The government’s proposed Bill of Rights ‘sends the wrong signal’ to other countries, a Council of Europe official has warned, accusing the UK of ‘backsliding on human rights'.
Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner, said it is ‘worrying’ that plans to replace the Human Rights Act ‘might weaken human rights protections at this pivotal moment for the UK’.
Lord chancellor Dominic Raab has said the Bill of Rights, introduced last month, ‘will strengthen our UK tradition of freedom whilst injecting a healthy dose of common sense into the system’, though the Law Society described it as ‘a lurch backwards for British justice’ – and one public law expert told the Gazette the bill would ‘dilute the rights of the individual, or rather some individuals, against executive decision-making’.
Mijatović said in a statement following a five-day visit to the UK last week that the Bill of Rights also ‘sends the wrong signal beyond the country’s borders at a time when human rights are under pressure throughout Europe’.
She stressed the importance of the protection of rights under the European Convention on Human Rights to peace in Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement, saying: ‘It is crucial that this foundation is not undermined as a result of the proposed human rights reforms.’
A government spokesperson said: ‘The government is committed to respecting and protecting human rights and will continue to champion them internationally and at home. The UK will remain a committed party to the European Convention of Human Rights and protecting all the rights set out in the Convention.’
The bill is due to go before the House of Commons for its second reading shortly.
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