The human rights watchdog in Northern Ireland presented its advice on a Bill of Rights. It made a number of recommendations for inclusion in a Bill of Rights, such as: the right to equality and prohibition of discrimination; education rights; freedom from violence, exploitation and harassment; the rights of victims; the right to identity and culture; language rights; democratic rights; the right to liberty; and fair trial rights.
Source: A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: Advice to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (028 9024 3987)
Links: Report | NIHRC press release | NICCY press release | Christian Institute press release | FPA press release
Date: 2008-Dec
An article said that New Labour's domestic and foreign policy had been driven by a 'complex and contradictory' precautionary logic. Fear management appeared to have replaced coherent principles in the development of some areas of policy. The preoccupation with fear and anxiety had provided a rationale for the suspension of liberty and the adoption of measures that Western democracies had only usually seen in times of war. Fear-based policy had also created a more exclusivist, segmented society.
Source: David Denney, 'Fear, human rights and New Labour policy post-9/11', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 42 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Dec
A report said that many public authorities were embracing human rights standards and principles: but many people, particularly the most vulnerable, remained in need of the protections afforded by the Human Rights Act.
Source: The Human Rights Act: Changing Lives (Second edition), British Institute of Human Rights/King's College London (020 7401 2712)
Links: Report | BIHR press release | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Nov
The government announced that it was suspending its attempt to extend to 42 days (from 28) the period for which people accused of terrorist offences could be held without trial. This followed the defeat of the measure in the Counter-Terrorism Bill by the House of Lords. The government published a separate draft Bill containing the defeated measure, which would be introduced when circumstances required it. The government also announced that it would remove clauses from the Counter-Terrorism Bill that would have given it power to intervene in inquests where sensitive information is involved (it had been proposed that such inquests would take place without juries, partly in private, with government-appointed coroners and counsel overseeing the evidence).
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 13 October 2008, columns 620-631, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Draft Counter-Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Bill, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Draft Bill | Liberty press release | NIHRC press release | Human Rights Watch press release | MCB press release | MPACUK press release | INQUEST press release | Telegraph report | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | FT report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2008-Oct
Campaigners called for an international initiative to set out general legal principles that would define equality as a basic human right.
Source: Declaration of Principles on Equality, Equal Rights Trust (020 3178 4113)
Links: Declaration | ERT press release
Date: 2008-Oct
The government responded to a report by a committee of peers on the Counter-Terrorism Bill. It said that the proposal to extend the maximum period of pre-charge detention in the Counter-Terrorism Bill from 28 to 42 days was compatible with Article 5 of European Convention on Human Rights.
Source: Counter-Terrorism Bill: The Role of Ministers, Parliament and the Judiciary – The Government Reply to the Tenth Report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution, Cm 7482, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | Peers report
Date: 2008-Oct
A committee of the Council of Europe said that it had serious doubts as to the compatibility of certain elements of draft counter-terrorism legislation in the United Kingdom with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Source: Proposed 42-day Pre-charge Detention in the United Kingdom, Council of Europe (+33 0388 412033)
Links: Report | Liberty press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Sep
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that the United Kingdom should adopt a Bill of Rights and Freedoms. The Bill would set out a shared vision of a desirable future society: it should be aspirational in nature as well as protecting those human rights which already existed. It should give lasting effect to shared values, including liberty, democracy, fairness, civic duty, and the rule of law. It should include social and economic rights – initially the rights to education, health, housing, and an adequate standard of living.
Source: A Bill of Rights for the UK?, Twenty-ninth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 150 and HL 165, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons) Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Unlock Democracy press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Community Care report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2008-Aug
A United Nations report criticized the United Kingdom's anti-terrorism and libel laws, and its use of the Official Secrets Act. Provisions under the Terrorism Act 2006 covering encouragement of terrorism were too 'broad and vague'. Libel laws should be reformed to end 'libel tourism' – where people came to the UK to sue over articles they would not be able to pursue in their own countries. The use of the Official Secrets Act was preventing civil servants from bringing issues of genuine public interest to wider attention even when national security was not at risk.
Source: Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 40 of the Covenant: Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Human Rights Committee/United Nations (+4 122 917 2600)
Links: Report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Aug
A government-commissioned report said that people should have a right to know with whom companies shared their details, and those companies deliberately breaking privacy rules should face large fines. Across the public and private sectors, data-sharing was 'shrouded in confusion' and the public had little insight into how personal information was used.
Source: Richard Thomas and Mark Walport, Data Sharing Review Report, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report | Annexes | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2008-Jul
The human rights watchdog in Northern Ireland highlighted a number of concerns regarding the protection of civil and political rights in Northern Ireland, including counter-terrorism legislation and the treatment of women and girls in prison.
Source: Submission to the United Nations' Human Rights Committee Under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights: Shadow Report on the Sixth Periodic Report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (028 9024 3987)
Links: Report | NIHRC press release
Date: 2008-Jul
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the surveillance of citizens in public places. It said that technology provided a major opportunity to strengthen public service delivery, and should be used to meet changing expectations of the individual and the community – while ensuring that the approach adopted was 'proportionate, open and transparent'.
Source: A Surveillance Society? The Government Reply to the Fifth Report from the Home Affairs Committee, Cm 7449, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2008-Jul
The government began consultation on proposals to increase the powers, funding, and duties of the information watchdog.
Source: The Information Commissioner's Inspection Powers and Funding Arrangements Under the Data Protection Act 1998, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Consultation document | MOJ press release
Date: 2008-Jul
The government responded to a report by a joint committee of MPs and peers on data sharing between government departments and agencies. It said that it took data protection and human rights seriously; and it agreed that data sharing should be justifiable, proportionate, and only undertaken when proper safeguards were in place.
Source: Government Response to the Committee's Fourteenth Report of Session 2007-08: Data Protection and Human Rights, Twenty-Second Report (Session 2007-08), HL 125 and HC 754, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Date: 2008-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs said that the potential for surveillance of citizens in public spaces and private communications had increased dramatically over the previous decade. It recommended that the Home Office exercise restraint in collecting personal information, and address the question of whether or not surveillance activities represented proportionate responses to threats of varying degrees of severity.
Source: A Surveillance Society?, Fifth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 58, House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | ICO press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jun
The Counter-Terrorism Bill was given a third reading. The Bill included new measures to strengthen terrorist prosecutions and deal with terrorists after they had been charged. A provision to increase the number of days a terrorist suspect could be held in pre-charge detention, from 28 days to 42, was approved by just 9 votes after a rebellion by Labour backbench MPs.
Source: Counter-Terrorism Bill, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 11 June 2008, columns 312-422, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | HOC research brief | Hansard | Liberty press release | Amnesty press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2008-Jun
The government responded to two reports by a joint committee of MPs and peers on counter-terrorism policy and human rights.
Source: Counter-Terrorism Policy and Human Rights: Government Responses to the Committee's Twentieth and Twenty-first Reports and Other Correspondence, Twenty-fourth Report (Session 2007-08), HL 127 and HC 756, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | JC 20th report | JC 21st report
Date: 2008-Jun
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers examined human rights concerns over the government's proposal to extend the maximum period of pre-charge detention in terrorist cases to 42 days. It said that additional safeguards which had been proposed were 'inadequate' to protect individuals against the risk of arbitrary detention.
Source: Counter-Terrorism Policy and Human Rights (Eleventh Report): 42 Days and Public Emergencies, Twenty-first Report (Session 2007-08), HC 635 and HL 116, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons) Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jun
The government responded to a report by a joint committee of MPs and peers on human rights. It said that it disagreed with the suggestion that ministers were misleading the public about the effect of the Human Rights Act.
Source: Government Response to the Committee's Sixth Report of Session 2007-08: The Work of the Committee in 2007 and the State of Human Rights in the UK, Eighteenth Report (Session 2007-08), HL 103 and HC 526, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Date: 2008-May
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that recent breaches in data protection by government departments 'did not encourage [it] to feel confident' about the security of data collected as part of the national identity register project.
Source: Data Protection and Human Rights, Fourteenth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 132 and HL 72, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons) Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
The United Kingdom submitted a report to the United Nations on how it was fulfilling its human rights obligations. The human rights watchdog announced the launch of an independent inquiry into human rights in the United Kingdom.
Source: Universal Periodic Review: UK national report, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500) | Press release 6 March 2008, Equality and Human Rights Commission (020 3117 0235)
Links: Report | EHRC press release
Date: 2008-Mar
An advisory body published a report on a future Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. The proposed law would protect the fundamental rights and freedoms to which each person was entitled – including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, education, and good healthcare.
Source: Final Report: Recommendations to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, Bill of Rights Forum (028 9054 4929)
Links: Report | BORF press release | NIHRC press release | SPUC press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Mar
An independent review examined how to maximize the economic and social advantages of having the most effective personal identity assurance systems and infrastructure. The 'highest level of trust' required to prove the scheme was socially, politically, and financially viable would not be achieved unless important aspects of its operation were taken out of the hands of central government. The government should drastically reduce the amount of personal data stored by the national register and make the enrolment and the cards themselves free of charge.
Source: James Crosby, Challenges and Opportunities in Identity Assurance, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558)
Links: Report | HMT press release | FT report
Date: 2008-Mar
The government published a delivery plan for the introduction of identity cards, together with a document setting out plans for introducing compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals. The aim was that 90 per cent of foreign nationals would have ID cards by 2015, and 100 per cent by 2017. Airport workers and other workers in security-sensitive jobs would also need an ID card from 2009. Students would be encouraged to get ID cards on a voluntary basis from 2010. From 2011-12, all passport applicants would be registered on the scheme as they applied for the new biometric passports containing fingerprints: British citizens enrolled in this way would be able to choose whether to have a passport or an ID card, or both.
Source: National Identity Scheme Delivery Plan 2008, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Introducing Compulsory Identity Cards for Foreign Nationals, Home Office
Links: Plan | Foreign nationals scheme | Home Office press release | Speech | Liberty press release | NUS press release | REC press release | Personnel Today report | Telegraph report | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that proposals in the Counter Terrorism Bill to give the Home Secretary powers to remove juries from coroners' inquests involving material affecting national security had the 'most serious implications' for the United Kingdom's ability to comply with the obligation in article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights to provide an adequate and effective investigation where an individual had been killed as a result of the use of force.
Source: Counter-Terrorism Policy and Human Rights (Eighth Report): Counter-Terrorism Bill, Ninth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 199 and HL 50, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons) Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
A joint committee of MPs and peers on human rights published its first annual report. The Human Rights Act was under threat, frequently and inaccurately derided as a charter for terrorists, criminals, and illegal immigrants.
Source: The Work of the Committee in 2007 and the State of Human Rights in the UK, Sixth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 270 and HL 38, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons) Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Feb
A think-tank report said that the government's strategy for widening the use of information technology in public services delivery played on modern dissatisfaction with anonymous, bureaucratic services. Yet the strategy entailed more central control, less local accountability, and less individual responsibility. Instead of breaking up the 'Whitehall monopolies', it drew more power to the centre.
Source: Jill Kirby, Who Do They Think We Are? Government's hidden agenda to control our lives, Centre for Policy Studies (020 7222 4488)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jan
A report examined whether human rights could be used empirically as a tool to improve the public's experience of public services. The term 'human rights' had mainly positive associations: but there was little understanding of the application of human rights to public service delivery. Increasing the extent to which key human rights principles were respected and applied in public service delivery could increase user satisfaction.
Source: Human Rights Insight Project, Research Report 1/08, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jan
A report by a committee of MPs said that reckless or repeated breaches of data security by government departments should become a criminal offence.
Source: Protection of Private Data, First Report (Session 2007-08), HC 154, House of Commons Justice Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | PCS press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jan