Human rights are non-negotiable
From the day that Unlock Democracy was founded, Universal Human Rights has been one of our key missions.
We strongly support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) of 1950 and the UK Human Rights Act of 1998, that incorporated the rights set out in the ECHR into British law.
Our parent organisation, Charter 88, played a leading role in the campaign that led to the UK Human Rights Act. For decades, these rights have been supported by Governments of all persuasions.
Let’s run through what those main rights are in the Human Rights Act -
Right to life
Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment
Freedom from slavery and forced labour
Right to liberty and security
Right to a fair trial
No punishment without law
Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence
Freedom of thought, belief and religion
Freedom of expression
Freedom of assembly and association
Right to marry and start a family
Protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedoms
These are the values and protections that are at risk from those who want to restrict or remove our human rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights were developed in the aftermath of WW2, one of the most horrific events in human history. But they were also influenced by tragedies and injustices of previous decades and centuries. Their roots go right back to the Magna Carta in 1215, one of the bedrocks that our country is built on.
We believe these human rights are as relevant today as they were then.
The problem with human rights is that not enough people have them in the world. That’s something that should concern us all and it’s why promotion of human rights has been a key part of the UK’s foreign policy for decades.
We believe that the world would be a better place if these rights were in place and respected in every country. As we move forward, we want to see stronger human rights protections and more people around the world able to enjoy them.
But instead we find human rights laws under attack in the UK. We would challenge those that want to water down or abolish human rights law, to tell us which of the above rights do they feel that people don’t deserve today!
Human rights laws are there to protect all of us from injustice and much worse. If we want to know what that looks like, sadly there are many examples of it around the world. In some countries you can be arrested because of your sexuality. In others you can be arrested because of your political views. In some countries you can find yourself being locked up because of your race or the colour of your skin. We could go on.
Universal human rights protect us from that. We are grateful that Britain is not Iran, or Russia, Uganda, North Korea, China or countless others.
We rightly condemn those countries who take away people’s human rights or when their governments don’t obey international law.
The UK should not go down that path.
But critics of human rights law say that the situation we face today in the UK is so serious that we must restrict people’s rights. We respectfully disagree.
Small boats crossing the channel cannot justify ditching human rights protections that are an integral part of our democracy.
If the government is serious about tackling illegal immigration, we believe there are ways to do this that do not involve taking away the human rights that protect everyone. Put simply, the government isn’t thinking hard enough if this is their solution.
We should not sacrifice our hard won freedoms in this way.
A large reason for the current levels of migration in the world is the human rights record of rogue states where people are not safe and they are forced to leave for their own safety. We’ve seen this most recently in Afghanistan with the Taliban takeover.
It would be the cruellest of ironies if our response to the abuse of human rights abroad is to restrict or weaken human rights at home.
Today universal human rights are more important than ever - we will fight to protect them.