Rights of protestors, disabled people and migrant workers being ‘failed’ by government, ECHR chief says
The government was criticized for “failing to protect the fundamental rights” of protesters, migrant workers and disabled people.
The new chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Dr. Mary-Ann Stephenson has written a letter to ministers calling on them to “ensure rights are protected across the country”.
Dr. started his duty at the beginning of December. Stephenson highlighted areas where “basic human rights” were not guaranteed for certain groups.
He said: “The government has made commitments to protect the fundamental human rights of everyone.
“While progress is being made in some areas, it is failing to protect fundamental rights in others, particularly by allowing harsh interventions into peaceful protests, failing to ensure that people with disabilities have access to healthcare on an equal basis with others, and allowing labor exploitation for some workers to go unchecked.
“This failure to uphold basic human rights is concerning for each of us. Our everyday rights are not luxuries to be earned, but obligations that governments must fulfill.”
“That is why we have written to ministers to urge them to review our new report and implement the outstanding recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review to ensure rights are protected across the country.”
The watchdog’s latest report follows a warning to the government in August from previous EHRC chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner about “harsh policing” that the regulator said risked having a “chilling effect” on protest rights during war-related demonstrations in Gaza earlier this year.
The report, published on Wednesday to mark Human Rights Day, once again raised concerns about protest rights.
The regulator said: “Despite these restrictions, which are contrary to international standards, the government has yet to repeal laws that could disproportionately restrict people’s rights to association, peaceful protest and assembly, such as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and the Public Order Act 2023.”
In October the government announced police would be given greater powers to restrict protests, allowing them to take into account the “cumulative impact” of repeated demonstrations.
Hundreds of people have been arrested in pro-Palestinian demonstrations this year.
Elsewhere, the watchdog also noted “significant gaps in improving access to healthcare for people with disabilities.”
While there are a range of disability strategies and action plans, these “fail to focus on improving healthcare for disabled people”, despite data showing they face greater barriers to healthcare and are more often on NHS hospital waiting lists.
The regulator also warned that there were “persistent failures by the government to protect migrant workers from abuse and exploitation, despite access to safe and fair working conditions being a fundamental human right”.
He said there were “relevant links between increased labor exploitation and some sponsored work visa programs for foreign nationals.”
A charity report published in September warned that hundreds of suspected victims of modern slavery are working in pubs, restaurants, hotels and campsites across the UK, with some running into debts as high as £30,000 after being “tempted” by the promise of a better life, according to a new report.
Unseen said similar abuses seen in the care sector in recent years were now evident in the hospitality industry, and the helpline had recorded a sharp increase in potential victims linked to the skilled worker visa route.
The latest report shows that the government is halfway through a five-year period in which it is expected to improve its human rights record, with the next review due in 2027.
The government has been contacted for comment.
