2.13 6 markers Flashcards
Explain the European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) protects the human rights of people in countries that belong to the Council of Europe.
All 47 Member States of the Council, including the UK, have signed the Convention. Its full title is the ‘Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms’.
Formed in 1949, the Council of Europe is completely separate from the European Union and much larger, with 47 members compared to the EU’s 28. The UK became a Council member 24 years before it joined the EU. The UK’s membership of the Council would be unaffected if it left the EU.
The Convention consists of numbered ‘articles’ protecting basic human rights. The UK made these rights part of its domestic law through the Human Rights Act 1998.
The Council of Europe was founded after the Second World War to protect human rights and the rule of law, and to promote democracy. The Member States’ first task was to draw up a treaty to secure basic rights for anyone within their borders, including their own citizens and people of other nationalities.
Originally proposed by Winston Churchill and drafted mainly by British lawyers, the Convention was based on the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was signed in Rome in 1950 and came into force in 1953.
The Convention secures:
— the right to life (Article 2)
— freedom from torture (Article 3)
— freedom from slavery (Article 4)
— the right to liberty (Article 5)
Explain the Human Rights Act
Explain the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
