{"id":249389,"date":"2022-02-10T07:40:26","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T07:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=249389"},"modified":"2022-02-11T08:04:56","modified_gmt":"2022-02-11T08:04:56","slug":"uk-reforming-human-rights-lawcompulsory-vaccines-on-the-horizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=249389","title":{"rendered":"UK \u201creforming\u201d human rights law\u2026compulsory vaccines on the horizon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kit Knightly \u2013 Off-Guardian Feb 8, 2022<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>The UK government is planning to re-work its human rights law to put an increased emphasis on \u201cpersonal responsibility\u201d and \u201cduties to the wider society\u201d, as well as preventing people \u201cabusing\u201d their rights.<\/p>\n

Sounds pretty awful, doesn\u2019t it? But let\u2019s go back to the beginning.<\/p>\n

In December 2020<\/a> the UK government announced they would be looking into Human Rights reform in the near future.<\/p>\n

These announcements became more concrete a year later on December 14th 2021<\/a>, when the government began a \u201cconsultation\u201d on restructuring the Human Rights Act.<\/p>\n

The plan is to replace current rights legislation with a so-called \u201cUK Bill of Rights\u201d, a policy dating from the Cameron administration. The new \u201cbill of rights\u201d would update and replace the Human Rights Act.<\/p>\n

As a brief summary of UK human rights law:<\/p>\n

Some rights are enshrined in common law from the days of Magna Carta<\/a>, but the vast majority of the time when we talk about \u201chuman rights\u201d in the UK we\u2019re referring to the Human Rights Act 1998<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This act was written into law as essentially a verbatim copy of the European Convention on Human Rights<\/a> passed by the Council of Europe in the 1950s.<\/p>\n

The purpose of writing the international treaty into domestic law was so British citizens could take human rights cases to domestic courts, instead of having to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.<\/p>\n

As with most human rights laws, from the UN Declaration of Human Rights to the US Constitution, a lot of the time the Human Rights Act is flat-out ignored, or at best worked around. But it does exist, and it does offer some protection of the individual from the power of the state.<\/p>\n

Will that continue to be the case after these \u201creforms\u201d?<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s current \u201cconsultation\u201d on Human Rights \u201creform\u201d is set to end next month (March 2022), & whatever its final recommendations are will likely not be published for several months after that. But, while we can\u2019t yet be certain exactly what they will say\u2026we can get some rough ideas from what they have released so far.<\/p>\n

Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary who commissioned the consultation, recently said in an interview on LBC<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Our plans for a Bill of Rights will strengthen typically British rights like freedom of speech and trial by jury, while preventing abuses of the system and adding a healthy dose of common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re anything like me, the phrases \u201cabuses of the system\u201d <\/em>and \u201ccommon sense\u201d<\/em> just made your inner cynic twitch, but there\u2019s no real detail there.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you\u2019re thinking, at this point, that if you read the whole briefing document<\/a> there will be nothing there to justify any paranoia.<\/p>\n

\u2026except I have, and there is.<\/p>\n

If you drill down through the filler, and can read through the bureaucratic language, there are some pretty concerning red flags waving around, especially in their stated aims [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n

Our reforms will be a check on the expansion and inflation of rights without democratic oversight<\/strong> and consent, and will provide greater legal certainty.<\/p>\n

[The Bill of Rights will] provide greater clarity regarding the interpretation<\/strong> of certain rights, such as the right to respect for private and family life, by guiding the UK courts in interpreting the rights and balancing them with the interests of our society as a whole<\/strong><\/p>\n

[The Bill of Rights will] provide more certainty for public authorities to discharge the functions Parliament has given them, without the fear that this will expose them to costly human rights litigation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The government is committed to ensuring that the biggest social media companies protect users from abuse and harm, and in doing so ensuring that everyone can enjoy their right to freedom of expression free from the fear of abuse.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Protecting authorities from legal consequences, stamping out \u201cabuse\u201d online, subordinating privacy to national security\u2026these are pretty routine aims of new legislation these days. They are expected, almost cliche.<\/p>\n

The biggest and freshest warning sign is the sheer number of mentions of \u201cduty\u201d or \u201cresponsibility\u201d or \u201cthe wider society\u201d.<\/p>\n

For example, this sentence from the forward written by Raab himself:<\/p>\n

our system must strike the proper balance of rights and responsibilities, individual liberty and the public interest,<\/p>\n

And in point 6 of the Executive Summary\u2026<\/p>\n

The Bill of Rights will make sure a proper balance is struck between individuals\u2019 rights, personal responsibility, and the wider public interest.<\/p>\n

\u2026and then point 9 too:<\/p>\n

[The Bill of rights will] recognise that responsibilities exist alongside rights, and that these should be reflected in the approach to balancing qualified rights and the remedies available for human rights claims<\/p>\n

The header at the top of Chapter 3, \u201cThe Case for Reforming UK Human Rights Law\u201d<\/em>, bemoans:<\/p>\n

the growth of a \u2018rights culture\u2019 that has displaced due focus on personal responsibility and the public interest [\u2026] public protection [is] put at risk by the exponential expansion of rights<\/p>\n

Going into greater detail further down:<\/p>\n

The international human rights framework recognises that not all rights are absolute and that an individual\u2019s rights may need to be balanced, either against the rights of others or against the wider public interest. Many of the rights in the Convention are \u2018qualified\u2019, recognising explicitly the need to respect the rights of others and the broader needs of society [\u2026] The idea that rights come alongside duties and responsibilities is steeped in the UK tradition of liberty<\/p>\n

And then again, in the first paragraph from section IV \u201cEmphasising the role of responsibilities within the human rights framework\u201d<\/em> [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n

We all have responsibilities in our society: to society (such as to obey the law and pay taxes), to our families, and to people around us. Everyone holds human rights whether or not they undertake their responsibilities, particularly the absolute rights in the Convention such as the prohibition on torture. Nonetheless, the government believes that our new human rights framework should reflect the importance of responsibilities.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It carries on in equally concerning fashion\u2026<\/p>\n

when a court is considering the proportionality of an interference with a person\u2019s qualified rights, it will consider the extent to which the person has fulfilled their own relevant responsibilities.<\/p>\n

The overall message is clear: Human rights can be tempered with \u201cresponsibilities\u201d & anyone who does not fulfil their \u201cresponsibilities\u201d is less deserving of the legal protection of their rights.<\/p>\n

This is neither new thinking nor new language. Throughout \u201cCovid times\u201d we have seen talk of liberty parried with talk of duty, but it predates Covid too.<\/p>\n

For years free speech has been tempered with talk of \u201cbeing offensive\u201d or \u201cspreading misinformation\u201d. The right to privacy has long been secondary to \u201cnational security\u201d and \u201ckeeping people safe\u201d.<\/p>\n

Human Rights law is regularly trumped by The Patriot Act or Investigatory Powers Act<\/a> or a dozen equally appalling pieces of legislation from both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n

But now, rather than bypassing human rights laws, this government is going to \u2013 to quote Raab \u2013 \u201crebuild them\u201d<\/em>. Meaning shred the existing ones and write all new ones. Ones that use \u201ccommon sense\u201d<\/em> to make sure people are \u201cresponsible\u201d<\/em> and don\u2019t \u201cabuse\u201d<\/em> their rights.<\/p>\n

Within the scope of this so-called \u201creform\u201d is the desire to add conditions to basic human liberties. Exchanging \u201cself-evident\u201d<\/em> truths, \u201cendowed upon men at their creation\u201d<\/em>, for a quid-pro-quo agreement with the state.<\/p>\n

This is a seismic shift in the very definition of \u201crights\u201d.<\/p>\n

The entire point of human rights is that they are innate and inalienable, they exist for everyone everywhere, and are not in the gift of any authority.<\/p>\n

But now, rather, the UK government is arguing your rights are given to you at their behest, and that they come at the cost of expected duty.<\/p>\n

And given all the talk during the \u201cpandemic\u201d regarding \u201cprotecting others\u201d<\/em> and being \u201cresponsible\u201d<\/em> \u2013 with masks, lockdowns and most especially vaccines \u2013 it\u2019s not hard to see how these new \u201cduties\u201d could be applied in the future.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no direct talk of compulsory vaccination, yet<\/em>, but if these new \u201chuman rights\u201d laws are made a reality, the next pandemic could be much harder to navigate.<\/p>\n

You can read the complete consultation on human rights reform here<\/a>, if you feel the need.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Can you spare $1.00 a month to support independent media<\/h3>\n

Unlike the Guardian we are NOT funded by Bill & Melinda Gates, or any other NGO or government. So a few coins in our jar to help us keep going are always appreciated.<\/p>\n

Paypal<\/a><\/p>\n

Liberapay<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read through the bureaucratic language in the proposal for a new UK Bill of Rights, and you will find that amid talk of \u201cpersonal responsibility, and the wider public interest\u201d, there is implicit a way to implement mandatory vaccinations <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Commentary","category-Current_Affairs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=249389"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249401,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249389\/revisions\/249401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=249389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=249389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=249389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}