What are human rights?

There is a mainstream narrative which holds that “human rights” are a Western European construct in origin, starting with Magna Carta in 1215, continuing with the Bill of Rights in 1689, and the Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen in 1789, with a 20th century apotheosis in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in 1950, and the two UN Covenants on Human Rights in 1966.

But the first of these was a charter of the rights of the English Barons, and the second the rights of Parliament, which had won the English Civil War or Revolution, culminating in the execution of King Charles I in 1649. The 1789 Declaration excluded women and permitted slavery. And the history of Western Europe in the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th centuries was a history of slavery, rampant imperialism and worldwide exploitation and bloodshed based on racism.

The ECHR had its origins with Winston Churchill, who, after the Labour Party’s landslide election victory in 1945, created the Council of Europe (CoE), the ECHR, and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), first, as the ideological counterpart of NATO in the Cold War, and second, to prevent socialism in the UK. The ECHR was drafted by conservative lawyers, and closely follows the 1789 Déclaration, including the right to private property.

This is why it is so ironical that British Tories (who are not conservative under any description) are clamouring for the UK to denounce the ECHR and leave the CoE; and describe the ECHR as a “terrorist’s charter”, and condemn UN “interference”.

However, I am for my sins a human rights lawyer, and have been practising at the ECtHR for more than two decades, mostly for Kurds against Turkey, and Chechens against Russia, as well as working for the UN, OSCE and EU as a human rights expert. Despite the fact that a case at the ECtHR takes years. My Kurdish and Chechen clients wanted the truth about what had happened to them, and many won their cases. But as peoples they are still victims. Law is not emancipatory, but quite often the help of a good lawyer is essential.

Western European democracy was based on imperialism, and Mussolini, Hitler, Franco and Salazar were all possible in Europe. Nonetheless, rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association, the rights to life, personal liberty, fair trial, and respect for private and family life, home and correspondence, have acquired real meaning through political and social struggles.

In my own country there is increasing repression of environmental protesters, with many peaceful protesters sent to prison; indefinite detention of asylum seekers with threats of expulsion to Rwanda; a direct challenge to the right to strike; voter suppression in elections; and persecution of Muslims for their religious beliefs.

As a result of the recent decision of the ICJ, the UK and US are guilty of complicity in genocide by Israel in Gaza.

The International Criminal Court is impotent because of the fact that the USA, India, China and Russia – and Israel – are not parties. Its Prosecutor, a UK appointee, can issue indictments against Putin, but not Netanyahu.

So there is a real fight. Lawyers cannot win it. Only popular movements and public opinion.