Search Results

Sort by
News

UK Local Elections: A Chance to Improve Children’s Lives

Upcoming Elections in London Spotlight Child Homelessness

On May 5, voters across London will go to the polls to elect their new local government representatives. These elections will decide who runs London’s local authorities, which are responsible for services such as education, social care, and housing…
202204eca_uk_crd_shelter
News

UK Government Fails Low-Income Households

Budget Policies Will Harm Rights of Those Hit by Rising Living Costs

This week could have seen the United Kingdom government finally take steps to address the negative impact of the cost of living crisis on families on low incomes. But the plans set out on March 23 by finance minister Rishi Sunak will leave people on…
Rishi Sunak, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, poses for the media as he leaves 11 Downing Street
News

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Exacerbates Hunger in Middle East, North Africa

Strong Government Response Needed to Protect the Right to Food

(Beirut) – Governments should ensure that the conflict in Ukraine does not worsen the food crisis in the Middle East and North Africa and protect the right to affordable, adequate food for everyone, Human Rights Watch said today. Both Ukraine and…
A boy is handed a bag of bread
News

The Forest Behind the Trees: Exploring Family Violence in Tunisia

A notable achievement since Tunisia’s adoption of Law No. 58 on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 2017 is that it has broken the taboo on speaking about domestic violence. Yet, while spousal violence has received significant attention, it…
A woman walking on the street in Zarziss, Tunisia.
News

Human Rights Watch Response to UK Ministry of Justice Consultation

“Human Rights Act Reform: A Modern Bill of Rights: A consultation to reform the Human Rights Act 1998 (CP 588, December 2021)”

March 8, 2022 Introduction Human Rights Watch considers the Ministry of Justice’s (MOJ) consultation on ‘reform’ to the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) to be a misguided, misleading exercise. The United Kingdom (UK) Government has failed to show…
News

Turning Covid’s Economic Crisis into Opportunity

Pandemic-Related Support Addresses Longstanding Gaps

This piece is the first in a series marking the two year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic. Find more of our work documenting the global response to the coronavirus here. The Covid-19 pandemic cast a bright light on the reality for billions of…
A man picks up food for his family at the Los Angeles Unified School District's Liechty Middle School in Los Angeles, California, July 16, 2021.
News

UK Energy Price Hike Threatens to Worsen Poverty Crisis

Green Investments Key to Upholding Rights for Millions

Last week, the United Kingdom government raised the price energy providers can charge customers by 54 percent in response to rising fossil fuel costs, putting the human right to an adequate standard of living at risk for millions. Poverty rates…
Protesters hold placards during a rally urging the government to help people with their energy bills, London, United Kingdom, January 31, 2022.
Report

“I Want Us to Live Like Humans Again”

Summary Patricia Leatham moved back into the council house where she grew up when her mother became ill in 2017, to look after her as a full-time caregiver. When her mother died in 2019, Patricia and her then 14-year-old son, “Clarence,” were evicted…
Report

Dismantling Detention

Summary As the harmful effects of immigration detention become more widely known and the appropriateness of detaining migrants is increasingly questioned, governments are looking at alternatives to detention as more humane and rights-respecting…
News

UK National Food Strategy Has Game-Changing Potential

Proposals to Tackle Inequality Can Help Advance Right to Food

A major independent review of the United Kingdom’s food systems has underscored the deep inequality around access to nutritious food in the country. The National Food Strategy makes clear recommendations on using food policy to help tackle…
Students eat lunch at Chertsey High School on March 09, 2021 in Chertsey, United Kingdom. 
News

UK Football Fans Should Put European Super League Anger to Good Use

Show Spirit of the ‘Beautiful Game’ and Secure the Right to Food

Fans of European football have been on an emotional rollercoaster these past few days, as a proposal for a “European Super League” provoked anger over the greed and financial inequalities the project laid bare. With public outcry about how the plans…
A mobile food pantry with food collected by Fans Supporting Foodbanks and other local anti-poverty groups set up at at St. Mary’s Millennium Centre, Liverpool, UK. Photo shows a purple van with cases of food set up in front of it.
News

UK’s Independent Food Banks: A Lifeline in a Year of Crisis

Food banks, including those in the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN), which the BMJ is supporting in its 2020-21 appeal, have provided a lifeline for many people in the United Kingdom who have been left vulnerable and exposed by a deeply flawed…
Abdalkarim Sama, a volunteer at Sufra Food Bank, sorts through tinned food in the storage section on site at Sufra Food Bank, in Brent, Northwest London. October 9, 2019
News

UK Lags Behind Tackling Forced Labor in Xinjiang

New Measures to Address Abuses in Chinese Region Insufficient

The United Kingdom and Canada made coordinated announcements this week to help prevent British and Canadian businesses from being complicit in, or profiting from, human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang region. The move follows growing calls…
People work amidst massive piles of cotton in China's Xinjiang province. 
News

Every Child in the UK Deserves a Safe and Secure Home

Government Needs to Ensure Adequate Housing for Homeless Families

For children in the United Kingdom living in stable and secure homes, waking up in their own beds, this holiday season will be a welcome distraction from a bleak year. But many children across the country do not feel the same safety and stability when…
The interior of accommodation in Marston Court on Bordars Walk in Hanwell, west London, where converted shipping containers have been re-purposed for use as temporary accommodation, August 20, 2019. 
News

UK: Hunger is Visible Tip of Child Poverty Iceberg

UK’s Children’s Rights Record is Under Review

Over the past year, as the Covid-19 pandemic has set in and schools closed, I’ve spoken to some amazing people who are working to protect children’s rights in the United Kingdom. Katie Barry, a primary school headteacher in Lincolnshire, told me in…
Family at Food bank
News

Accountability for Congo’s Palm Oil Workers

After Pledging Reforms, UK Development Bank Should Implement Them

A United Kingdom development bank, CDC Group, has taken another step toward addressing human rights abuses at oil palm plantations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In May, the bank committed to reforming its complaints mechanism and adopting a…
201911ENV_DRC_reportphotos
News

England is Under Lockdown Again. Is Universal Credit Ready?

Concerns About Equal Access to the Benefit and Fresh Fears Over the ‘Five-Week Wait’

A bleak Covid-19 winter is coming. Cases are soaring and the UK government has imposed a further one-month lockdown in England. The lockdown could push more than 2 million people into furlough, or temporary leave from work. Hundreds of thousands more…
Citizens Advice operates the “Help to Claim” service, which helps people apply for Universal Credit online. 

Refine Search

Filter by Country
Filter by Topic
Filter by Type
Filter by News Category