HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 2021
🧵 adding to throughout the day
There will a shed load of content from @BIHRhumanrights all day
In thus hostile environment we're taking back the agenda, we're sharing
#WhyOurHumanRightsActMatters not just to us but to everyone across the UK ⬇️
1/?
🧵 adding to throughout the day
There will a shed load of content from @BIHRhumanrights all day
In thus hostile environment we're taking back the agenda, we're sharing
#WhyOurHumanRightsActMatters not just to us but to everyone across the UK ⬇️
1/?
2/ first up, this morning 159 CEOs & leaders of 159 civil society groups spanning vast interests & geographies across the UK have written to the PM explaining why our Human Rights Act Matters and why we need political leaders to safeguard our rights & democratic accountability 
3/ Human Rights Day Civil Society Letter to the Prime Minister & Political Leaders (video) #WhyOurHumanRightsActMatters
to us all
#HumanRightsDay
to us all
#HumanRightsDay
4/ Here is the Human Rights Day Civil Society Letter to the Prime Minister & Political leaders in EASY READ explaining why our Human Rights Act Matters to 159 organisations and the people they support:
(made with @Photosymbols)
bihr.org.uk/Handlers/Downl…
(made with @Photosymbols)
bihr.org.uk/Handlers/Downl…
OR how about the Easy Read video made with the brilliant @Warrspeakup @InclusionNorth @AllWalesPF and @LDEselfadvocate twitter.com/BourletGary
#WhyOurHumanRightsActMatters on #HumanRightsDay
#WhyOurHumanRightsActMatters on #HumanRightsDay
6/ A break whilst we held our Why Our Human Rights Act Matters event centring the stories of people, communities and groups, and staff charged with upholding our rights.
How do we engage people about the HRA? LIKE THIS ⬇️ People engage people.
How do we engage people about the HRA? LIKE THIS ⬇️ People engage people.
https://twitter.com/BIHRhumanrights/status/1469240644296130562?s=20
7/ Our wonderful Trustee Imran Khan QC was unable to chair the event as court beckoned (I stepped into his entirely unfillable shoes) but he shared this message, which we all need to hear
(what a joy to have Trustees who are so connected to our work)
(what a joy to have Trustees who are so connected to our work)
https://twitter.com/BIHRhumanrights/status/1469241583346360322?s=20
8/ The wonderful Mandy from @Warrspeakup shared the importance of our Human Rights Act for self-advocacy - we are so excited about this work!
This really is human rights having meaning in the "small places close to home" that we're always advocating
This really is human rights having meaning in the "small places close to home" that we're always advocating
https://twitter.com/BIHRhumanrights/status/1469243776753405952?s=20
9/ Mandy spoke so brilliantly about the challenges involved - often the harm we experience becomes normalised and then start identifying this has a human rights issue can raise secondary trauma, which needs to support and that needs time and resource.
10/ By naming harm as a human rights issue we can harness the power of the Human Rights Act legal duty to call for change, whether an individual decision, policy or practice. Doing this needs tools, we're working on it (& hope to secure more £ for this)
https://twitter.com/BIHRhumanrights/status/1469245750785855492?s=20
11/ The brilliant Juliet Harris (@Ulgrid) of @together_sac was spot on: our Human Rights Act being the foundation for everyone, incl children and young people, we can build on it by incorporating the Children's Rights Convention & keep the foundations safe
https://twitter.com/BIHRhumanrights/status/1469247843907121155?s=20
12/ Rachael @RachaelofHerts, Principal Social Worker at Wakefield who shared the impact of a human rights learning prog we've developed.
(Connected after @CommunityCare covered pandemic research showing a lack of Human Rights Act knowledge & confidence)
(Connected after @CommunityCare covered pandemic research showing a lack of Human Rights Act knowledge & confidence)
https://twitter.com/BIHRhumanrights/status/1469250294764773379?s=20
13/ What I loved about Rachael's insights:
1) human rights learning & development is often dismissed as "just training", no doubt sometimes it is. BUT done properly it can support genuine change & we're seeing that with new social work tools being developed - watch this space!
1) human rights learning & development is often dismissed as "just training", no doubt sometimes it is. BUT done properly it can support genuine change & we're seeing that with new social work tools being developed - watch this space!
14/ and 2) we need to shine a spotlight on public bodies that embrace our Human Rights Act as a practical tool to help make dignified decisions that support people. Either we don't hear these stories OR negative assumptions fill the silence and nonsense about the HRA finds a home
15/ And this! Human Rights Act training can feel scary, and many people are wary of engaging, but trust us, with the right approach that combine legal accuracy and practical application with being, real, relevant and human, it works!
(Even in a pandemic)
(Even in a pandemic)
https://twitter.com/RachaelofHerts/status/1469322012342591494?s=20
15/ And then there was @charliclement_ I have just dropped her a message to tell her how much she just blows me away, she is the most powerful communicator
(@AQuinnUnbroken if you two aren't connected up, you should be!)
(@AQuinnUnbroken if you two aren't connected up, you should be!)
https://twitter.com/BIHRhumanrights/status/1469253056806244353?s=20
16/ My fabulous colleague @CarlynSMiller rounded up
presentations with some reflections on our policy model - which we began redeveloping in 2020 - to amplify the voices of people whose rights are impacted by national decisions and combine this with our practical legal expertise
presentations with some reflections on our policy model - which we began redeveloping in 2020 - to amplify the voices of people whose rights are impacted by national decisions and combine this with our practical legal expertise
17/ As a former civil servant & campaigner she highlighted the commonality here: always looking for the next big thing. BUT the radical thing with our Human Rights Act would be to focus on actually implementing it rather than obsessing with changing it.
https://twitter.com/BIHRhumanrights/status/1469256080874258433?s=20
18/ And really so much this⬆️ if I had a penny for every time the HRA was overlooked to focus on something else shiny and new without securing the foundation ... well ... we'd have no issues funding our community support work ;)
And well here are some clips from the session (thank you @AnnieKSmith1 and @TurnbullEilidh - brilliant speed editing!)
https://twitter.com/BIHRhumanrights/status/1469336715777167368?s=20
19/ I appear to have forgot numbering!
In our discussion we talked about how in the current political climate it can feel like we're trying to push a big rock up a slippery hill.
It can. That's why we need to create our own spaces for change using our Human Rights Act for
In our discussion we talked about how in the current political climate it can feel like we're trying to push a big rock up a slippery hill.
It can. That's why we need to create our own spaces for change using our Human Rights Act for
20/ positive social change - and it is possible. As the above shows, in a negative political climate, in a pandemic, in crisis, our Human Rights Act can be the tool that helps us achieve meaningful and real change.
21/ At BIHR we are determined to share real stories & evidence to inspire, develop, continue and grow the positive use of our Human Rights Act.
We know our our reasons for #WhyOurHumanRightsActMatters are all about people and power. This is a stronger place than the naysayers.
We know our our reasons for #WhyOurHumanRightsActMatters are all about people and power. This is a stronger place than the naysayers.
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