The abolition of the Human Rights Act would be a grave assault on our liberties, says Amnesty International's Pauline Kelly

The Human Rights Act enjoys notoriety in sensationalist headlines but the reality is the act is designed to protect our basic rights and freedoms, which many of us take for granted.

Those rights include the right to education, to marry, to have a family life and freedom of expression.

Much has been made of Michael Gove’s appointment as justice secretary – a man who did indeed write Britain was “was wrong to abolish hanging” in a column for The Times.

That remark that has come back to haunt him in recent days and raised the question of how damaging he may be to our fundamental freedoms and justice system.

We are not suggesting he will reinstate the death penalty in the UK and there is, of course, the more pressing matter of the abolition of the Human Rights Act at hand.

The only European country not in the ECHR is Belarus – Europe’s sole dictatorship. Is this the direction we wish to take?

Pauline Kelly

Since the Conservative Party made scrapping the act a manifesto commitment, Amnesty International has been campaigning to oppose its repeal.

The UK was instrumental in establishing the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to protect us from human rights abuses by our own governments.

The Human Rights Act came into force in the UK in 2000, bringing most of the rights contained in the ECHR into UK law to enable people to take cases to UK domestic courts instead of waiting for the slow wheels of justice to turn at the overstretched European Court of Human Rights.

But what does it mean in practical terms? Being gay could lead to your arrest or even execution in at least 78 countries but thanks to protections we enjoy under the ECHR and the Human Rights Act, we enjoy equal access to legal protection regardless of gender or sexuality.

It’s usually the most vulnerable in our society, including the elderly and the sick, who suffer most.

That’s why the Human Rights Act places public authorities in the UK – including hospitals and social services – under an obligation to treat everyone with fairness, equality and dignity.

The mooted British bill of rights would not necessarily take these freedoms away; but there is no substance to examine, nor have there been reassurances that we will have the same level of protection.

Furthermore, David Cameron has also pledged that the UK would withdraw from the ECHR. The only country in Europe not in the ECHR is Belarus – Europe’s sole dictatorship.

Surely this is not the direction we wish our country to take?

Pauline Kelly is acting programme director of Amnesty International Scotland