Benedict Cumberbatch, Vanessa Redgrave and Indira Varma are among the celebrities who have joined Liberty’s Save Our Human Rights Act campaign, urging the government not to scrap the Human Rights Act.
Human rights organisation Liberty has released a series of videos as part of its campaign against the Conservative government’s proposals to replace the European Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights. Prime Minister David Cameron claimed this was necessary in order to “break the formal link between British Courts and the European Court of Human Rights.”
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: “These films tell just a few of the stories of our Human Rights Act giving a voice to some of the most vulnerable people in our country. Soldiers, journalists, victims of rape, domestic violence and slavery all found justice thanks to Churchill’s Legacy. Government plans to scrap the Act play populist games with hard-won freedoms and undermine the United Kingdom at home and abroad.”
More: We can’t believe that a U.K. adult doesn’t know who the Prime Minister is
The videos feature several celebrity faces telling the stories of ordinary people who have relied on human rights legislation. Benedict Cumberbatch tells the story of Janet Alder, who fought for justice after her brother Christopher died in police custody. Actress Indira Varma reads the story of raped policewoman Anne-Marie Ellement, saying: “Our Human Rights Act protects every one of us — young or old, wealthy and poor, civilian or soldier.” Vanessa Redgrave tells the story of a woman, going under the alias of Mary, who was captured and raped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after her father was killed for alleged links to opposition rebels.
Video credit: LibertyHumanRights/YouTube
Video credit: LibertyHumanRights/YouTube
Video credit: LibertyHumanRights/YouTube
This week’s Queen’s Speech was expected to mention the government’s plans to repeal the Human Rights Act but they seem to have taken a back seat for now. David Cameron had previously said he intended to repeal the Human Rights Act within 100 days of the new government but may have backed down following criticism from senior Tories, opposition from Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dems and, of course, the tireless efforts of Liberty and other human rights organisations.
Find out more about Liberty’s Save our Human Rights Act campaign.
More from SheKnows UK
How the Women’s Institute has changed things for the better
How to master the art of solo dating
Reddit users around the world tell us what makes the U.K. kind of weird
Leave a Comment