THE EQUALITY IMPLICATIONS OF BEING A MIGRANT IN BRITAIN
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Human rights and equality
Human rights have, like migration, become the focus of some important but often illdefined or ill-informed policy debates since the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into British law in 1998. Equality legislation, meanwhile, has developed from an initial concern with gender and race to include other areas, and has also developed some differences between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This chapter reviews the current understanding of both equalities and human rights and the relationships between them, and also explores the uses of human rights law in relation to groups like migrants who may be excluded from other protection. 4.1 Human rights Human rights refer to the basic rights and freedoms to which all men and women are entitled. They include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, such as the right to participate in culture, the right to work, and the right to education. After the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II, and in order to protect future generations from a repeat of racial, political and religious persecution, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. As Article 2 says, ‘Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status’. The core principles of the Human Rights Declaration are dignity, fairness, equality, respect and autonomy. At the heart of human rights is the belief that everybody should be treated equally and with dignity – no matter what their circumstances. They aim to protect people’s freedom, let them have control over their own lives and fair and equal treatment from public authorities. Although the UDHR is a non-binding resolution, it is now considered to be a central component of international customary law and may be invoked under appropriate circumstances by national and other judiciaries. The UDHR urges member nations to promote a number of human, civil, economic and social rights, asserting that these rights are part of the ‘foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world’. Until recently, people in the United Kingdom had to apply to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if they felt their rights under the European Convention had been breached. The Human Rights Act 1998 made these human rights part of domestic law, and courts in the UK can now hear human rights cases. UK law includes a range of human rights which protect people, including minority groups, from poor treatment and prejudice, and which require them to have equal and fair treatment from public authorities. 60