AMNESTY International has issued a warning after the secretary general of the Council of Europe said he was “absolutely ready” to discuss reforms of crucial human rights protections.
In an interview with the BBC, Alain Berset, the political head of the body which oversees the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), said he was “open to engage” on what changes or adaptations could be made.
The council, which is not related to the European Union, is the international political body which oversees the work of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have both said the UK will leave the Convention if they win the next Westminster election.
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We previously told how leaving the human rights protections could “accelerate the end of the Union” due to the implications for Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement.
Berset’s comments prompted concern from Amnesty, who said that ripping up the protections is the “last thing we should do” with populism on the rise.
The ECHR chief told the BBC: “I am ready, absolutely ready, and really open to engage in all political discussions, to see what we need to discuss, maybe to change or to adapt.
"Let us engage on migration issues and to see what we need to address and maybe to change.
"The most important point is to be ready to speak on all issues without taboo... and to see then what could be the possible consensus between member states."
Those who want to leave the ECHR have argued that the UK would be able to take control over human rights law, but Berset disputed this.
He said: "The opposite is true. What I see is more the risk to be a bit isolated. It would mean to be not participating to all the discussion on migration, to take an influence."
Human rights group Amnesty raised concerns at the ECHR chief’s comments, adding that recent polling conducted on their behalf by Savanta found that the UK public strongly supports the protections under the convention.
The survey asked people directly about human rights values contained in the ECHR, without using the acronym.
It found 87% of voters think rights and laws must apply equally to everyone, 78% say rights should be permanent and not something governments can reduce, and 85% say we need a legal safety net to hold politicians to account.
When asked explicitly about staying in the ECHR, support is still predominantly in favour – 48% remain vs 26% leave.
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Tom Morrison, Amnesty International UK’s legal protections campaign manager, said: “Politicians seem convinced that they need to change the Convention, but when you ask people, as we have done, whether rights should apply to everyone, be permanent, and stay beyond the whims of the government of the day, the public is overwhelmingly in favour.
"These protections were created by Britain after the horrors of the Second World War precisely to defend us from unchecked power.
“With populism on the march, the last thing we should do is tear up the safeguards designed to protect us from populists, at the behest of populists.
"Leaders should focus on making laws that respect human rights, not slashing them to force policies through.”
It comes as Farage’s bid to bring forward legislation for the UK to leave the ECHR was blocked by MPs.
Last week, Reform leader forced a vote on withdrawing from the ECHR through a 10-minute rule motion. The vote was not legislation itself, but on the principle of bringing forward a bill.
MPs voted against the motion 96 to 154, majority 58.
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