We celebrate 60 years of the Human Rights Convention

Mon,2 September 2013
News

Disability Rights UK is a signatory to a letter celebrating the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights

The letter, published in the Telegraph, 3 September, says:

“SIR – Today marks the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights coming into force.

As leaders of civil society organisations, we think six decades of ensuring human rights for 800 million people across 47 countries in Europe is something to be celebrated. For our organisations, and the people we work with across the United Kingdom, the rights and freedoms set out in the convention are fundamental in ensuring all of us can live with dignity, respect and equality, safe in the knowledge that there are checks on government power.

This “other jubilee” is also a time to celebrate 60 years of Britain’s commitment to respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights in the convention. Britain played a pivotal role in setting down our hard-won human rights in the convention in the aftermath of the Second World War. As Winston Churchill said, when calling for a human rights charter, there is a need for a set of rights “guarded by freedom and sustained by law”. We call on our political leaders to secure our human rights heritage and stand firm on Britain’s commitment to the convention, and its expression in the Human Rights Act.”

You can view the letter and the full list of signatories at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/10281461/Six-decades-of-human-rights-support.html