A ‘no deal’ Brexit and human rights
A no deal Brexit will undermine our human rights, says the Human Rights Consortium Scotland.
As time to reach an agreement with the EU is fast running out, many aspects of our basic human rights could be negatively affected. The right to food is imperiled by expected new border controls, delays, and higher prices, whilst the impact of fewer EU citizens will have a detrimental impact on an already struggling health and social care sector.
The uncertainty negatively impacts our EU citizens, whilst the lack of agreement on cross-border issues places protection for victims of crime or violence at increased risk.
Mhairi Snowden, Coordinator of the Human Rights Consortium Scotland said:
“When over 170 organisations supported the Scotland Declaration on Human Rights, they were clear that they want all of our policy makers to protect rights in the midst of Brexit. Human rights should not be a casualty of Brexit.
However, it is now clear that ‘no deal’ imperils our basic human rights. It risks regression on the right to food, to health, to family life, to life. There is simply not enough time to put in place the proper arrangements that we all need to secure our rights.
And this lack of time means that there will not be proper scrutiny and participation in policy making.
We urge the Scottish and UK Governments, MEPs and MPs to do all that they can to prevent a ‘no deal’ Brexit. And we ask them to speak to civil society, and not shut them out, of Brexit decision-making.”
You can read a short paper on some of the impacts on human rights of leaving the EU without agreement here.
Image credit: Matti Mattila, Flickr