Constituents have been contacting me in Meriden to ask me where Labour and I stand on human rights, including whether I support the work of Amnesty International. This is what I said:
"I am proud of Labour's record regarding human rights. To that end I would be disgusted to see Labour's Human Rights Act repealed, as is proposed by a number of Tories and UKIP. It is true that the European Convention on Human Rights sometimes results in the discussion of complex societal questions which not everyone will agree on, but decisions from the European Court of Human Rights have had profoundly positive effects on the UK. For instance, the rights of gay people serving in the army and changes to how rape investigations are conducted may never have happened or may have happened much more slowly if it wasn't for decisions coming from Europe.
All human rights are important to me and so I wouldn't necessarily single one out if elected. However there are certain issues Labour has focussed on in its manifesto, and which I support.
Labour wants to pass a law that sees the gender pay gap published in big companies to address the continuing gender imbalance in the UK. Additionally Labour wants to strengthen the rules against maternity discrimination. Then there is the fact that far too many women are still the subject of domestic abuse. Labour will publish a Violence Against Women and Girls Bill which will seek to raise standards in addressing these problems and will make central funding for women's refuges and rape crisis centres more stable.
On the issue of race inequality, Labour promises to establish a comprehensive strategy to ensure our organisations, both public and private, are more representative of our diverse ethnic minority communities.
Homophobic persecution across the globe has been well publicised in recent years and Labour commits to providing a stronger voice internationally to speak out against the abhorrent treatment of gay people and other sexual orientations and genders.
In terms of torture, clearly any such practice is heinous. To that end, I would always strongly support the work of Amnesty International. Further, Labour will continue to ring-fence funding for international aid and will maintain the commitment to give 0.7% of the UK's gross domestic income for these purposes. I understand that this money is often instrumental in providing support to those who may otherwise be vulnerable to human rights abuses."
