ALLIANCE sign joint statement on the ECHR
- Area of Work: Policy and Research
- Type: News Item
- Published: 16th October 2025
Now is the time for a full-throated defence of the ECHR and HRA. No one has human rights, unless we all have human rights.
The UK Human Rights Act Coalition are seeking signatories for a joint statement on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), following an increase in misleading and inaccurate claims by politicians and in the media. The statement emphasises that “the ECHR is fundamental to our democracy and enables ordinary people, of all backgrounds, to hold the state and public bodies accountable. These rights are needed more than ever in an unstable world, with growing political polarisation and authoritarianism, environmental instability and technological upheaval, to ensure the dignity of us all.”
Human rights are not the cause of any of the challenges facing the UK’s politicians, but instead offer potential solutions. Too many people in the UK are struggling to fully realise fundamental human rights including the rights to housing, education, health, employment and social security. A human rights based approach to budgeting, ensuring that maximum use is made of available resource to deliver on the essential public services that advance these rights and others, has the potential to improve people’s lives. Watering the ECHR down, or leaving it entirely, does not.
The ALLIANCE strongly support the existing human rights framework in the UK, and have consistently called on both the UK and Scottish Governments to further strengthen that framework, through for example the direct incorporation of additional international human rights treaties into domestic law. We encourage our members to add their voice to this statement too. Organisations can sign the statement via this form until 29 October 2025, with final publication intended for 4 November.
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