On 21 September 2020, the Joint Committee on Human Rights, in the UK, published its report ‘The Government’s response to COVID-19: Human Rights Implications’, in which an area of great concern was the Right to Family Life for people who are detained in different settings, with special focus on children.
In the UK there are thousands of children each year who have a parent in prison, or in a health care centre, or parents who have their child detained in prisons or mental health facilities. During the lockdown, these institutions had to make a hard choice: protect the “Right to Family Life” or secure “Public Health”?!
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of the Council of Europe declares under article 8 that “There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary for a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”
Children and parents are asked how they feel about blanket visiting bans in prisons and other facilities, and they expressed rage towards this kind of approach, saying that this is inhuman treatment. Campaigners told MPs that such conduct will mark a devastating impact on everyone who is subject to it.
On the other side, the Government says that people’s life is a priority, and it is committed to protect and foster public health, the economy and society in general.
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