Today is a day for celebration and reflection. As we celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the United Nations proclamation and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we can reflect on all that has been achieved and all that remains to be worked on.
When the UN general assembly first voted to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UK delegation expressed frustration that the proposal included moral obligations but lacked legal force. It was not until 1976 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights that the majority of the articles in the Declaration gained legal weight.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the most translated document in the world, having been translated into 523 different languages. It has been instrumental in influencing International and domestic laws across the globe, including the fourth Geneva convention, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act.
The Declaration encompasses many elements through its 30 Articles, some of which have made it into subsequent laws, such as Article 5 “No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading punishment.” Some have yet to make it into law, like elements of Article 25 “(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in the circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.”
Currently, UK law does not express a right to housing. I believe this to be a major oversite. Inadequate housing is known to have a significant impact on health and wellbeing, from allergies to increased risk of cardiovascular disease to mental health and addiction issues, particularly if housing is also insecure.
We are all fully aware of the housing crisis within the UK, and the need for new homes, particularly affordable and social rent homes. We have all seen and interacted with those rough sleeping due to lack of adequate housing. By adopting Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into UK law, we would show our commitment to improving the standard of living of the most vulnerable in society. It would add further impetus to our campaign to abolish the vagrancy act and to our call for the government to invest in providing 100,000 new social homes.
It is my belief in the importance of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and particularly Article 25, that led to me writing to the MPs that represent constituents in my district asking them to contact the Home Secretary to request a review of the new immigration rules that allow Rough Sleeping to be used as grounds for deportation of non-British nationals.
So though today is cause to celebrate all that has already been achieved in regards to Human Rights, and the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, we must also use it as a reminder that we have some way to go to realise the full ambition of it.
* Cllr Ben J Martin is a Cabinet Member for Housing at Swale Borough Council and the Group Leader of Swale Lib Dems
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7 Comments
I’ve been commenting on Social Accessible Housing. There is simply not enough. The Government, does not make enough funding available.
If we agree or not that a Power Wheelchair is a fire hazard, disabled people deserve a home.
It’s just as difficult in the private sector renting. Many of these homes are not accessible.
Human Rights covers all.
I agree with you Ben but I think the party has historically preferred to campaign for a Bill of Rights concerning political rather than existential rights. Perhaps now that we have so many people needing to use foodbanks this will change as people who are struggling with basic rights are unlikely to be able to exercise their political rights.
At the time I was trying to get this included in our proposed Bill of Rights I would have been happy to have had the right to shelter rather than housing included, but things have moved on and I believe we should be arguing for the adoption of Article 25 in the Declaration to be the basis of our social policies.
I like Article 25. I know there is a question with Health and Safety with Power Wheelchairs in Social Housing. But with the lack of suitable accessible housing what happens next?
Lots of those employed lot their jobs, I do feel very concerned about depression and lack of support, lack of medical treatment for other than Covid.
Surely, this is basic Human Rights?
“We are all fully aware of the housing crisis within the UK, and the need for new homes, particularly affordable and social rent homes”
I’m not sure that “we all” are.
For how long has the typical reaction been to say “we need new homes, particularly affordable and social rent homes” and for how long has that not worked?
Let’s look at the problem a different way. The price of housing in some parts of the country is quite low. As Lynsey Hanley says in the link below:
” a terraced house can be bought for £50,000 in some parts of northern England, while in London the same house could cost £1.5m. ”
But there’s a snag:
“If you don’t live in the overheated capital or another major city you may have lower housing costs, but you’ll also have fewer job opportunities and lower earnings, which is why housing is cheaper in the first place. England’s distorted economy…..”
We can all observe the way money gravitates to other money in any common currency zone. So we have hotspots and coldspots. In the UK the ‘hot’ area is London and the SE. The cold areas would include the parts of the North the author is writing about. In the EU the ‘hot’ areas include most of the Western part of Germany and the Netherlands. The ‘cold’ areas are the peripheral regions of Spain, Romania, Greece etc. In many parts villages and towns are dying as the population departs. Houses are even cheaper than the 50k mentioned in the article. They are just about free of charge.
The job of any fiscally responsible government is to use those fiscal powers to ‘undistort’ the economy by pushing money outwards from the wealthy areas back into the regions. In other words, in the UK, the government should spend more in the North, where it won’t cause inflation, and less in the South where it probably will and obviously has. Southerners, who often have good jobs but can’t afford the housing, and Northerners, who often don’t have good jobs and can’t afford much at all, have both ended up worse off.
It has to be a fiscal policy initiative. Monetary policy has to be uniform over an entire common currency zone and so is incapable of being targetted. It is our over reliance on monetary policy, in the past four decades, which has led us to where we are both in the UK and EU.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/08/london-bubble-england-levelled-up-north-wall-red-blue-voters
I was highlighting the need to consider those who are disabled. The Government provides so little help on this subject.
I’ve agreed, to be part of a group of disabled people, within a local housing association to see how we can improve the situation. Looking at property, that may be useful to add to this sector. Because of Statuary Law, Power Wheelchairs are considered a fire risk.
There is a divide between the North and South, housing and employment.
Perhaps, it should be considered as this present government, increases the jobless figures. One of the saddest factors, for all those concerned.
Shocking human rights news from the USA today :
“After 17 years without a federal execution, the Trump administration has executed nine inmates since July, and plans five more executions before Joe Biden takes office on 20 January. Biden has pledged to eliminate the death penalty”.
If human rights are universal then some might be more so than others. Unfortunately, they are often the first to be abandoned at times of crisis. As part of reform of the United Nations there needs to be clearer means of identifying, publicising and punishing countries that do not keep to them.