The cost of living is resulting in millions of people in the UK unable to access basic human rights like food, electricity and warmth, which could mean that the government is in violation of its international obligations, according to the charity Just Fair.

I spoke to its Head of Policy, Campaigns and Research, Helen Flynn, who told me the situation amounts to a human rights crisis. Disabled people, people of colour, people on low wages and single mothers are the most greatly impacted, and were also the most impacted by COVID-19, Helen said.

“While we’ve all been weathering the same crises in the past few years, it hasn’t been the same for all of us. We’re not all starting from the same point.”

Helen talked me through the different human rights treaties the UK Government has signed up to and ratified, one of which is the United Nations International Covenant of Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This covenant guarantees rights to an adequate standard of living, which includes food, housing, clothing, work and education.

The current cost of living crisis is posing a “really, really severe threat” to a lot of these fundamental human rights, Helen said, as many people are having to choose between heating their home, feeding their families or paying for electricity – if they even have that choice at all.

These international treaties create legal duties for the UK Government, in that they can be held to account by the UN, but are not currently rights that can be brought to a domestic court.

Just Fair is pushing for ICESCR and other UN treaties to be brought into domestic law, as there are clear gaps between the human rights enshrined in international law and UK legal frameworks. Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill is looking promising (it proposes incorporating four UN treaties into Scots Law) but the Scottish Government needs to be held to account to ensure it actually delivers, Helen said.

Helen added that there are other things civil society can do to fight for our human rights to be respected, including highlighting human rights breaches at UN committees that monitor whether states are complying.

The cost of living situation is a human rights crisis that requires a human rights solution, Helen said. She talked me through some research by housing groups Tai Pawb, the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru and Shelter Cymru, who conducted a cost-benefit analysis into what the right to adequate housing over 10 years would mean for Wales. They found that doing so would generate £11.5 billion in benefits (including through improved wellbeing, savings to NHS Wales and the criminal justice system, and additional economic activity) while just costing £5 billion.

Helen said these types of initiatives were sensible, practical solutions.

Human rights should always be protected, respected and fulfilled, particularly during a crisis, Helen said, adding that violations of them should not be an inevitable consequence of the current situation.

The header image was sourced from Ink Drop/Adobe Stock.