About the project
Human rights are frequently in the news, but the public debate usually suggests that they are in opposition to the things that people care about, like security, democracy and national sovereignty.
The project ‘Human Rights: Informing the UK Debate’ aims to improve the quality of public discourse on human rights by providing expert content grounded in robust evidence and rigorous analysis. It seeks to identify and respond to inaccurate or misleading reporting or commentary about human rights.
It also explores what human rights mean for ordinary people in their everyday lives, and for the values they care about such as security, dignity, accountability, democracy and national sovereignty.
The project is a collaboration between the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (University of Oxford), the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (University of Oxford), and Middlesex University. The project is funded by a gift from the Sigrid Rausing Trust.
Know the Facts: The UK and the ECHR
This series is a clear starting point for anyone who wants to understand the UK’s relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights. Know the Facts: The UK and the ECHR, Know the Facts: Data about the UK and the ECHR, and Know the Facts: Leaving the ECHR explain how the system works, what the evidence shows about the UK’s record, and what would be involved if the UK chose to leave. Together, they offer an accessible introduction to the key legal and policy questions at the heart of the debate.
Human Rights and the Hillsborough Law
This Explainer on Human Rights and the “Hillsborough Law” is being published by the project to inform the Second Reading debate on the Public Office (Accountability) Bill in the House of Lords on Tuesday 1st September 2026.
This blog by PEC's Director, Murray Hunt, talks about how the Hillsborough Law is a chance for the UK government to turn the tide of hostile criticism of human rights laws.
Know the Facts: Do human rights laws stop the UK deporting foreign offenders?
Do human rights laws prevent the UK from deporting foreign offenders?
This video looks at what the law actually says, explaining when the government is required or able to deport a foreign national who has committed a crime, and the circumstances in which human rights protections can affect that decision. It explores the narrow exceptions that may be used to challenge deportation based on the prohibition of torture and in human or degrading treatment and the right to private and family life, and explains how courts balance those protections against the public interest in deportation. It explains how few human rights appeals against deportation succeed.
Beyond the headlines: The “chicken nuggets” deportation case
Did an Albanian man really avoid deportation because his son did not like foreign chicken nuggets?
This video looks behind one of the most widely reported immigration stories of recent years to examine what the case was actually about and why most of the headlines about the case are misleading. It explains where the reference to chicken nuggets came from, the much wider evidence considered by the tribunal about the child and his family circumstances, and the role of the right to family life in the legal proceedings. It also looks at what happened when the original decision was appealed, showing why the full legal story is more complicated than the headline suggests.
Earlier project outputs
The project is a continuation of an earlier collaboration which produced two Bonavero Reports, one reviewing the media coverage on the European Convention on Human Rights and immigration control in the UK, and one examining 10 reasons to stay in the European Convention on Human Rights.
Lead image: AI generated for illustration purposes
