The European Convention on Human Rights is an international treaty under which the member States of the Council of Europe promise to secure fundamental civil and political rights, not only to their own citizens but also to everyone within their jurisdiction. The Convention secures in particular:
- the right to life,
- the right to a fair hearing,
- the right to respect for private and family life,
- freedom of expression,
- freedom of thought, conscience and religion and,
- the protection of property.
The Convention prohibits in particular:
- torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
- slavery and forced labour,
- capital punishment,
- arbitrary and unlawful detention, and
- discrimination in the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention.