COVID-19: Together examines the human rights implications of UK Government’s crisis response

Date: 1st May 2020
Category: Disability, Basic Health and Welfare, Civil Rights and Freedoms, Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities, Family Environment and Alternative Care, General measures of implementation

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Together’s response to a UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) inquiry highlights the steps governments (UK and devolved) must take to ensure responses are human rights compliant, discusses the effect of specific measures on children’s rights and uses evidence kindly provided by our members to demonstrate some of the groups disproportionately impacted by UK and Scottish Government measures.

Together’s response included the following key calls to action for decision-makers:

• Take a child-rights approach to respond to the crisis, underpinned by child rights impact assessments on all measures proposed
• Implement rights-based budgeting and robust monitoring and review.

The response also looked at issues arising from the Coronavirus Act 2020, including the limited safeguards around detaining and testing ‘potentially infectious’ children aged 16 and 17 in Scotland, and child protection issues.

In addition, the response examined the disproportionate effect COVID-19 has on children living in poverty, families where a child has additional support needs, children experiencing domestic abuse, young carers, care-experienced children, children deprived of their liberty, children whose parents are imprisoned, children with mental health issues, refugees, migrants and asylum-seekers.

We would like to thank our members who provided valuable information to support the preparation of the response.

• Read the response to the JCHR inquiry in full here
• Read the Scottish Government's child rights and wellbeing impact assessment for the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill here