'Human rights' are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world.
Ideas about human rights have evolved over many centuries. But they achieved strong international support following the Holocaust and World War II. To protect future generations from a repeat of these horrors, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. For the first time, the Universal Declaration set out the fundamental rights and freedoms shared by all human beings.
Find out more in film:
'Everybody - we are all born free' is a short video produced by Amnesty, which brings the Declaration to life.
These rights and freedoms – based on core principles like dignity, equality and respect – inspired a range of international and regional human rights treaties. For example, they formed the basis for the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950. The European Convention protects the human rights of people in countries that belong to the Council of Europe. This includes the United Kingdom.
Until recently, people in the United Kingdom had to complain to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if they felt their rights under the European Convention had been breached.
However, the Human Rights Act 1998 made these human rights part of our domestic law, and now courts here in the United Kingdom can hear human rights cases. Find out more about how human rights work.
How do human rights help you?
Human rights are based on core principles like dignity, fairness, equality, respect and autonomy. They are relevant to your day-to-day life and protect your freedom to control your own life, effectively take part in decisions made by public authorities which impact upon your rights and get fair and equal services from public authorities.
Where are your human rights set out?
The Human Rights Act 1998 sets out the rights in the UK which are protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.The Act did not invent human rights for British people. Instead, it introduced into our domestic law some of the rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international documents.
More specifically, it gave greater effect within the UK to the rights and freedoms protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty which British lawyers helped to draft.
So the Act meant that these basic rights and freedoms are now more easily protected within the UK.
Who does the Human Rights Act apply to?
The Act applies to all public authorities (such as central government departments, local authorities and NHS Trusts) and other bodies performing public functions (such as private companies operating prisons). These organisations must comply with the Act – and your human rights – when providing you with a service or making decisions that have a decisive impact upon your rights.Although the Act does not apply to private individuals or companies (except where they are performing public functions), sometimes a public authority has a duty to stop people or companies abusing your human rights. For example, a public authority that knows a child is being abused by its parents has a duty to protect the child from inhuman or degrading treatment.
Who is protected by the Human Rights Act?
The Human Rights act covers everyone in the United Kingdom, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. Anyone who is in the UK for any reason is protected by the provisions in the Human Rights Act.After the Smith case (Secretary of State for Defence v R and HM Assistant Deputy Coroner for Oxfordshire and Equality and Human Rights Commission), the Human Rights Act was also held to cover individuals outside of the UK, if they were under British jurisdiction. This means, for example, that British soldiers serving overseas are protected by the Human Rights Act.
The rights in the HRA are known as 'justicible', which means that if an individual thinks they have been breached, they can take a court case against the public sector body that has breached them. For more information on how rights work in practice, see Using your human rights.
Your rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 are not the only rights you have. To find out how the law protects other rights, see Your rights.
Can human rights ever be restricted?
Some human rights – like the right not to be tortured – are absolute. These ‘absolute’ rights can never be interfered with by the government in any circumstances.However, most human rights are not absolute. Some of these rights can be limited in certain circumstances, as set out in the specified Article of the European Convention on Human Rights. For example, your right to liberty can be limited only in specified circumstances such as if you are convicted and sentenced to a prison term. Other rights can only be restricted when certain general conditions are met, for example where this is necessary to protect the rights of others or in the interests of the wider community. For example, the government may be able to restrict your right to freedom of expression if you are encouraging racial hatred.
Link: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/human-rights/what-are-human-rights/how-do-human-rights-work/
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