Think Tank Says Good Friday Agreement Does Not Bar UK Leaving ECHR

A series of reports from Policy Exchange and legal experts assert that the United Kingdom can legally withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) without breaching the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which helped end decades of violence in Northern Ireland. They argue that claims suggesting the UK is bound to the ECHR by the peace deal are "entirely groundless" and that neither the letter nor the spirit of the agreement requires the UK or Ireland to remain parties to the convention. The Good Friday Agreement’s two parts include one that does not mention the ECHR, and the other only references it in relation to Northern Ireland's domestic law to protect local institutions from abuse of power. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has advocated for leaving the ECHR and possibly renegotiating parts of the agreement, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has commissioned a review on quitting the treaty. The reports emphasize that safeguards such as maintaining the Human Rights Act and the Northern Ireland Act could protect rights domestically after withdrawal, and that UK engagement with Northern Ireland parties would be essential to maintain community relations. Former government officials, including Jack Straw, have endorsed these findings, which challenge the prevailing political narrative that leaving the ECHR would endanger the peace process.