Chaired by Baroness Julia Neuberger
On Thursday 21 January 2016 at 7pm
At JW3, 341-351 Finchley Road, London NW3 6ET
The modern concept of human rights was the civilised world’s response to the horrors of the Holocaust. These rights were never intended to be transient things which could be removed, ripped up or redrafted by the government of the day, but now they are under threat.
The government is proposing to repeal the Human Rights Act. If successful, this could significantly undermine the provisions that currently safeguard human rights in the UK.
Prominent amongst those voicing their concern about the government’s plan is its own former Attorney-General (and current chair of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee), Dominic Grieve – widely-respected as a leading legal authority in his party.
Join René Cassin to hear why he opposes repeal of the Human Rights Act and how it deeply relates to and affects the Jewish community.
Tickets: £10 (concessions available)
Book your place(s) via the JW3 website
Today, 10th December, is International Human Rights Day – the 76th anniversary of the signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
The Declaration was a reaction to the horrors of the Holocaust. So, for Jews, today has a particuar significance.
Although rooted in response to atrocity, the Declaration was forward-looking and optimistic. It spoke for the majority of people who knew a better world was possible. The fact that it’s co-author , the French-Jewish lawyer Monsieur Rene Cassin, could draft such a hopeful document so soon after 26 members of his family were murdered by the Nazis is a testament to his humanity and the power of human rights in general.
Today, as the organisation that works in Cassin’s name, we are determined to ensure his Declaration’s vision of human rights for all is fully realised. Central to that work is a focus on so called ‘socio-economic rights’ – rights to everyday essentials like food, housing and health. This vision was best articulated in Article 25 of the Declaration:
‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being 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 circumstances beyond his control’.
Bolstering these rights would ensure everybody has access to the foundations on which to build a dignified, prosperous and meaningful life. They have been neglected for too long.
