As the world marked ‘Human Rights Day’ on Wednesday December 10, Amnesty International UK said that it was a vital moment to reflect on the fact that, despite political manoeuvres, most people across the country strongly support human rights protections and believe they matter now more than ever.

Recent polling conducted by Savanta for Amnesty International UK found: 

  • More than 8 in 10 people say human rights protections are as important or more important today than when they were created after the Second World War
    • 87% believe rights and laws must apply equally to everyone
    • 78% say rights should be permanent and protected from government interference 
    • Support for the UK remaining in the European Convention on Human Rights is almost twice as high as support for leaving (48% vs 26%) 

Across regions and communities, people are clear that human rights should not be up for political grabs. National tragedies such as Grenfell, the Hillsborough disaster, the infected blood scandal and the Windrush scandal were each identified by the public as key moments that show why Britain needs strong legal protections that can secure truth, justice and accountability.  

Tom Morrison, Amnesty International UK’s Human Rights Legal Frameworks Campaign Manager, said: “There is a growing global trend where some attempt to whip up anti-rights sentiment and sow division between people.

“Human rights exist precisely to stop the powerful from dividing us and harming the vulnerable. Human Rights protections were not designed only for fair weather.

“They were built for the storms, the moments when authoritarianism, institutional failure or abuses of power put people at risk. Thankfully, the UK public instinctively understands this. Seventy-five years on from the creation of the European Convention on Human Rights, people are telling us they want their rights protected permanently.

“They do not trust politicians to mark their own homework or decide which rights people should or should not have. This is a day to celebrate our national pride in human rights and the equality they guarantee.

“These protections are a hard-won legacy of our grandparents’ generation. We must be responsible custodians, so that future generations inherit them too.” 

Human Rights Day offers communities everywhere the chance to stand together for fairness and dignity, values that an overwhelming majority of people in the UK say remain essential to modern life. From the right to a fair trial, to the right to privacy and family life, to the right to be treated with dignity and respect, the findings show that human rights are fundamental to everyday life and to the kind of country people want to live in.