EIGHT hundred years on from Magna Carta, which set out for the first time the basic right of the individual to challenge the powerful, that legacy is under threat.
At Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Amnesty International group, we know how vital human rights protections are abroad, but here at home they are sometimes taken for granted.
The Human Rights Act has allowed elderly couples here to challenge their separation from each other in different nursing homes, a mother who was a victim of domestic violence to get her children back, and British soldiers to challenge the inadequate kit they were given. Those are just some examples of how our precious hard-won rights make a difference to ordinary people.
People all over the world are still fighting for the same rights which the Human Rights Act protects here. It took us all a very long time to lay claim to those rights, and we must not let politicians take them away with the stroke of a pen.
As the election approaches, Amnesty is calling on all political parties to stand up and ‘do the human rights thing’.
That means protecting the Human Rights Act which protects us all. We don’t want to be the generation who allowed this country to become a crueller, less fair place.
Find out more about the work of your local Amnesty group at Visit amnestyat50.co.uk
GENEVIÈVE TALON
Amnesty International, Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch group
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