What are human rights? '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. 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.
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.
They help you to flourish and fulfil your
potential through: ●being safe and protected from harm ●being treated fairly and with dignity ●living the life you choose ●taking an active part in your community and
wider society.
What can you do about it? If you feel that your human rights may have been breached in a
particular situation, this section can help you to assess the situation
and your possible options – both in and out of the courts.
It may be that you will be able to resolve the problem without taking
legal action: there are a range of other steps to consider first to help
you resolve a problem. In this section of the website, you can find out
about other organisations which may be able to help you, as well as
practical action you can take.
If you are being discriminated against, you may also be able to use the
Human Rights Act to take action, or to strengthen your case.
There is no one single way of dealing with a potential human rights
violation: it depends on the context and on your particular
circumstances. As a general rule, it may be helpful to consider using
the following steps as a guide to dealing with your problem.
Important notes In all cases, there are time limits which mean that you may need
actually to take legal action quite quickly not to lose your rights.
Time limits can be complicated but can mean you may have to actually
'issue proceedings' in courts in some cases within three months.
This section of the website only gives you a general overview of
what to do if you feel you have a human rights claim: we strongly
recommend you consult a reputable human rights adviser or lawyer before
proceeding with any legal action.
Acknowledgement: We'd like to thank the British Institute for Human Rights for allowing
us to base some of this material on their series of guides, called Your
Human Rights. These are available at the
BIHR website.
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