International Human Rights Day Statement

Plain text version of the below article available here.

Introduction

International Human Rights Day is an important opportunity to reaffirm our belief in the inherent dignity of every human being and the essential role of human rights in our lives. As Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, notes when introducing this year’s theme, “Our Everyday Essentials”:

“We must reconnect with human rights, remembering that they are about people – about their needs, wants and fears, as well as their hopes and aspirations.”

However, as we celebrate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the principle that human rights should be enjoyed without discrimination is under very real threat in the United Kingdom and many other parts of the world.

Despite marking its 75th anniversary, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) currently faces unprecedented challenges. Not content with introducing regressive asylum policies, the UK Government, alongside other countries, is seeking ways to further weaken fundamental protections.

With our focus firmly on the importance of human rights for everyone, we believe this is the right time to dispel some of the myths and misinformation driving the rollback of rights enshrined in the ECHR.

Some Facts and Figures

• There is widespread misinformation and distortion on multiple levels—concerning the current migration system, the basis for legal rulings, and the ECHR itself.
• In the first six months of the year, there were 379 mainstream media reports about the ECHR; almost all were negative and primarily focused on migration.
• In the last 45 years, there have only been 13 rulings against the UK Government regarding deportation and extradition cases by the European Court of Human Rights.
• A further three rulings have found that the UK breached immigration rules within the ECHR.

Dispelling the Myths

The European Court of Human Rights has only rarely found UK laws or policies to violate the Convention. In fact, according to one excellent explainer, the number of adverse rulings against the UK since 1959 has been “vanishingly small.” The Court can also intervene using interim measures, which prevent governments from exposing individuals to imminent and irreparable harm. It was an interim measure that stopped the former UK Government from deporting individuals under its now-abandoned Rwanda scheme. Over the past eight years, only 2% of interim measure requests from UK applicants have been granted.

It is important to recognise that the Convention is a “living instrument” designed to adapt to societal changes. After all, what use is any legal text that remains irrelevant to the conditions of the modern world? This isn’t “going beyond what the drafters intended” as some claim. As society evolves, the Court must keep pace too.

The Convention has had a transformative impact on many marginalised groups. And consider the challenges we now face, from man-made climate change to AI and invasive surveillance technologies. If the Convention remained stuck in time, it would be powerless to address these pressing issues.

Less than 2% of applications received by the Court in the last decade related to migration. The Court has consistently affirmed that governments are free to control the entry and exit of non-nationals. It only intervenes in exceptional cases—where deportation would expose individuals to death or torture, or where expulsion would create excessive hardship for family members.

The Convention is for everyone. Contrary to the most persistent myth (that it protects rule-breakers and criminals) the ECHR has been one of the most powerful tools for victims. Beneficiaries have included children suffering abuse and neglect, victims of cyberstalking and domestic violence, and survivors of human trafficking. Put simply: the Convention keeps us safe.

A Rallying Cry

All this to say: the Convention doesn’t need tweaking, changing, or reforming. It already gives governments all the tools they need to balance the public interest with individual liberties. Indeed, it was designed for this very purpose. Our human rights are not for turning!

Our politicians should fulfill their leadership role by educating the public on the real benefits of our human rights system, rather than parroting populist myths and misinformation.

And in the absence of political leadership, it falls upon us, campaigners and human rights defenders, to advocate for the ECHR and our other international human rights obligations. Our everyday essentials!

This means seizing every opportunity to highlight the fundamental positive impact of human rights, the importance of the ECHR, and the urgent need for further incorporation of the international human rights treaties we are part of.

We must use every lever in our toolkit to ensure our rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled: influencing, campaigning, educating, advocating, and demanding change.

We must never forget why human rights treaties were necessary in the first place. Having witnessed the catastrophe of the Holocaust, the drafters of the Convention and UDHR understood all too well what happens when power goes unchecked.

In short, as we celebrate Human Rights Day, we must unite behind a single, clear message:

Hands off our human rights!