Equality and Human Rights Commission

Welcome to this new resource which has been designed to help you easily find the guidance you need to meet your human rights obligations and to implement good practice in your sector.

We have produced this resource for people working in the public sector or in organisations carrying out public functions. Some of the resources will also be useful for advocacy organisations.

The resource currently contains reviews of 39 pieces of guidance. We have drawn together a range of good practice and learning material on human rights, both generic and from across the public sector - education, children's services, policing and criminal justice, health and social care - together with material on supporting the human rights of particular groups, such as older and disabled people and refugees and asylum seekers.

A key feature of the resource is that, rather than simply listing and linking to existing guidance, we have produced short, accessible summaries of each publication to highlight their key human rights messages and other essential information. Wherever possible, these summaries also highlight links between human rights and equalities.

These summaries have been produced on behalf of the Commission by the Human Rights and Social Justice Research Institute at London Metropolitan University.

Key messages

While the guidance we have reviewed here covers a wide range of issues and different areas of the public sector, there are a number of common and recurring themes that should be applicable to everyone.

• Positive obligations - The Human Rights Act means that all public authorities have an obligation to ensure that people's rights are respected in all that they do.
• Human rights as an aid to decision making - Human rights principles can strengthen decision-making at both corporate and service levels and help to prevent service failure. Human rights can provide an important 'check and balance' - helping to determine proportionate action, especially where the interests of different parties conflict.
• Proportionality - The principle of proportionality is at the heart of a human rights framework. This can be summarised as 'not using a sledgehammer to crack a nut'. It ensures that any restriction of a person's human rights is kept to a minimum.
• Assessing and managing risk - Human rights can be used to ensure that risk management practice is lawful, balances the interests of all those involved, and is proportionate. Human rights can be infringed when public authorities are excessively risk averse as well as when they fail to act to prevent risk.
• User and public involvement - The inclusion of service users, is an essential part of a human rights based approach.
• Equality and good relations - Viewing equality issues through a human rights lens can help to shift the emphasis from negative compliance to positive cultural change.
• Building a human rights culture - Leadership, senior level commitment and engagement, and effective training in human rights principles and practice are fundamental to any organisation committed to compliance with the Human Rights Act.

Read on for more information about these key messages.

Feedback

We will add to the collection over the coming months. If you know of any other guidance that might usefully be included, please email: hrguidance@equalityhumanrights.com

We hope that you find the resource helpful and easy to use. If you have any feedback please email: hrguidance@equalityhumanrights.com

Disclaimer

The content of this resource is for general information purposes and is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice. Every effort has been made to make sure that the summarised information is correct. However, it is not intended to be an authoritative statement of the law. Neither its authors nor the Equality and Human Rights Commission can accept any legal liability or responsibility.