Mary-Ann Stephenson defends convention as ‘really important’ and warns against demonisation of migrants
Taking the UK out of a European human rights treaty to quell rightwing anger over immigration would be a mistake, the new chair of Britain’s equalities watchdog has said, as she warned against the demonisation of people who migrate to the UK.
Mary-Ann Stephenson, who became head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in December, said the European convention on human rights was part of a framework that provides rights most people would agree were fundamental. But she said the tone of public conversation on it was often dangerous.
“I think it’s really important that we have honesty in the way that we talk about human rights, and that we also have a recognition that the demonisation of migrants – creating this idea that migration causes huge risks for the country – can make the lives not just of migrants to the UK, but of ethnic minority UK citizens, very, very difficult.”
Stephenson noted a “real risk of people using, quite often, cases where human rights arguments were made in court but were not successful” when discussing the European convention on humanrights (ECHR).
