There are a number of European conventions and agreements, prepared and negotiated within the Council of Europe – eg, the European Convention on Human Rights. The purpose of these conventions is to address issues of common concern in economic, social, cultural, scientific, legal and administrative matters and in human rights. The agreements and conventions are not legally binding in the UK unless they are incorporated into UK law, or legislation is enacted to give specific effect to the treaty obligations in question – eg, the Human Rights Act incorporates the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. They are statements of intent of the individual countries that are signatories. The UK is a signatory to a number of these agreements, including two that are significant for social security.