70 PER CENT OF BRITONS DON’T KNOW THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS

7 July 2006

A new survey by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) reveals that 70 per cent of the British population cannot name any of their human rights.

This lack of understanding of human rights will be addressed at a summit of leading lawyers, academics and campaigners, chaired by Cherie Booth and hosted by the Disability Rights Commission, on 11 July in London.

Bert Massie, Chairman of the DRC, says:

“Human rights are vital to achieving dignity and a fair deal for all of us. Disabled people have successfully used Britain’s Human Rights Act to fight injustice and to protect even their right to live.

“The Disability Rights Commission has brought together an expert group to consider how human rights can be better understood and supported in Britain as the foundation of a fair society, providing a balance between the rights of individuals and between individuals and the state.”

Three cases highlight the importance of human rights:

·        when two young disabled women wanted to challenge the decision of East Sussex County Council to take them into residential care because its health and safety practice entailed a ‘no-lifting’ policy in the home, it was human rights principles and not the Disability Discrimination Act that came to the rescue

·        when Leslie Burke wanted to challenge the General Medical Council’s guidance to doctors on the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration, it was to human rights principles that he turned for ammunition

·        when a disabled child developed asthma and was refused the necessary ventilation on ‘quality of life’ grounds, it was human rights principles which informed her parents’ determination to demand what was needed from another hospital and which enabled them to reach agreement with the first hospital about what had gone wrong.

The DRC’s survey also revealed that:

·        When asked if they thought it was a good thing to have an Act to protect everyone’s human rights in this country, 62 per cent said yes.

·        over one third (36%) of people felt they had no information about how the Human Rights Act effected their privacy and family life

·        only 8% felt fully informed about how the Act offered protection against crime and community safety

·        only 10% felt sufficiently informed about how the Act provides access to health and social care (for example allowing people to challenge what they consider to be unlawful interference by health and social care laws, policies, practices and procedures)

·        more than a quarter of people (28%) said they had no information about how education was connected to human rights.

Bert Massie added:

“The poll makes it clear that we are in a state of ignorance about our human rights, which is detrimental to the people who need it most - including disabled people, older people and children.”

The Human Rights Summit will take place on the 11 July. The Summit will be chaired by Cherie Booth QC and Bert Massie, Chairman of the DRC. Speakers include Shami Chakrabati, Director of Liberty; Baroness Ashton of Upholland, Minister for Human Rights; Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC; and Jane Campbell, DRC Commissioner.