United Kingdom
Poverty as a Human Rights Concern
The UK Association of Rights and Humanity was launched in December 1986. It was established as a company limited by guarantee in 1990 and registered as a charity in 1991, Charity registration number 1001555.
The example of Homelessness
One of the UK Association’s first activities was to conduct a ‘needs assessment survey’ about the situation of homeless people housed in what was known euphemistically as “bed and breakfast” accommodation. We found that in London, local authorities were housing the most vulnerable homeless people – single mothers and their children – in private housing rented by the local authority, which were sub-let on to multiple families in overcrowded and unsafe conditions.
We engaged the students and staff from a high school in London to empower young homeless people in London through peer-to-peer contact. We designed a programme together with the objective of increasing the chances of young homeless people gaining paid employment. The programme aimed to raise their self-esteem through involving them in street theatre, and establishing day centres at which homeless youths would receive training in life skills and which would provide a supportive community in common with other homeless people.
It appeared that this concept was too far ahead of its time. There was a general apathy about the plight of homeless people, and homelessness was not viewed as a human rights issue. This affected the availability of funds for a project of this nature but the experience gained was beneficial to other projects in which we were engaged.
Support for policy development and grassroots organisations
The UK Association of Rights and Humanity focused instead on a series of legal and statistical briefings on the right to housing and participated in conferences across Europe to influence policy by explaining this right and strategies for its realisation.
Over the last two decades, Rights and Humanity has facilitated the work of a number of other human rights groups. For instance, we provided office space for meetings of Right From the Start – a group of teachers integrating human rights education into teaching at the primary school level. In 1988, we supported the establishment of Street Wise International, an NGO set up in the UK to help street children achieve their human rights.
Through a one year internship in our London and Nigerian offices, we provided training on establishing a human rights organisation to a Ugandan lawyer, to Mr Livingstone Sewanyana, enabling him to establish the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative in Uganda in 1991.
We also supported the establishment of the Jagiellonian University Human Rights Centre, Krakow, Poland, which provides advice to poor and disadvantaged people.
An example of a more recent project in the UK is our work to educate young people in human rights and responsibilities. We have devised innovative techniques to prompt adoption by children and young people of human rights and responsibilities in their own lives.