scholarly journals Introduction: Equality and Human Rights in Britain

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-192
Author(s):  
Sheila Riddell ◽  
Nick Watson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
First Century ◽  
British Government ◽  
The Public ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk

The first ten years of the twenty-first century has seen the British Government introduce radical change to its equality policy. These changes have included the creation of a single equalities body, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC); the expansion of the equality terrain to include age, sexuality and sexual orientation and faith and belief in addition to gender, race and disability as protected grounds; the decision to coalesce human rights and equality legislation under the direction the EHRC; the development of an Equalities Framework; the promulgation of a new Equality Act (2009) with the aim of creating a single legal framework to cover all equality legislation together with the development of specific Equality Duties for the public sector around the areas of gender, race and disability with the aim of ‘mainstreaming’ equality. Barbara Roche, the then Minister responsible for equality co-ordination across the UK Government described these changes as ‘the most significant review of equality in over a quarter of a century’.

A human rights perspective on the use of social media by the ambulance services

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 532-537
Author(s):  
Chris Jones
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Ambulance Service ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Duty ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Uk

Social media use on behalf of ambulance services by paramedics, student paramedics and ancillary staff—‘corporate tweeting’, as it has become known—has in recent times been the subject of much debate in the paramedic profession. It has been argued that social media use is an unstoppable tide and a necessary means of imparting information to members of the public about the work the ambulance service performs. Conversely, others have argued that by tweeting about their patients, the ambulance service is breaching a fundamental code of professional ethics due to the use of confidential patient data. This article explores the UK legal framework of privacy and confidence in the healthcare context, from a human rights perspective, and seeks to demonstrate that some corporate tweeting has breached not only ethical standards, but may also have crossed the line into unlawfulness owing to the public nature of the organisations involved, and their legal duty to protect the human rights of their service users.

scholarly journals Hak atas Pekerjaan bagi Penyandang Disabilitas di Sektor Publik: Antara Model Disabilitas Sosial dan Medis

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-48
Author(s):  
Muhammad Dahlan ◽  
Syahriza Alkohir Anggoro
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Medical Model Of Disability ◽  
The Government

The opportunity to fulfill the rights to work for persons with disabilities has been increasing since the ratification of Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Indonesia has adopted a “quota scheme” through the Law Number 8 of 2016 on Persons with Disabilities where government institution has set a minimum quantity of two percent as the number of workers for persons with disabilities as affirmative action targeted at promoting human rights. This article examines the progress of the legal framework for persons with disabilities by using a case study in civil cervants in the public sector. We argue that despite Indonesia’s disability legal regime has pushed the social model of disabilities that promotes human rights-based approach, its implementation is still based on the medical model of disability, in which it sees persons with disabilities on physical condition, and thus, they are assumed to be able to work in a certain field determined by the government. This article argues that affirmative policy does not provide equal opportunities to persons with disabilities as the special formation and medical requirements prevent them from applying for occupations that match their interests and educational background. The use of the medical model of disability in providing employment opportunities in the public sector prevents the level of participation and the formation of an inclusive workplace environment. Abstrak Peluang untuk memenuhi hak atas pekerjaan bagi para penyandang disabilitas terus meningkat sejak ratifikasi Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Indonesia mengadopsi “skema kuota” melalui UU Nomor 8 Tahun 2016 tentang Penyandang Disabilitas di mana institusi negara menetapkan minimal dua persen jumlah formasi pekerja bagi para penyandang disabilitas sebagai tindakan afirmatif yang ditargetkan untuk mempromosikan hak asasi manusia. Artikel ini memeriksa sejauh mana kerangka kerja hukum disabilitas di Indonesia memfasilitasi pemenuhan hak atas pekerjaan bagi penyandang disabilitas dengan menggunakan contoh kasus pada penyelenggaraan ketenagakerjaan di sektor publik. Kami berpendapat bahwa meskipun rezim hukum disabilitas di Indonesia menekankan model sosial disabilitas yang mempromosikan pendekatan berbasis hak asasi manusia, implementasinya masih didasarkan pada model medis disabilitas yang memandang penyandang disabilitas berdasarkan kondisi fisik dan karenanya diasumsikan hanya dapat masuk pada bidang pekerjaan yang telah ditentukan oleh negara. Artikel ini berpendapat bahwa kebijakan afirmatif tidak memberikan peluang yang setara bagi penyandang disabilitas karena formasi khusus dan persyaratan medis menghambat mereka untuk melamar pada bidang pekerjaan yang sesuai dengan minat dan latar belakang pendidikannya. Penggunaan model medis disabilitas dalam penyelenggaraan kesempatan kerja di sektor publik pada gilirannya menghambat tingkat partisipasi dan pembentukan lingkungan kerja yang inklusif.

scholarly journals Fail to Prepare and you Prepare to Fail: the Human Rights Consequences of the UK Government’s Inaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Frowde ◽  
Edward S. Dove ◽  
Graeme T. Laurie
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
First Year ◽  
Inadequate Response ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Analytical Perspective ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk

AbstractAs the sustained and devastating extent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic becomes apparent, a key focus of public scrutiny in the UK has centred on the novel legal and regulatory measures introduced in response to the virus. When those measures were first implemented in March 2020 by the UK Government, it was thought that human rights obligations would limit excesses of governmental action and that the public had more to fear from unwarranted intrusion into civil liberties. However, within the first year of the pandemic’s devastation in the UK, a different picture has emerged: rather than through action, it is governmental inaction that has given rise to greater human rights concerns. The UK Government has been roundly criticized for its inadequate response, including missteps in decision-making, delayed implementation and poor enforcement of lockdown measures, abandonment of testing, shortages of critical resources and inadequate test and trace methods. In this article, we analyse the UK Government’s missteps and compare them with published international guidance; we also contrast the UK’s decisions with those taken by several other countries (including the devolved administrations within the UK) to understand how its actions and inactions have contributed to unfavourable outcomes. Using an analytical perspective that demonstrates how human rights are both a protection from the power of the state and a requirement that governmental powers are used to protect the lives, health and wellbeing of citizens, we argue that the UK Government’s failure to exercise their powers competently allowed the virus to spread without ensuring the country had the means to manage a high case load. This abject failure has led to one of the highest rates of deaths per capita worldwide. We offer several lessons that can be learnt from this unfortunate, but preventable, situation.

scholarly journals UK GOVERNMENT CANNOT HIDE FROM COMPLICITY IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-227
Author(s):  
Andrew Sanger
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
International Law ◽  
British Government ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
State Immunity ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
Uk Supreme Court ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Peremptory Norms

IN the joined appeals of Belhaj v Straw and Rahmatullah (No 1) v Ministry of Defence [2017] UKSC 3, the UK Supreme Court held that state immunity and the foreign act of state doctrine did not prevent claims against the British Government alleging complicity in human rights abuses and breaches of peremptory norms of international law.

scholarly journals Rhetorical uses of precise numbers and semi-magical round numbers in political discourse about COVID-19: Examples from the government of the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
pp. 095792652110131
Author(s):  
Michael Billig
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
British Government ◽  
Political Incentives ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Round Numbers ◽  
Magical Power ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The 19Th Century

This paper examines how the British government has used statistics about COVID-19 for political ends. A distinction is made between precise and round numbers. Historically, using round numbers to estimate the spread of disease gave way in the 19th century to the sort precise, but not necessarily accurate, statistics that are now being used to record COVID-19. However, round numbers have continued to exert rhetorical, ‘semi-magical’ power by simultaneously conveying both quantity and quality. This is demonstrated in examples from the British government’s claims about COVID-19. The paper illustrates how senior members of the UK government use ‘good’ round numbers to frame their COVID-19 goals and to announce apparent achievements. These round numbers can provide political incentives to manipulate the production of precise number; again examples from the UK government are given.

scholarly journals Economic cost of congenital CMV in the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 559-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Retzler ◽  
Nick Hex ◽  
Chris Bartlett ◽  
Anne Webb ◽  
Sharon Wood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Cost Model ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk

ObjectiveCongenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common infectious cause of congenital disability. It can disrupt neurodevelopment, causing lifelong impairments including sensorineural hearing loss and developmental delay. This study aimed, for the first time, to estimate the annual economic burden of managing cCMV and its sequelae in the UK.DesignThe study collated available secondary data to develop a static cost model.SettingThe model aimed to estimate costs of cCMV in the UK for the year 2016.PatientsIndividuals of all ages with cCMV.Main outcome measuresDirect (incurred by the public sector) and indirect (incurred personally or by society) costs associated with management of cCMV and its sequelae.ResultsThe model estimated that the total cost of cCMV to the UK in 2016 was £732 million (lower and upper estimates were between £495 and £942 million). Approximately 40% of the costs were directly incurred by the public sector, with the remaining 60% being indirect costs, including lost productivity. Long-term impairments caused by the virus had a higher financial burden than the acute management of cCMV.ConclusionsThe cost of cCMV is substantial, predominantly stemming from long-term impairments. Costs should be compared against investment in educational strategies and vaccine development programmes that aim to prevent virus transmission, as well as the value of introducing universal screening for cCMV to both increase detection of children who would benefit from treatment, and to build a more robust evidence base for future research.

scholarly journals The Living Wage: An Economic Geography Based Explanation for a Policy for Equality

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo J. Morelli ◽  
Paul T. Seaman
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Living Wage ◽  
Labour Force Survey ◽  
The Public ◽  
Household Inequality ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Wage Demand ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Low Pay

This article examines the theoretical underpinning of living wage campaigns. The article uses evidence, derived from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey from 2005 to 2008, to examine the extent to which a living wage will address low pay within the labour force. We highlight the greater incidence of low pay within the private sector and then focus upon the public sector where the living wage demand has had most impact. The article builds upon the results from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey with analysis of the British Household Panel Survey in 2007 in order to examine the impact that the introduction of a living wage, within the public sector, would have in reducing household inequality.

ICT and Human Rights in Brazil

2014 ◽  
pp. 86-99
Author(s):  
José Rodrigues Filho
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Biometric Identification ◽  
Electronic Surveillance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Voting System ◽  
National Constitution

Since the end of military government in Brazil, civilian governments have sought the accumulation and exercise of power to the detriment of the citizenry. They have done this with a kind of totalitarianism that takes the form of digital or bureaucratic dictatorship. Since the 1990s, they have started to implement information technology in the public sector to regulate and run the country in a command-and-control way through technological or bureaucratic dictatorship rather democratic process. While it is evident that there is a high level of investment in information technology in the public sector (e-government) in Brazil, there are also clear signs of the violation of human rights in terms of privacy. These occur, for instance, when the public administration exercises the power to engage in a process of electronic surveillance without the supervision of the judiciary. It is alleged that thousands of individual files have been accessed in the public administration in Brazil, despite the privacy protection offered by the national constitution. In addition, there is a proliferation of biometric identification using faces, eyes, fingerprints, and other body parts, especially in the e-voting system. This chapter shows how information technology (e-government) in Brazil could lead to violations of human rights because of the proliferation of biometric identification in the e-voting system as well as other sorts of invisible electronic surveillance that are affecting civil liberties and individual rights, including privacy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document