UK: Dont renew Coronavirus Act provisions that harm rights
24th March 2021
The UK Parliament is likely to renew the governments emergency powers to combat COVID-19 this week, but the relevant law u2014 the Coronavirus Act 2020 u2014 includes provisions that continue to threaten human rights. Parliament should amend the Act considerably, including to protect the right to protest.
The Coronavirus Act 2020, the legislation allowing the government to place limits on everyday life to address the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled for renewal by the House of Commons on 25 March. However, the Act contains provisions which can thwart legitimate protests and let the government postpone democratic elections.
We are all better informed now about COVID-19 and its effects than we were at the beginning of the pandemic. The UK Government has had time to learn from its earlier missteps, including the provisions of the Coronavirus Act that overreach, and Parliament should show that it has considered how to protect the public without harming rights and freedoms.
In the past year, the pandemic has severely impacted many groups that were already vulnerable or marginalised in the UK, such as asylum seekers