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Human rights: old subject, new audience

01 March 2024 / Roger Smith
Issue: 8061 / Categories: Features , Human rights , Public , Constitutional law
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Roger Smith enters the world of local politics

I have recently taken on a new commitment. I have become chair of the local ward of a political party. It does not matter which. I could happily have survived in any of the factions which have surfaced in the three major national parties. The point is that, to make a bit of a splash at my first meeting, I chose to undertake a presentation on human rights.

This was, therefore, one of the few times that I have had to talk about the subject to a non-lawyer audience. As director of JUSTICE when the Human Rights Act came into force in 2000, I debated often with lawyers and politicians. But not too many ordinary people in the street. Or, as in this case, on Zoom.

I have to admit that my north London audience gave me an easy ride. I tried beforehand to find someone critical of human rights with whom I could have a debate. There are, after all,

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