What has the ECHR ever done for us?

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states are party to the Convention and new members are expected to ratify the convention at the earliest opportunity.

Religion has always been an issue in Ireland’s history. Once England had become a Protestant country, having a big Catholic country just across sea proved a constant menace. The Tudors reign over Ireland was ruthless; it caused the rebellion known as the Nine-Years-War. After the rebellion was crushed, Ulster was planted most thoroughly by loyal Englishmen. The next century was a bloody one for Ireland: the Rebellion of 1641, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Cromwell, protestant ascendancy, the Rebellion of 1798 etc. In 1801 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was proclaimed. In the late 19th century Irish nationalism had another rise climaxing in the Irish War of Independence. Having two seperate parts of Ireland with seperate heads of state surely did not improve any kind of relationship.

The highly militarised border between Northern Ireland and the Republic was a notorious problem, and with European freedom of mobility that had to change. THIS is were the ECHR enters the stage. The ECHR served as a neutral basis for peace talks between the Republic of Ireland and the UK. This process led up to the Good Friday Agreement ergo peace.

So when Theresa May claimed Britain should leave the ECHR, the following video is one of the best answers one could imagine: