What's Going on in Human Rights: January 2024

The term so far has been busy; we've already held a fundraiser with filmsoc and are looking forward to our litter pick next week. Excitingly, the date for Jamnesty, our live music fundraiser event, has been settled on. It will be March 1st and the money raised will be split between Practical Action and Amnesty International. We really look forward to seeing lots of you there!

In this blog entry, I want to focus on domestic human rights issues. Globally, there is so much turmoil that it can be easy to slip into complacency and ignore the issues occurring within the UK. It is paramount that we stay focused on global issues, and continue to hold our government and international governments to account on issues like the conflict in Palestine. However, it is necessary to remain aware of the problems at home.

We're really passionate about the right to protest. This is something that we feel is especially relevant to students, given that we are a demographic well known for demonstrating. Amnesty, as a broader organisation, has expressed deep concern about the state of these rights in the UK. In recent years, the government has passed laws curtailing protest rights. In particular, criticism has been levelled at the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023. Liberty, the UK's largest civil liberties organisation, has argued that these laws are part of a broader pattern where the government is attacking the right to strike and even the right to vote.

These laws have numerous ramifications, creating a very low threshold to define what constitutes disruptive protesting, so from the outset planning demonstrations within these guidelines is difficult. The police can now stop protests taking place outside of major transport networks, oil and gas and energy supplies. This is particularly damaging to environmental protesters who may aim to hold oil and gas suppliers to account with the location of their protest.

What's more, there has been an introduction of new protest banning orders that would prevent individuals from attending protests at all. The police should not be able to bar people from exercising their civil right to demonstrate. In doing so, the government has set a dangerous precedent for putting its citizens rights at risk by giving the police undue control over freedom of expression.

It is important to recognise that some people's rights face greater risks than others. Worryingly they have also extended the use of stop and search powers to protests, even including suspicion-less stop and search. In the UK, according to Amnesty, Black men are seven times more likely to be stopped than white people. Therefore, an extension of these powers puts people of colour at particular risk when protesting. Can the government justify creating a racial disparity in freedom of expression by virtue of the laws they have put in place?

A campaign has been launched to overturn these damaging legislations. Both Liberty and Amnesty are attempting to raise awareness of this. There is a petition on Amnesty's website with regards to this issue.

This week Rishi Sunak has come under fire for the flippant manner in which he has treated his refugee policy. During a TalkTv interview, Sunak shook Piers Morgan's hand on a £1000 bet that there would be deportation flights before the next election. This drew particular criticism because given the context of the cost of living crisis many people find treating £1000 so lightly especially insensitive.

It is important to consider not just the insensitivity to those struggling financially, but also to the asylum seekers whose fate is being bet on. The plan of deporting people to Rwanda relies on the passing of legislation which labels the country 'safe.' Previously, the policy had faced legal challenge due to the reality that Rwanda is unsafe for those being deported. The UN has raised concerns about Rwanda's asylum process. They found instances of people being arbitrarily denied access to the asylum procedure, and a risk of detention and deportation. Particularly at risk are those within the LGBT+ community who face discrimination within Rwanda's asylum system.

It is unacceptable that refugees should be put at risk in this way. Furthermore, Rishi Sunak's ability to treat such cruel legislation as a lighthearted bet reflects a lack of seriousness about the rights of asylum seekers.

This government needs to take seriously its responsibility to uphold human rights standards in the UK.

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By Charlie O'Keeffe