A cabinet minister has today confirmed that the government is looking into how it might “reform” the European Convention on Human Rights.
While this is very careful language – and does not suggest the UK could leave the ECHR any time soon – it still demonstrates just how the conversation around migration has escalated.
Here’s why this is a significant moment.
What is the European Convention on Human Rights?
The Convention, known as the ECHR, is a legally binding international treaty meant to guarantee everyone’s fundamental human rights in law for the first time.
It was drafted after World War 2 in a bid to look after global human rights – and Britain was a core part of its creation.
The UK signed the Convention in 1951, although it did not come into force until 1953. It protect