Members of the European Council ratified the European Convention on Human Rights on 4 November 1950, but it only came into effect on 3 September 1953, so exactly 70 years ago on Sunday.
It is the role of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg to make sure that the Convention is respected.
According to a declaration made by Síofra O’Leary, the Court’s president, they have processed more than a million cases, made over 26,000 arrests, and issued thousands of verdicts in the past 70 years. Many lives were changed because of it, noted O’Leary.
She further argued that the fundamental values of the European Convention on Human Rights are still put into question to this day, not only by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also by the degradation of democratic values and the rule of law, as well as by setbacks in equality observed in different countries.
46 European countries, including EU member states, are members of the European Council. Russia was excluded after their attack on Ukraine in 2022.
