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For Second Reading in the House of Commons
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This text is an edited version of the original joint UK civil society briefing which can be accessed here in a format including the logos of all 123 signatory organizations. The text below has been amended for publication on Human Rights Watch’s website to ensure consistency with house style.
This is a short joint briefing written in the names of the organizations listed at the end of the document. For the reasons set out below, we are united in our view that the Bill of Rights Bill (BORB) must be withdrawn entirely, and the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) must be retained.
The BORB, widely known as the Rights Removal Bill, is unnecessary, unevidenced, unworkable, and unwanted – and it is individuals who will bear the brunt of its harmful effects. There is absolutely no need to repeal and replace the HRA, which has been vital to securing dignity, justice, and respect for individuals, families, and communities across the country over the past two decades.
As a coalition spanning the human rights and civil liberties, pan-equality, legal, disability rights, criminal justice, military justice, trade union, care and social work, public health, LGBTQ+ rights, violence against women and girls, racial justice, migrant and refugee rights, children’s rights, privacy and technology, faith, environment, international development, and other sectors, we call on MPs to vote against the Rights Removal Bill.
Impact on individuals, families, and communities
Impact on democratic institutions and the UK’s constitutional settlement
List of organizations (in alphabetical order)
Access Social Care, ACEVO, Advocacy Western Isles, Agenda, Alcohol Focus Scotland, Allies for Justice, Amnesty International UK, APPEAL, Article 12 in Scotland, Article 19, Art27scotland, Asylum Aid, Asylum Matters, Asylum Support Appeals Project, Bail for Immigration Detainees, Baptists Together, Become, Best for Britain, Big Brother Watch, Black Equity Organisation, Bond, CEMVO Scotland, Centre for Military Justice, Child Poverty Action Group, Child Rights International Network, Children England, Children in Scotland, Children in Wales (Plant yng Nghymru), Children's Law Centre, Children's Rights Alliance for England, Civil Society Alliance, Client Earth, Committee on the Administration of Justice, Community Policy Forum, Compassion in Politics, Defend Digital Me, Detention Action, Disability Rights UK, Empower Women for Change, End Violence Against Women, Equality Network, Equally Ours, Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK, Face Equality International, Fair Trials, Faith in Older People, Families for Justice, Focus on Labour Exploitation, Foxglove, Freedom From Torture, Friends of the Earth, Helen Bamber Foundation, Here, Human Rights Consortium, Human Rights Consortium Scotland, Human Rights Watch, Humanist Society Scotland, Humanists UK, Inclusion London, Inclusion Scotland, Index on Censorship, INQUEST, Just Fair, Just for Kids Law, JUSTICE, JustRight Scotland, Latin American Women's Rights Service, Law Centres Network, Learning Disability England, Learning Disability Wales (Anabledd Dysgu Cymru), Legal Aid Practitioners Group, LGBT Foundation, Liberty, Making Rights Real, medConfidential, Mermaids, Migrants' Rights Network, Mind, National AIDS Trust, National Council of Voluntary Organisations, North Wales Regional Equality Network, Open Britain, Oxfam, Peace Brigades International UK, Play Scotland, POhWER, Prison Reform Trust, Prisoners' Advice Service, Project 17, Public Interest Litigation Support, Public Law Project, Race Council Cymru, Race Equality First, Refugee Action, Relatives & Residents Association, René Cassin, Reprieve, Rethink Mental Illness, Rights & Security International, Rights of Women, Scottish CND, Scottish Women’s Convention, Sheila McKechnie Foundation, Shelter, Shelter Cymru, Start360, Statewatch, Tai Pawb, The British Association of Social Workers, The British Institute of Human Rights, The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, The Methodist Church, The Pyramid at Anderston, The United Reformed Church, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights), Traveller Movement, Unison, UNJUST, Unlock Democracy, VoiceAbility, Wales Council for Voluntary Action (Cyngor Gweithredu Gwirfoddol Cymru), Welsh Centre for International Affairs, Women's Equality Network Wales.
[1] Letter to the Joint Committee on Human Rights in the UK Parliament, 3 March 2022: https://www.bihr.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=8e2d763d-1439-4799-9a0c-19a3c77d53cc.
[2] End Violence Against Women coalition, ‘British Bill of Rights is a major step back for women and survivors’ (21 June 2022) https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/british-bill-of-rights-major-step-back-for-women-and-survivors.
[3] British Institute of Human Rights, Kirsten’s Story: https://www.bihr.org.uk/kirstens-story.
[4] Centre for Military Justice, Military Human Rights Stories: https://centreformilitaryjustice.org.uk/guide/military-human-rights-stories.
[5] English PEN, Article 19 and Index on Censorship, ‘Bill of Rights will seriously undermine freedom of expression in the UK’ (24 June 2022) https://www.englishpen.org/posts/campaigns/bill-of-rights-will-seriously-undermine-freedom-of-expression-in-the-uk/.
[6] Paragraph 2 of the ‘Safeguards, Rights, and Equality of Opportunity’ chapter of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
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