If UK scraps the Human Rights Act we’ll be in grim company

Fact checked

David Cameron is expected to announce he’d pull us out of the European Convention on Human Rights. That would leave us with Belarus and Kazakhstan as the only European countries who haven’t signed up for human rights.

If David Cameron pulls Britain out of the European Court of Human Rights, we’d be in less than illustrious company. The only European countries not to have ratified the Convention on Human Rights are Vatican City, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

 

Human Rights Belarus

Belarus and Kazakhstan have rubbish reputations when it comes to human rights. Belarus “suppresses virtually all forms of dissent and uses restrictive legislation and abusive practices.” Kazakhstan has a poor record on human rights , and “torture remains common in places of detention,” according to the Human Rights Watch.

One other country has left the ECHR in its history

Greece withdrew from the Council of Europe (the body that runs the court) during the military dictatorship of 1967-74. When it ended, they immediately went back.

We’re not saying Cameron will be bringing in gulags as soon as possible, but the Human Rights Act is hugely important. The ECHR was set up in the 1950s after the horrendous human rights abuses of the Second World War.

The convention has been ratified by 47 countries since it was drafted. The court works to ensure basic rights like fair trials, freedom of religion and the right to marry.

It’s not like the UK has no influence on the court – each member state puts forward a judge.

If we leave, there will be consequences

Every country in the Council of Europe is expected to ratify the Convention through their own Human Rights Act as part of their membership. It’s unclear if the UK would be able to stay without a Human Rights Act.

Cameron’s plan to replace the Act with a Bill of Rights doesn’t look very well thought out either. There could be a tangle of legal problems

Article from The Mirror (Source Link)