As we hurtle towards a general election, the time is ripe to reflect on the attitudes of the major parties to human rights. In July 2007 the government announced that it would consult the public on creating a ‘bill of rights and responsibilities’. It was part of the Labour Party’s desire to renew citizenship and national identity, and to be more explicit about the responsibilities it believes individuals owe each other and the state.

In March this year the government published a green paper, in which it again made it known that greater emphasis will be placed on individual responsibilities; any bill of rights could incorporate an onus on individuals to report crimes, pay taxes and obey the law. The green paper also questioned whether there are any further rights, beyond those contained in the Human Rights Act, that should be included in the bill, such as economic and social rights, and specific rights for children.

The green paper also discussed a range of possibilities for the legal effect of any bill of rights. These range from a bill and provisions being merely declaratory to being fully enforceable by the courts.

The government has stated that it will not introduce any proposal on the bill to parliament before the next general election.

Gordon Brown has also committed Labour to protecting the HRA. He has committed both to protecting all the rights and freedoms enshrined in it, and to the mechanisms used to implement those rights.

As for the Conservatives, David Cameron has pledged to repeal the HRA and replace it with a British bill of rights, ranking it as his third priority if the Conservatives win the election.

Though it has stated that it will not withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, the Conservative Party would ensure that it was no longer a part of domestic law. This would mean that individuals in the UK would be in the same position as they were before the HRA came into force, when they could only enforce their specific convention rights in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. That said, the Conservatives have stated that any bill of rights that came into force under their government would be compatible with the rights embodied in the convention (though it is difficult to understand why any change is needed if the legislative rights remain the same).

Like Labour, the Conservatives would seek to incorporate into any bill of rights a greater emphasis on responsibilities. They would also amend the mechanisms relating to human rights protection by reducing the power of the courts to interpret legislation compatibly with human rights, and remove the court’s power to strike down secondary legislation incompatible with rights enshrined in the European Convention.

Finally, the Liberal Democrats. They have expressed support for a written constitution for Britain that defines and limits the power of government. At the centre of their policy is a bill of rights which seeks to protect individuals and the maintenance of the HRA. They have also published a Freedom Bill, which seeks to reinstate civil liberties that they claim the Labour and Conservative parties have eroded.

As the key public body charged with the task of promoting and protecting human rights, the Equality and Human Rights Commission is keen to work with all political parties to make sure any changes to the law, where possible, enhance and do not erode the current level of human rights protection afforded to British citizens.

With this in mind, we have developed a set of key principles we believe are essential to ensuring the comprehensive protection, understanding and ownership of human rights throughout society. The most crucial of these principles is the maintenance of current levels of human rights protection and mechanisms for enforcement under the HRA. This should be the central plank of any human rights policy, regardless of which party is in government come next June.

As the first United Nations accredited national human rights institution in the UK, the Equality and Human Rights Commission will encourage debate and remain at the forefront of the quest to build a more cohesive, civilised and fair society.

John Wadham is legal director of the Equality and Human Rights Commission