S not only educates children about their rights but Consultation can be a good thing, giving people
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also teaches them that their enjoyment of rights a sense of ownership of human rights. However,
O
involves respecting the rights of others. He hopes consultation without leadership runs the risk of
that these kinds of initiatives can lead to a whole taking us backwards. The Human Rights Act may
new generation of people who understand and not have been perceived so negatively had the
S
E
S
S
I
participate in a rights-respecting culture more Government shown stronger leadership when it
P
fully than we do now. was first introduced – and this must be a priority
Rights inevitably mean responsibilities, yet in any future consultations.
O combining both in the same document could
Francesca urged delegates to think carefully
S
H be problematic, argued Peter Facey, Director about what the Government means when it talks
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of Unlock Democracy. A bill of rights sets out about responsibilities – what will these mean in
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those things we have a right to, are entitled to practice? She also raised concerns over recent
and which the state or any other power cannot statements from the Conservative leadership
take away. It is therefore not the appropriate which appear to suggest using a new bill of rights
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place to outline responsibilities, which may fit to limit freedoms, taking us further away from
better in other documents or other parts of our
universal human rights standards.
constitution.
In the USA, the language and concepts of
Group discussions
its Bill of Rights are constantly debated and
Delegates then divided into small groups to
rearticulated, but they remain the values that
discuss three questions, before feeding back to
hold America together. The new Obama
the whole workshop. The main discussion points
administration is using this language to tell the
are summarised below.
world how America should behave. In the UK,
Peter observed, we lack this kind of connection
Where do you see rights ending and
to the language and idea of rights. We do not
responsibilities beginning?
have a single document, owned by the whole of
• Rights are a universal concept – they are not
the UK, which defines our values and rights and
contingent on responsibilities. The two have to
our historical attachment to them.
be kept separate to a certain extent because
Peter argued that we can only progress by
even ‘bad citizens’ or unpopular minorities
involving all people in the human rights project –
must be guaranteed the same rights as
not just an elite group of MPs, lawyers, journalists
everyone else.
and academics. Human rights need to be more
• A careful balance must be struck. On the
than a political football.
one hand, we need to ensure that people
He concluded that now is the right time to
understand that having rights also means
be having this debate because human rights are
respecting the rights of others. On the
under attack. If we ever get to the day when
other hand, the language of ‘responsibilities’
rights are not challenged and freedoms are not
is misleading; some delegates felt that it is
under threat, the debate will be redundant.
fairly obvious that rights already include
responsibilities, and that NGOs should be
wary of being drawn into this debate.
“Human rights need to be more than a political
• The notion of responsibility involves looking
football.”
at the public/private distinction and the need
Peter Facey
to ensure that the private sector also has
responsibilities to protect human rights – for
Professor Francesca Klug, Professorial example, in the case of private sector care
Research Fellow at LSE, noted that the concepts homes.
of responsibility and mutual concern are already
built into the Human Rights Act – which is our Can we reframe the current debate on rights
current human rights framework and current and responsibilities in a way that presents an
‘Bill of Rights’. While there is a general lack of inclusive vision of human rights and engages a
appreciation that the Human Rights Act already wide range of people, organisations and agencies?
includes this notion of responsibility, she argued, • Many people in the UK are far removed from
18 the Government’s proposal to address this using the bill of rights debate. We need a progressive
a Bill of Rights and Responsibilities may not offer vision of human rights which all people can
the best solution. own and engage with.
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