SOCIAL INSECURITY – The devastating human rights impact of social security system failures in the UK
Executive summary
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and two international covenants,
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), outline a framework
for human rights, encompassing civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.
The ICESCR emphasises fulfilling basic needs like food, housing, healthcare, and
education, which governments must ensure through laws, policies and public services.
The UK ratified the ICESCR in 1976 but, unlike civil and political rights, economic,
social, and cultural rights are not legally enforceable in the UK. The Human Rights
Act (1998) and the European Convention on Human Rights protect civil and political
rights, but there are no similar comprehensive legal safeguards for economic, cultural
and social rights.
This lack of enforceability makes it difficult for individuals to seek
justice for violations of their economic, social, and cultural rights.
The UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has repeatedly
urged the UK to make these rights justiciable.
However, the UK government insists
that a mix of policy and legislation is sufficient protection of these rights. The devolved
governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have taken steps to protect
these rights, with Scotland working towards passing a Scottish Human Rights Bill to
provide legal effect to the ICESCR.
Despite this, the UK government’s fragmented approach to policy and legislation fails
to recognise the interconnectedness of human rights resulting in harmful consequences,
such as those from the social security system, which exacerbate inequality and poverty.
Amnesty International’s report Broken Britain: Voices from the frontline of the fight
for everyday rights documents how marginalised communities in Britain experience
clustered violations of their rights due to systemic discrimination and the failure of
social security systems to meet human rights standards (for example, social security
failures impact on health and access to food).
This report examines this phenomenon. It sets out the international frameworks for
the right to social security and examines the compliance of the UK’s social security
system with them.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT
Full credit for the report goes to Amnesty.org
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