Dear Hilary Benn MP,

In a time when the fragility of peace in Northern Ireland still demands our unwavering vigilance, we, the undersigned, write to express deep concern over calls by Reform UK and others to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Such a step would not merely shift legal boundaries; it would strike at the heart of the constitutional and peace-building foundations laid by the Good Friday Agreement.

The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) is structured upon two parallel documents: the British-Irish Agreement and a Multi-Party Agreement among Northern Ireland’s political parties. The latter explicitly incorporates the ECHR into Northern Irish law, committing the UK to ensure direct access to courts and enforceable remedies for ECHR violations, and mandates that neither the Northern Ireland Assembly nor public bodies can infringe these rights.

It sets a baseline of human rights protections that has endured, even amid political turbulence. To unilaterally withdraw from the ECHR would corrode the legal architecture upon which consent, and parity of esteem were built in Northern Ireland.

The UK's withdrawal would undermine the spirit and consensus that sustained decades of post-conflict reconciliation. Additionally, under the Windsor Framework and Northern Ireland Protocol, the UK is bound not to reduce rights, safeguards, or equality of opportunity outlined in the Good Friday Agreement.

Beyond law, peace in Northern Ireland was constructed through a hard-won consensus enshrining human rights, dignity, and mutual respect. The ECHR is not an abstract construct; it has been the legal guardian when democratic institutions wavered. Your role today is to ensure that protection remains a reality.

Considering the growing threat to the UK’s membership of the ECHR, we urge the Government to:

• Robustly reject Reform UK's proposal and reaffirm commitment to ECHR membership, recognising that it is integral to both domestic law and international agreements that guarantee peace in Northern Ireland.
• Engage constructively with the UK public, to communicate the importance of checks on executive power and the importance of maintaining peace in NI.
• Communicate clearly to all Northern Ireland communities that the UK remains steadfast in upholding its international and domestic human rights obligations.

For Northern Ireland, human rights remain the bedrock not only of justice but of peace itself. To withdraw from the ECHR would risk unravelling the gains of a decades-long peace process.

Across the rest of the UK, the ECHR plays a vital role in instilling equality in the eyes of the law, promoting compassion for those fighting tyranny, and upholding the fundamental human rights we all take for granted.

I trust that, in your vital role as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, you will act decisively to protect what generations have achieved.

Yours sincerely,