea and
  cholera.

27
Useful websites

• www.hmso.gov.uk/acts1998/19980042.htm
• www.savethechildren.net
• www.childrenareunbeatable.org.uk
• www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm