Human rights legislation

Think about whether you can use human rights legislation as the basis of your campaign.

Human rights standards, such as The Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), can inform and indeed underpin a campaign.

Many national laws, local authority policies, actions by corporations etc may (inadvertently) contravene human rights legislation. Effective campaigning can be built on invoking relevant legislation. Human rights legislation is actually quite complicated, but if you believe that your campaign is a rights issue (for example, if you feel that the closure of your local post office will affect the rights of some members of your community) you can try to identify if there are relevant aspects of human rights legislation that can support you by clicking here.

The British Institute of Human Rights produced an excellent guide in 2008 which illustrates how the HRA has empowered people to “benefit from the law without resorting to the law”. BIHR describe the HRA as a “framework for protecting and balancing everyone’s human rights”.

"There is a significant need to take the debate about human rights beyond the law courts and give it meaning and relevance to all aspects of public life; in particular strengthening the essential role of voluntary and community organisations as advocates and campaigners for social justice, giving voice to the interests and concerns of those they work with."
Campaigning Effectiveness team, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), 2006

"Human rights have long been a powerful campaigning tool for organisations abroad. Now it’s the time to turn the spotlight on the UK and ask how rights can add voice and power to the campaigning work of organisations closer to home."
Katie Ghose, Director of the British Institute of Human Rights, 2006

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission was set up under the Good Friday Agreement to ensure that everyone’s human rights in Northern Ireland are protected in law, policy and practice. See their website: www.nihrc.org.

They can offer advice and information and guides to your rights, although there is very little on protection for campaigners. To date, the Commission has focused on issues relating to 'The Troubles'.

The NIHRC has been working on a draft Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, as a supplement to the European Convention on Human Rights. There has been political disagreement on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, as it would be the only part of the UK to benefit from this.

Campaigners’ rights are still protected under the standard rights – to life, freedom of assembly, from torture, to liberty and security etc.

On a separate note, there are human rights factors related to public processions. In Northern Ireland a campaign organiser does not apply to hold a public procession under human rights legislation, but they notify the Parades Commission of their intention to organise one or a related protest meeting. This is done on an 11/1 form (commonly referred to as an “eleven bar one”). This must then be handed in to the organiser’s local Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) station to a person not below the rank of sergeant.

It should be noted that the Parades Commission cannot arbitrarily or summarily interfere with one’s right to freedom of assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, these are not absolute rights and restrictions can be placed on the public processions, where there is, for example:

Any public disorder or damage to property which may result from the procession
Any disruption to the life of the community which the procession may cause
Any impact which the procession may have on relationships within the community
Any failure to comply with the Code of Conduct
A concern about the desirability of allowing a procession customarily held along a particular route to be held along that route.

If campaigners are in doubt as to whether what they are organising constitutes a public procession, then they should take advice from the Parades Commission in the first instance. Campaigners should also be aware of recent attempts to change the legislation – see this Guardian article - although these proposals have been postponed and the 1998 act still applies.

Here is a list of the 2010 Liberty Human Rights Award winners so you can take a look at their camapaigns and achievements.

Case study

R. (Begum) vs Headteacher and Governors of Denbigh High School (2005)

Shabina Begum, a Muslim pupil at a school in Bedfordshire, claimed she had the right to wear a jihab (a long gown) in accordance with her faith, despite the schools assertion that she was required to attend in the correct uniform. It became a landmark legal battle.

Begum issued a ‘claim for judicial review’ (i.e. a claim to review the lawfulness of a policy, decision, or law) to allow her to wear the jihab at school. Her claim was based on her right to express her religion and her rights to education (both of which are enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights).

The legal case was complex, and went through the High Court (where she lost the case), the Court of Appeal (where she won), and then to the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords (where she lost).

Regardless of the outcome, it is an interesting example of a campaign couched in human rights arguments.

Using human rights legislation to defend your rights to campaign

There is another way in which campaigners should think of human rights legislation. As discussed in Protest and the law, Direct action, Protection from Harassment Act 1997, and Lawful Excuse, campaigners potentially face a wide range of constraints on their activities. The raft of legislation is too complex for us to surmise what campaigners rights are – every situation and context is different – but here we will briefly look at your human rights to campaign.

There are two particular articles that are especially relevant, which are quoted here in full from the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) ‘A Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998’ (Third Edition, 2006):

Article 10
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not prevent states from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.
The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

Article 11

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION

Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights other than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This Article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on the exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces, of the police or of the administration of the state.

For more details click here.

In both these articles, paragraph one enshrines your wide ranging rights – and you’d be forgiven for thinking that you therefore have carte blanche to campaign! However, paragraph two of each article is where a range of caveats are introduced, which in practice may enable public authorities to limit your campaigning activities.

So, it is important for campaigners to understand that while the HRA does not give you a simple, blanket right to campaign, protest or take direct action, it potentially can provide some safeguards to you if there are attempts to curtail your campaign. Let’s look at an example:

Aldermaston Women win right to campaign

Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp (AWPC) has been in existence since 1985. It is a peace camp established to protest about nuclear weapons at the nearby Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE).

Under a ‘no camping’ by-law, the Ministry of Defence had attempted to end the long running protest. AWPC fought the ban. They argued in the High Court that the ban unlawfully interfered with their freedom of expression and their right to assembly under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

They lost this case, but at appeal senior judges overturned this decision, arguing that a "pressing social need" for the ban was not shown.

Lord Justice Laws said:

“Rights worth having are unruly things. Demonstrations and protests are liable to be a nuisance. They are liable to be inconvenient and tiresome, or at least perceived as such by others who are out of sympathy with them. Sometimes they are wrong-headed and misconceived. Whether or not the AWPC's cause is wrong-headed or misconceived is neither here not there, and if their activities are inconvenient or tiresome, the Secretary of State's shoulders are surely broad enough to cope."

Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), who specialise in such cases, said:

"This is a landmark legal victory affirming the fundamental right to protest in the face of the UK government's widespread attempts to criminalise legitimate political dissent."