3 September, 2021 Open access
3 September, 2021 Open access
Letter urges MPs to use period immediately following resumption of Parliament to 'make the government think again'
Human Rights Watch, which investigates and reports on international human rights abuses, has warned MPs that the removal of the Covid-19-related universal credit and tax credit 'uplift' from October 2021 would breach the UK's international human rights obligations.
In a letter to MPs dated 2 September 2021, UK Director of Human Rights Watch Yasmine Ahmed says -
'If the government were to proceed with the proposed cut, it would be in violation of its international human rights obligations, in particular the binding International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, signed by the UK in 1968 and ratified in 1976, which sets out the rights to an adequate standard of living and to social security.'
Highlighting that any austerity measure must satisfy the stringent six-part test set out by the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Ms Ahmed adds that -
'The six-part test requires that, when proceeding with cuts, a state: show a compelling state interest; demonstrate that it has exhausted all alternatives; ensure that the cuts are non-discriminatory; ensure the decision is temporary, necessary, reasonable and proportionate; give opportunity to those most likely to be affected by the policy to participate genuinely in the decision-making process; and ensure a minimum social protection floor.
The decision by the government to proceed with the planned cut will cause deep harm and does not satisfy all these criteria.'
Ms Ahmed concludes by saying -
'We urge you to use the period immediately following the resumption of Parliament to make the government think again. There is still time to act now to prevent the increase in poverty and queues for aid at food banks that will result from this retrogressive move.'
The letter from Human Rights Watch to UK MPs is available from hrw.org
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