Jessica Simor KC, one of the UK's leading specialists in EU law, laid-out at our recent webinar why everything is at stake in the fight for the UK to stay in the European Convention on Human Rights (referred to commonly as 'the ECHR').
Pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) has yet again become a right wing political football.
Reform UK have made a manifesto pledge to leave the ECHR, while the Conservatives have said, more circumspectly, that they'll choose "national security" over "the jurisdiction of a foreign court, including the ECtHR [European Court of Human Rights]".
But the European Court of Human Rights is not a foreign court. It was set up by countries, including the UK, in the aftermath of the Second World War to protect people from tyranny.
It is not the ECHR which prevents states from expelling asylum seekers. On matters like this, the Refugee Convention and other programmes come into play. This is how international law works.
Do not let them fool you. The judgement on the UK government's Rwanda scheme would have been the same if the UK was not subject to the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. It is a false promise to say that the UK can send asylum seekers to places where they are at risk of torture and death.
It is also often claimed that the court in Strasbourg oversteps its mark and acts in places where it should not be acting. This has never happened to the UK's detriment. Take, for example, the 2,038 Swiss women who took the claim against Switzerland that the nation's failure to enact legislation and take measures in order to adhere to the Paris Agreement (2015) was a breach of their right to life and to wellbeing.
Since the UK became a member of the ECHR, the court has intervened 466 times to uphold human rights against the UK government.
The ECHR protects your right to a fair trial, to liberty and security, to freedom from slavery and human trafficking, to equality and freedom from discrimination, your right to family life, privacy and property as well as your freedom of speech and freedom from torture and ill-treatment.
Everything is at stake in the fight for the UK to stay in the ECHR, and these are the six reasons why the UK must stay in the European Convention on Human Rights:
1. If it left the ECHR, the UK government would be able - through legislation - to negate the fundamental rights of those within the UK.
These are rights which are widely recognised, such as the right to investigate death in custody. Individuals should have the right to go to international forums and know that their nation is defending such rights.
2. Leaving the ECHR would undermine the Good Friday Agreement.
The ECHR was central to this, and it is difficult to see how the UK leaving the ECHR would not destabilise this agreement.
3. It would put the UK in breach of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the TCA).
This would seriously undermine trust between EU member states and the UK.
4. Leaving would undermine the UK's standing in the world as a country which stands up for values and rights.
The only countries to ever leave the ECHR are Greece and Russia. In 1970, Greece was expelled before it returned in 1974, when it became democratic.
The second country, Russia, was expelled from the ECHR when it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Meanwhile, Belarus - which is far from a democracy - is not in the ECHR. The UK's allies would become seriously concerned if we left.
5. It undermines the UK's own strategic interests.
Leaving would run counter to the UK's own strategic priorities. We need strong alliances, especially in the ongoing conflicts and rising tensions of today's geopolitical context. We need more multilateralism, not less.
6. It would remove the UK's influence and ability.
Judges from each member state sit together and share their findings. The view of the UK judges and staff in this regard is hugely important for the rule of law. Leaving the ECHR is a complete madness.
(Photograph: Shutterstock)
At what is a delicate time, politically, for Europe, the consequences of leaving the ECHR would be very, very serious.
European Movement UK is calling on the UK government to commit to our membership of the European Convention on Human Rights because it is the last line of defence of our rights and freedoms.
If you haven't already, please sign and share our petition to keep the UK in the ECHR.