The Catholic Union has called for a renewed focus on universal, inviolable, and inalienable rights as part of plans for a new Bill of Rights being proposed by the Government.
Following a review of the Human Rights Act, the Government is consulting on a number of possible changes to the framework of human rights law in the UK.
In its response to the consultation, the Catholic Union has urged respect for the fundamental nature of human rights which are rooted in justice and human dignity and warned of the risk of diluting the concept by describing political policy preferences as new rights.
The Catholic Union warned that this risk could apply whether the interpretation of human rights was the responsibility of international courts, national courts or Parliament.
The changes proposed by the Government would see the Human Rights Act replaced with a Bill of Rights. Ministers have said the changes are needed “to restore a proper balance between the rights of individuals, personal responsibility and the wider public interest”.
The Catholic Union has highlighted the risk of expansion or invention of so-called new human rights, especially an expansion which threatens to sever the link between human rights and human dignity.
But the Catholic Union also stressed that any reform of the Human Rights Act should not inhibit the ability to make solidly based legal challenges to alleged breaches of the human rights protected by law.
Catholic Union Director, Nigel Parker, commented: “Britain has a proud history in the development of an internationally agreed understanding of human rights, and as Catholics we have a clear sense of the importance of human rights as a concept rooted in the inherent dignity of the human person.
“Whether we have a Human Rights Act or a new Bill of Rights, the important thing is that the integrity and fundamental nature of the concept of human rights is recognised and protected.”