The British Humanist Association (BHA) has argued that the UK state legally discriminates against the non-religious in a wide range of ways, and that urgent reform is needed to ensure a more equal, inclusive and secular society. The call comes in the BHA’s response to the British Institute of Human Rights’ (BIHR’s) ‘Human Rights Check UK’ initiative, which is part of the reporting process for the UN Human Rights Committee’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) into the UK.
The UN conducts UPRs of each member state’s overall human rights record every 4.5 years. Other UN committees do the same against specific UN treaties – for example, earlier this month, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child completed its UPR of the UK against the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, arguing that the UK must repeal its laws around collective worship, introduce full, comprehensive compulsory SRE, integrate education in Northern Ireland, and legalise abortion in Northern Ireland.
BIHR is now coordinating civil society’s response to the upcoming UPR, and the BHA has responded to its call for evidence to highlight:
- The current threats to our human rights settlement of the proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act
- Religious discrimination in ‘faith’ school admissions
- Religious discrimination in ‘faith’ school employment
- The exclusion of non-religious worldviews from the school curriculum
- The requirement for Christian collective worship in schools
- The lack of full and comprehensive compulsory Personal, Social, Health, Economics Education (PSHE) and Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in schools
- Religious discrimination in the provision of public services
- Religious discrimination in the recruitment of chaplains/pastoral support
- Unbalanced broadcasting about religion or belief issues by the BBC and others
- The illegality of assisted dying
- The inconsistency of marriage laws across the UK – with same-sex marriage illegal in Northern Ireland and humanist marriages lacking legal recognition in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland
- The illegality of abortion in Northern Ireland
BHA Campaigns Manager Richy Thompson commented, ‘While the non-religious now represent something like 50% of the British population, in many ways we remain legally the most discriminated against religion and belief group. In far too many areas the law favours religious individuals or Christians specifically, a vestige of a former era that is unfortunately now being reinforced by the increase in the number of religious schools, the increase in the number of public services being contracted to religious groups, and the threats to our established human rights protections.
‘We were pleased last month when the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recognised many of the issues we have worked to highlight, and we will be pushing for the UN Committee on Human Rights to do the same.’
Notes
For further comment or information, please contact BHA Campaigns Manager Richy Thompson at richy@humanists.uk or on 020 7324 3072.
Human Rights Check UK: https://www.bihr.org.uk/hrcheck
Read the BHA’s response to the call for evidence: https://humanists.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016-06-07-Final-Universal-Periodic-Review-Call-for-Evidence-Submission-Form-BHA.pdf
Read more about the BHA’s work on human rights and equality: https://humanists.uk/campaigns/human-rights-and-equality/
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.
The BHA is a member of the British Institute of Human Rights, the Equality and Diversity Forum, the Children’s Rights Alliance of England and Rights of the Child UK.