Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

The main international human rights laws
that the UK must follow are:
• International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights 1966 (ICCPR)
www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm
• Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination 1965
(ICERD)
www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cerd.htm
• Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women
1979 (CEDAW)
www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/
• Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
1984 (CAT)
www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b3a
94.html
• Convention on the Rights of the Child
1989 (CRC)
www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm
The European Convention on
Human Rights
The UK also has to follow the Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms 1950 which is
sometimes referred to as the ECHR. The ECHR is
part of UK law through the Human Rights Act
1998. This means that as well as considering
whether you are entitled to protection under the
Refugee Convention, the decision-maker in your
case also has to consider whether returning you
to your country would be in breach of the UK’s
obligations under the ECHR.
The ECHR gives everyone in the UK, whether they
are British or not, a number of important rights.
The human rights in the ECHR:
• Article 1 - obligation to respect human rights
• Article 2 - right to life
• Article 3 - prohibition (forbidding) of torture
and inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment
• Article 4 - prohibition (forbidding) of slavery
and forced labour
• Article 5 - right to liberty and security
• Article 6 - right to a fair trial
• Article 7 - right to not be punished
unlawfully
• Article 8 - right to respect for private life
• Article 9 - right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion
• Article 10 - right to freedom of expression
• Article 11 - right to freedom of assembly and
association
• Article 12 - right to marry and found a family
• Article 13 - right to an effective remedy
• Article 14 - prohibition (forbidding) of
discrimination
The rights that are most relevant to women
seeking asylum are:
• Article 3 Prohibition of torture: this article
says that no one shall be subjected to torture,
or to inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment. This right cannot be breached in
any circumstances. This means that no one
who is within the UK can be tortured or treated
in a way that is inhuman or degrading. It also
means that we cannot send or return someone
from the UK; whether they are British or not, to
a country or situation where there is a real risk
that they may be tortured or suffer inhuman or
degrading treatment.
• Article 4 Prohibition of slavery and forced
labour: this article forbids forcing anyone into
a situation of slavery, or forcing them to work
when the person concerned has not agreed to
this. This article offers protection to women
who are forced into prostitution.
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