‘Take this convention away and people will be vulnerable to the political whims of those who seek to undermine and deny them their rights’ -   Sacha Deshmukh

In response to Kemi Badenoch’s announcement that the Tory Party would leave the European Convention on Human Rights if the Conservatives won the next election, Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said:   

“The European Convention on Human Rights is a stalwart defence against racism, the abuse of power, discrimination and those moments when the state lets down the most vulnerable people. It is alarming that today the Conservative Party has committed to tearing this country away from it. 

“It has delivered justice for victims of domestic violence, safeguarded children in care, upheld LGBT people’s right to live free from discrimination, protected freedom of the press and people’s right to speak out, protected people from torture, and helped families like those affected by Hillsborough seek truth and accountability when the State failed them. 

“We should all be very cautious of politicians who try to take away the very rights that hold politicians themselves to account. Take this convention away and people will be vulnerable to the political whims of those who seek to undermine and deny them their rights.  

“The UK was central to the ECHR’s creation, drafted in the aftermath of war by people who had witnessed how quickly prejudice can turn into persecution, and how fragile societies become when leaders retreat in the face of anti-rights populist pressure. It was created to protect the rights of all people precisely in times when our moral mettle is being tested - times like these. 

“Scapegoating people fleeing persecution and other migrants as an excuse to gut this country’s human rights protections is not courageous, but cowardly. Stripping ordinary people of these protections will leave us all smaller, more divided, and less safe.” 

Created to protect everyone’s rights 

The ECHR was created as a response to the abuses of World War II that saw tens of millions killed across Europe. The fundamental lesson that countries drew from that conflict was that human rights must apply to everyone regardless of their race or nationality or whether they are popular with politicians. Countries came together in the pursuit of peace, justice and stability, British lawyers were central to its drafting and Winston Churchill was one of the ECHR’s key advocates.  

ENDS 

Amnesty media contact information: 

Out of hours: media@amnesty.org.uk/07721 398984