Kemi Badenoch has justified the UK’s withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by highlighting non-European countries that are not party to the agreement.
During the Conservative party conference, the Tory leader announced intentions to exit the international treaty post the upcoming election to manage immigration, sparking strong reactions. Badenoch defended the decision as crucial for safeguarding borders, veterans, and citizens.
When questioned on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg about aligning with Russia and Belarus in leaving the ECHR, Badenoch countered by mentioning several non-European nations like the United States, Australia, and Canada that are not ECHR signatories. She emphasized that human rights predate the ECHR and the Human Rights Act.
The ECHR guarantees fundamental rights such as the right to life, liberty, fair trial, privacy, freedom of expression, assembly, religion, and prohibits torture, degrading treatment, slavery, and discrimination.
A criticism from a Labour source ridiculed Badenoch’s knowledge of European affairs, citing a recent Brexit-related blunder in a TV interview where she mistakenly stated Northern Ireland voted to leave the EU.
The policy, part of a proposed “borders plan,” includes a stringent immigration strategy akin to Donald Trump’s approach, supported by a new enforcement model inspired by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. The Conservatives aim to deport 750,000 individuals in the next Parliament, surpassing Reform UK’s “mass deportation” plan targeting 600,000 people.
Badenoch warned that any Conservative member opposing the ECHR exit plan would be ineligible to run in the upcoming general election, stating, “If you do not agree with leaving the ECHR, then you should not and cannot stand as a Conservative candidate.”