Annual Lecture 2017
"Who are we?" Hate, hostility and human rights in a post-Brexit world
"So as we negotiate our way out of the EU, as we redefine ourselves as a nation, we can either bend to the politics of isolationism or we can stand up and stand out as beacons of compassion and justice and we can force our leaders to do the same."
Martha Spurrier, Director of Liberty, delivered the HRLC's Annual Lecture on Thursday 9 February 2017.
Marta's lecture addressed the current political situation and how human rights can offer a powerful framework to ensure a tolerant, diverse and equal society.
In her address, she took stock of the current political landscape in the UK and reflected on what is dividing us as a society.
She stressed that there is a real upheaval and uncertainty that has been playing out in both the corridors of power and on the streets in the wake of the EU Referendum result. She explained that human rights can offer a powerful framework to ensure a tolerant, diverse and equal society; they give expression and legal codification to humankind's better nature whilst guarding against intolerance.
Marta stressed that the rise in xenophobic hate crime following the Referendum needs to be condemned. At its core, it has been legitimised by years of aggressive anti-migrant government policies, notably, by the use of indefinite administrative detention for immigration purposes and the tawdry conditions of the facilities. The Government's intention to repeal the Human Rights Act and the more recent revelations relating to Theresa May's indication that withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights would be added to her party's manifesto raise grave concerns. However, there are ways in which human rights proponents can campaign towards safeguarding these vital legislative protections: on social media; by taking to the streets; and ultimately through the ballot box.
About the Speaker
Martha Spurrier is the Director of the human rights NGO, Liberty. At Liberty, she runs national campaigns for change, devises policy solutions, oversees strategic litigation, and advocates for human rights at the highest levels of Government and in the media.
Prior to joining Liberty, Martha was a practising barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, specialising in public law and claims against public authorities, with a particular focus on access to justice, media freedom, children and women’s rights, and the rights of prisoners and immigration detainees. She has worked on cases at all levels, including before the Supreme Court, the European Court of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee. Martha’s strategic litigation work included challenges to the legal aid cuts and to the mistreatment of people in detention. She has acted for organisations such as the Public Law Project, the Howard League for Penal Reform, Mind, Medical Justice, Just for Kids Law and Bail for Immigration Detainees in test cases brought to change law and policy. In 2015 Martha co-founded the 'Act for the Act' campaign, which put posters on trains, buses and billboards across the country telling the stories of men, women and children who had used the Human Rights Act when things went wrong in their lives.