BIHR - The British Institute of Human Rights

18/06/2026

🫵 Are you a London-based community organisation?

💡 Do you want to learn about the Human Rights Act 1998 and how you can use it in your work?

📣 Join us on 16 July 2026 for a free, in-person event exploring the Human Rights Act 1998 and how it can help strengthen and support community work across London.

This rare and exciting event will bring community groups together for:

🎓️ An introductory workshop on the Human Rights Act 1998
💬 A panel on community organisations using human rights-based approaches in practice
🤝 Time to connect with others — plus a free lunch!

✍️ Register your interest by 5pm 25th June: https://buff.ly/uGC2uPE

⏰️ Places are limited and are only available to community organisations based in, or serving, London — we’d love to hear from you, so register your interest soon.

This event is part of the London Communities Human Rights Programme, funded by City Bridge Foundation and the Baring Foundation.

This event will provide information and shared learning, not legal advice or casework.

16/06/2026

At BIHR we know that when healthcare is shaped by the Human Rights Act, people are treated with dignity, their needs are heard, and lives are protected.

But too many people with learning disabilities are still being left behind, and many are dying far earlier.

This open letter is about changing that with a clear, co-produced national strategy that puts human rights into action.

💡 Longer, healthier lives
💡 Fair access to care
💡 Accountability across the NHS

✍️ Join the call:

Learning Disability England’s National Policy Leads Network have been talking about the health inequalities people face.   They have been thinking about what the changed to NHSE and the new 10 year plan means for people with learning disabilities.   They don’t think enough is being done...

14/05/2026

🎬 A final reflection from our Human Rights Zine – celebration yes, but vigilance is needed …

🏛️ In the final piece of our ECHR Zine, Sir Nicolas Bratza, former President of the European Court of Human Rights, and our former Chair, reflects on 75 years of the European Convention on Human Rights; a milestone that calls both for celebration and vigilance.

⏰ This is a timely share because tomorrow countries, including the UK, gather at the Chișinău Conference, where a Political Declaration is likely to be adopted which, whilst not changing the law, risks undermining the absolute ban on torture, and shifts focus away from states’ core responsibility to uphold rights in practice.

⚖️ Sir Nicolas reminds us what works when the system is respected. When Convention rights are understood and applied well at home - through our Human Rights Act - decisions are fairer, accountability is clearer, and fewer people ever need to turn to Strasbourg.

🌱 That progress is worth celebrating. These shared rules have strengthened dignity, fairness and freedom across decades, shaping everyday life in the UK and across Europe.

👀 As the final word in our Zine, this brings us back to a simple truth: human rights work when they are upheld consistently in everyday life, with independent courts when needed, and a firm commitment to universality by those in power.

📖 Read Sir Nicolas Bratza’s full reflection in our ECHR Zine:
https://buff.ly/avi1olf

13/05/2026

🛡️HUMAN RIGHTS ARE OUR SHIELD

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Lucy Fullard - a parent carer and founder of the Parent & Carer Alliance - shares what human rights mean for families navigating complex systems, particularly parents and carers of disabled children.

🏛️ As Parliament hears the King’s Speech today, with the prospect of new legislation affecting education and SEND provision, Lucy’s piece is a timely reminder about why strong, shared rights matter - particularly for children and families who rely on clear legal protections to be heard and supported.

⚖️ The European Convention on Human Rights sets shared standards for dignity, safety and respect. In the UK, those standards are part of everyday law through the Human Rights Act, shaping how decisions are made by councils, schools and other public bodies.

🗣️ Lucy explains how human rights language turns being ignored into being heard. When concerns are framed through rights, conversations change - and so does how authorities respond. What was once silence becomes a clear expectation of action.

🌱 This story shows human rights as practical tools, not abstract ideas. They help families challenge unfair practice, protect dignity, and push systems to do better, strengthening not just individual outcomes, but whole communities.

🤝 At its heart, this is about universality. Human rights belong to all of us. When they are understood and used, they offer protection, clarity and hope; especially when families need it most.

📖 Interested? Read Lucy’s full reflection in our ECHR Zine:
https://buff.ly/avi1olf

12/05/2026

🧵 Woven together by rights

🪡 A reminder from our ECHR Zine that human rights aren’t separate threads you can pick and choose. They’re stitched into the fabric of our shared society.

⚖️ The 16 rights in the European Convention on Human Rights shape everyday life - from our homes to our hospitals, from classrooms to courtrooms - guiding how power is exercised and how people are treated.

🌍 Human rights work because they’re universal. They belong to everyone. Pull one thread loose, and the fabric begins to fray.

🌱 This small “ad” is about a big truth: our rights hold us together. When they’re protected, society is stronger, fairer and more connected.

👉 Find out more about how these rights shape life in the UK in our ECHR Zine:
https://buff.ly/avi1olf

12/05/2026

🔑 Who are human rights really for, who gets to use them?

“At BIHR, our work is about connecting legal standards with lived experience. So, people know their rights, feel confident using them, and understand the duties public bodies owe. One idea we challenge often is that human rights are ‘too complex’ for communities, and that it’s better to talk only in terms of values like fairness or dignity. Or that because access to justice – by which people mean formal legal processes and litigation – is so lacking, that there’s no point upskilling and empowering people on their rights. However well‑intentioned, that view is little more than an elitist take, and smacks of those who have never stood alongside people and communities in meaningful change work. It says this knowledge about your own rights isn’t for you. It says that the profound shift – when people have it validated that they are not a nuisance or asking for charity, but simply asking for their rights, which they share with everyone, be met – that this matters less than whether their experience can be packaged as a legal case.”

📝 Read the latest from our CEO, Sanchita Hosali, reflecting on power, collaboration, and what it means to use human rights to build change with communities, not just for them 👇

🔗

This weekend, I was really pleased to be invited to the LEF Justice First Fellows residential to join a panel exploring how communities and lawyers work together to drive meaningful, lasting change. It was a tonic to the national conversations since the elections.

11/05/2026

🤝 Community conversations: human rights in everyday life

🏘️ In this Community Conversation, Tom Bennett from the Scottish Recovery Consortium chats to our Head of Policy & Programmes Carlyn Miller, reflecting on why human rights matter at community level - where people seek support, navigate services, and rebuild their lives.

⚖️ The European Convention on Human Rights sets shared standards for dignity, safety and fairness. In the UK, those standards are part of everyday decision making through the Human Rights Act, shaping how public bodies treat people in healthcare, social care and community settings.

🗣️ Tom explains how understanding and using human rights language helps people hold systems to account more effectively. When communities know their rights, concerns are heard more clearly, responsibilities are understood, and change can happen more quickly.

🌱 This conversation shows the quiet power of rights in practice: supporting recovery, rebuilding confidence and strengthening belonging. When people are treated with dignity and respect, communities are stronger - and systems work better for everyone.

📖 Interested? Read the full Community Conversation in our ECHR Zine:
https://buff.ly/avi1olf

10/05/2026

⚖️ Three cases. Real lives. Lasting change.

🏛️ The European Convention on Human Rights sets the shared standards for dignity, fairness and accountability across Europe. In the UK, those standards are part of our everyday law through the Human Rights Act.

🏥🏠🚔 We share three Human Rights Act cases where those ECHR standards shaped decisions in practice - in hospitals, homes and police stations - changing outcomes for real people.

👩‍⚕️ From protecting someone’s life in mental health care, to recognising equality in who gets to keep their home, to enabling victims to challenge serious police failings, these cases show how the Human Rights Act helps turn Convention rights into action here at home.

🔍 By bringing the ECHR into UK law, the Human Rights Act helps decision makers pause, consider real world impact, and act proportionately. It clarifies responsibilities where power exists , and gives people a way to be heard when things go wrong.

🌱 These real stories show what human rights look like in everyday life: shared rules that protect dignity, safety and equality, and quietly improve how public services work for everyone.

📖 Interested? Read the full piece in our ECHR Zine:
https://buff.ly/avi1olf

09/05/2026

💡 Illuminating Public Services with Human Rights: A Guiding Light

👀 Did you see this “ad” in our Zine?

🏥🚓🏫 It’s styled like an advert, but the message comes straight from people working across public services: human rights help guide everyday decisions.

⚖️ The European Convention on Human Rights, brought into UK law through the Human Rights Act, means we have clear legal duties on public authorities - from the NHS and the police to councils and other services - to respect and protect people’s rights.

🌱 When these duties are understood and used in practice, people’s human rights are upheld and services work better. Decisions are more thoughtful, people are treated with dignity, and trust grows.

✨ This ad style page is playful by design, but serious in purpose: human rights help public services do what they exist to do - serve people fairly and respectfully.

📖 Find more voices and stories in our ECHR Zine:
https://buff.ly/avi1olf

08/05/2026

🗣️ Understanding your rights shouldn’t start in a crisis

👤 In this Q&A, Charli Clement, a lived experience advocate, shares how human rights shape everyday experiences in mental health, psychiatric and community care; and why understanding our rights can make a real difference.

🧠 Charli reflects on how the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act help people navigate systems like healthcare and education. Knowing your rights gives you the language to ask questions, raise concerns, and be heard - whether for yourself or someone else.

⚖️ As this conversation shows, human rights guide proportional, thoughtful decision making. They help staff look beyond blanket rules, respond to individual needs, and reduce harm, often through small changes that have a big impact.

🌱 At its heart, this is about empowerment. When people understand their rights, they’re better equipped to engage with public services, protect their dignity, and shape outcomes that work for them and their communities.

📖 Interested? Read Charli’s full Q&A in our ECHR Zine:
https://buff.ly/avi1olf