Areas of activity | Human rights

GPA offers practical analysis and evaluation of human rights regimes, their promotion and implementation, and within the UK works to improve understanding of the Human Rights Act framework.

Mental Health Act Commission

Global Partners and Associates worked as partners on a project for the Mental Health Act Commission in the UK to help the organisation understand more about how a human rights framework, and the Human Rights Act itself, could help its staff, and help to change the culture of its monitoring regime. We designed and delivered a training programme specifically for MHAC, tailoring it tightly to the needs of staff, Mental Health Act Commissioners (who meet with patients to monitor their care and treatment under the Act) and medical professionals. Feedback has been positive and the DVD of the project will help spread best practice to other health service institutions.

The British Institute of Human Rights

GPA worked with the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) on a project funded by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, to assess the best way in which human rights ideas and thinking, and the subject of the Human Rights Act, might be covered within the education curriculum in England and Wales. The project included interviews with key stakeholders, focus groups with teachers, and input from young people themselves. We found evidence that a rights based approach to education can deliver better educational outcomes, as well as provide young people with a framework for handling conflict. The DCA have used the report to help them plan the next stages of their work with educational institutions.

Carers UK

GPA worked with Carers UK on a project funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation aimed at highlighting carers' human rights. The project was designed to show how the Human Rights Act might have an impact on carers' lives. Carers UK staff helped us identify the key human rights issues that needed to be addressed. Our final briefing made recommendations for change aimed at governments, service providers and carers' organisations throughout the UK and is being used to influence the agenda of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

Department of Health

We worked with the UK's Department of Health - responsible for the NHS policy framework - to review the Department's existing standards and frameworks for human rights. The project reviewed governance recommendations in relation to human rights, and conducted an internal audit of human rights awareness. Our final report identified gaps in the department's human rights work, prioritised future work programmes, and helped the Department to understand how it can best protect and promote human rights through the NHS, leading to better experiences for patients.

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