Weekly Human Rights News: 27/06/25
This week’s human rights news includes our workshops with health and social care practitioners and an update on the Assisted Dying Bill.
We talked to health and social care practitioners about the rights of autistic people and people with a learning disability
As part of BIHR's new regional capacity-building programme, this week we delivered the second workshop in a two-part series, focusing on bringing about positive change for people with a learning disability and autistic people using the Human Rights Act. We spoke about the right to liberty (Article 5), thinking about restrictions on people's freedom of movement, and the right to life (Article 2), considering the issues of risk aversion in health and social care services as well as failures to take reasonable steps to protect someone's life.
Attendees of both workshops will have the opportunity to become a Human Rights Practice Lead in their organisation, undertaking additional learning to develop their knowledge and confidence around the HRA legal duties, and to help build a culture of respect for human rights within and across organisations.
We co-delivered a session for social care leaders with a Lived Experience Expert
On Wednesday 25th June, our CEO Sanchita and Lived Experience Expert Charli co-delivered a human rights workshop for leaders in the social care sector. The session is part of an ongoing programme to support senior staff members to embed human rights-based approaches across services. As a short taster session over 2 hours, we introduced the 16 rights protected by the Human Rights Act and then drilled down on the legal duty on all staff to respect, protect and fulfil these rights, and the legal duty to apply other laws compatibly with human rights. Discussions focused on explicit leadership on using the Human Rights Act, referring directly to the rights and the duties across actions, both internally and working with others, including through the process of commissioning and monitoring social care. Take away actions included “embed human right into commission and policy” and as one participant said, “Don’t be scared of human rights!”
Find out about lived experience expertise at BIHR Find out more about booking a taster session or full workshop
News from elsewhere
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill moved to the House of Lords
On Friday 20th June, MPs voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (more commonly known as the Assisted Dying Bill). This is a Bill that would change the law to allow terminally ill adults to request and be given assistance by doctors to end their own lives. There were 314 votes in favour and 291 against, meaning it was very close between people who were for and against the Bill, but it ultimately passed by 25 votes.
The Bill will now go to the House of Lords, who have to approve the Bill before it comes law. You can find out more about how laws are made in our plain-language explainer.
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