Humanists add support to stop regressive Human Rights Act reform

March 14, 2022

Government and Law

Today we added our voice to a joint response from the Human Rights Consortium Scotland that challenges the UK Government’s proposal to reform or replace the Human Rights Act. There is a high level of concern amongst Scottish civil society that the UK Government plans are unnecessary, regressive, and divisive, and any move away from the Human Rights Act is likely to see a watering down of human rights protections for people in Scotland and across the UK, especially amongst groups that are most likely to face discrimination and prejudice.

The full response outlines the many concerns that we have with the proposed changes to human rights law in the UK, including:

The overwhelming support there is in Scotland for the Human Rights Act and agreement that it offers a solid foundation to our human rights protections
The lack of proper consideration of implications for Scottish devolution and the effect this could have on the protection of people’s rights in Scotland should the UK Government reform or replace the HRA
The UK Government’s stated aim of reducing human rights cases and the suggestion that the courts routinely deal with case that are not ‘genuine’

Read the full consultation response.

Humanist Society Scotland Chief Executive, Fraser Sutherland, said:

As a collective of representatives from Scotland’s civil society who work together to protect human rights in Scotland, we believe that the Human Rights Act is a solid foundation on which to build – not something that needs to be watered down or replaced with a less effective mechanism to apply and protect human rights in Scotland, and indeed across the UK.
Fraser Sutherland, Humanist Society Scotland