European Union

 As a introduction an outline how the European Union’ Human Rights policy is comprehensive and how it is lacking in some areas. The European Union was first established on a trade and economic grounding. The founding treaty was the Treaty of Paris in 1951. As further treaties were agreed and signed the foundations of the union were uprooted and re-designed this changed the union’s focus towards more welfare orientated issues. 50 years ago, the United Nations issued the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, marking the start of an increased awareness of human rights. When the issues were debated a convention or charter of human rights was soon being drafted. The convention set out in 13 articles and a number of protocols gave individuals a protected set of rights. The European Court of Human Rights was set up along side the European Convention of Human Rights with its far more solid base of fully laid-out rights the policy seemed comprehensive.
       The European Union must, by law “respect fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms…and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, as general principles of Community law.”- Article 6, Treaty on European Union, as cited in The European Parliament and the defence of human rights; Introduction
This quotation outlines that human rights, along with fundamental freedoms, are significant, take precedent in law and cannot be set aside. This makes the topic potentially huge in law, and thus an important factor for the European Union to consider. The problem with a comprehensive human rights policy is that there are many contradicting factors that mean that the policy cannot become fully comprehensive. As highlighted in Article 8 Right to Family and Private life, and is often in opposition with Article 10 of the Convention Freedom of Expression   This just shows how the convention appears incomprehensive to some...