Executive summary
- Human rights instruments were developed in response to the Holocaust.
- Human rights protect the liberty of the individual from the power of the state.
- The European Convention on Human Rights was written by a Conservative and championed by Churchill.
- The Convention was influenced by a Jewish lawyer who lost most of his family in the Holocaust.
- Withdrawal from the Convention would:
- Threaten the peace in Northern Ireland.
- Destabilise the United Kingdom.
- Place the UK in a ‘club’ with Russia and Belarus as the only non-convening countries.
The development of human rights is founded in the Jewish experience of an appalling breach of human rights. The international human rights framework was shaped by Jewish lawyers responding to Jewish experience. Our faith, history and values lead to both the Jewish community’s obligation and determination to fight for human rights.
We recommend that parliamentarians do all in their power to keep the UK signed into the European Convention on Human Rights.
You can access our full briefing here.
