René Cassin has joined together with 30 other organisations to submit evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) regarding the European Union Withdrawal Bill and our shared concerns about the human rights impacts of the Bill as it stands.
We are deeply concerned that the current Withdrawal Bill will mean a loss of protections, rights and accountability for people in the UK, notably:
- People’s fundamental human rights and equality protections: despite the government’s stated intention for the Withdrawal Bill to maintain the status quo, a number of rights have either been explicitly excluded or it is not clear how minimum standards of protection will be ensured; and
- Parliamentary scrutiny: the Bill’s provisions for amending transposed EU law vest significant power in ministers rather than parliament, with its associated processes for scrutiny and consideration of the views of civil society.
Ultimately, exiting the EU should not lead to less protection of people’s rights; the standards of protection should be equivalent to the current position. You can read the full briefing for more detail.
In the meantime, today (Tuesday 21 Nov) sees the House of Commons debating crucial amendments around the protection of human rights, which were outlined in the briefing. You can send the briefing, or this detailed template letter to your MP or get involved with the debate online by using the hashtags #BringHomeOurRights #EUWithdrawalBill #EUCharter.
Concerned about protecting human rights in the UK? Please make a donation to support René Cassin’s work on this issue.
