The UK Government firmly believes that each citizen should enjoy basic human rights - the rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled - in their daily lives.

Respect for people's human rights forms the basis of life in the UK. The British Government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charities also play a crucial role promoting the importance of human rights around the world.

Human rights in the UK

Social, economic and political rights

The Human Rights Act 1998 sets out British citizens' social, economic and political rights, including:

• protection from crime
• freedom of expression in religion and politics
• protection against abuses of the legal system such as arrest or imprisonment without trial
• equality rights that guarantee non-discrimination
• economic rights such as education and protection against extreme poverty or starvation

What does this mean in everyday life?

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the main Government body responsible for enforcing the values outlined in the Human Rights Act 1998 in everyday life in the UK, although other Government departments and local government also play a key role. The Act affects a number of areas of everyday life, including:

• race discrimination
• age discrimination
• religion and belief
• protecting people from discrimination because of a disability
• gender discrimination
• sexual orientation  

The Act doesn't cover voting rights and the conduct of parliamentaryand other elections. These are contained in other legislation and inthe work of the Electoral Commission, which is responsible for ensuring public confidence in the integrity of the UK's democratic process.

You can vote in UK elections if:

• you are 18 years of age or older on polling day
• you are a British citizen, a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Irish Republic who is resident in the UK
• you are not subject to any legal incapacity to vote, such as being in prison.

Political asylum

The UK provides asylum to 100s, sometimes 1000s, of people who are being persecuted in their native countries every year. You can find information about the UK's policy towards asylum seekers on the UK Border Agency website.

The UK provides asylum to people from countries around the world, including Sudan, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. In a recent high profile case, it was announced that Iraqi interpreters who had worked for the British Armyfor more than 12 months during the war in Iraq could apply for political asylum in the UK.

Promoting human rights overseas

Human rights in UK foreign policy

'We seek a world in which freedom, justice and opportunity thrive, in which governments are accountable to the people, protect their rights and guarantee their security and basic needs' - the then Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, 2006.

Human rights is at the heart of the UK's foreign policy agenda. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) works in countries around the world to promote the values of human rights, civil liberties and democracy.

You can find out about the FCO's approach to human rights and why they are at the heart of UK foreign policy in the latest FCO Human Rights Report. Key issues that the UK Government focuses on overseas include:

• child rights
• death penalty
• equality
• freedom of expression
• gender
• religious freedom
• forced marriage
• torture

The UK is also a key member of international organisations such as the United Nations, the European Union and the Commonwealth, which also promote human rights around the world.

Charities and NGOs (non-governmental organisations)

UK-based charities and NGOs which play a key role in promoting human rights overseas include:

• Amnesty International campaigns for humanity and human rights around the world
• CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) raises funds so it can promote long-term development, raise public awareness of the causes of poverty and promote social justice in deprived regions of the world
• Oxfam focuses on a number of issues that are vital in helping poor people lift themselves out of poverty
• Christian Solidarity Worldwide is a human rights organisation specialising in religious freedom
• JUSTICE - the British section of the International Commission of Jurists - works to improve the legal system and quality of justice
• Liberty seeks to protect basic rights and freedoms through the courts, in Parliament and in the wider community
• Save the Children fights for children who suffer from poverty, disease, injustice and violence.

You can also check out the BBC World Service Trust governance and human rights projects which they run in many parts of the world.

Priority countries

The UK is currently trying to improve the human rights situation in a number of countries, the most high-profile of which is Burma.

Burma

The British Government is determined to raise international awareness of the recent human rights violations in Burma, where the regime is one of the most repressive in the world. The Prime Minister has set out 2 key priorities for the UK:

• support the UN Secretary General and his Special Envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, in their efforts to promote a process of genuine reconciliation in Burma that includes Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders
• seek strengthened EU sanctions targeted at the economic interests of the Burmese regime.

The Strategic Programme Fund

The FCO's Strategic Programme Fund, formerly the Global Opportunities Fund, supports projects that aim to contribute to progress on strengthening international human rights, institutions and instruments, criminal justice, freedom of expression, child rights and abolition of the death penalty in particular.