13 December 2011
Thomas Hammarberg, Human Rights Commissioner, Council of Europe will be speaking at an event hosted by the
Equality & Diversity Forum on 13th December 2011and supported by
human rights,
equality and
discrimination law firm Leigh Day & Co.
Mr Hammarberg’s speech was flagged up in the
Observer11.12.11 and will warn that watering down British laws ‘would send a dangerous signal to undemocratic states’. In his speech, he describes the European Convention on Human Rights as possibly the ‘most successful international instrument for protecting human rights in the world’.
The Tory-led Coalition Government is currently considering whether or not to introduce a Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act. Mr Hammarberg’s speech will discuss the current state of human rights protections in Europe. He will describe the European Convention on Human Rights, drawn up after the atrocities of the second world war and ratified by the UK in 1950, as possibly the ‘most successful international instrument for protecting human rights in the world’.
One area of particular concern to Mr Hammarberg is the UK Government’s failure to take heed of successive European Court's rulings that the continuing blanket ban on prisoners having the right to vote is unlawful. Leigh Day & Co is currently acting for over 550
prisoners in claims to the European Court with regard to the Government’s refusal to allow them to vote in the 2010 General Election.
A number of
human rights lawyers and
employment law specialists from Leigh Day will be attending this invitation-only event which the firm is delighted to be able to support.
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