Friday 27 January 2012

human rights worries in Europe

well, someone called Ben Ward thinks there is more to worry about than there used to be. He says those interested in human rights should be delighted at last Year's Arab Spring. But - there always is a but - the West did Bad Things - the UK may have been complicit in rendition to Gaddafy's Libya. If you were going to do a profit and loss column exercise on this you'd probably say that Libya's embarking on a path to democracy after decades of dictatorship is more good for Libya than the rendition, if it took place, is bad. You can read the piece here f you want to. Italy and France taking action against Roma because they are Roma is bad. Greece's treatment of migrants is bad. Well, yes. But Mr Ward would have us believe that things have got worse. I disagree. Racism won't go away. But it's worth trying to make it go away. And far more of Europe has a commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law than it did when I was young. The response to terrorism is to limit some freedoms. Yep. Has to be done sometimes. That is even written into the European Convention on Human Rights. As I am sure Mr Ward knows.

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