Should the UK leave the European Convention on Human Rights?

National World - News and sport explainers

What is the European Convention on Human Rights? Why the UK is considering leaving? And what that decision could mean for people’s rights and freedoms?

Transcript

00:00The UK is debating whether to leave the European Convention of Human Rights.

00:04The Convention is a treaty created after the Second World War.

00:08It sets out basic rights and freedoms such as the right to a fair trial, the right to privacy

00:13and the ban on torture. The UK helped right it and has been part of it since 1951. Leaving it would

00:20mean British people can no longer take cases to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

00:25Instead, decisions about rights would be fully left to UK courts and Parliament.

00:30Supporters of leaving say it would give the UK more control over its own laws,

00:34especially on issues like immigration and national security. Critics warn it could weaken

00:40protections for ordinary people and harm the UK's reputation abroad. The decision is still being

00:45debated, but it could have major effects on the way rights are protected in the UK.

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