First ever UK human rights tracker launched

9 Oct 2019 11:16 AM

A tool to make the UK’s human rights records transparent, and the Government accountable, launched yesterday.

HumanRightsTracker.com allows civil society organisations, academics, parliamentarians and legal professionals to learn about the UK’s human rights duties under UN treaties and identify where the Government is falling short.

The UK Government signed up to seven UN human rights treaties, which set the standard for human rights across the globe. However, in many cases, it’s failing to meet the obligations to fulfil them.

HumanRightsTracker.com provides an essential tool for any organisation looking to use these international standards in order to influence and improve human rights in the UK.

It enables users to:

• find out what the UN has said about a particular human rights issue (such as access to justice and inclusive education) or population group (such as disabled people or children) in the UK
• access information on the international human rights framework to use in research, legal, policy and advocacy work
• find out how to engage with international human rights mechanisms
• understand how the UK’s international human rights obligations link to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

David Isaac, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, yesterday said:

“As Britain leaves the EU and we face a period of greater legal change, it’s more important than ever that the country is aware of our international commitments on human rights and what is required to fulfil them. 

“To improve people’s lives and make Britain a fairer place for us all, we are calling on everyone in the human rights sector to use our human rights tracker to identify what needs to be done to honour these treaties. 

“Starting with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is to be reviewed next year, we will use the tracker to work with others to ensure that that the Government meets our international obligations.”

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is one of the seven human rights treaties the UK has agreed to follow. It enables people to enjoy a wide range of human rights, including:

• freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
• fair trial rights
• freedom of thought, religion and expression
• privacy, home and family life
• equality and non-discrimination

Reports on how well the UK is implementing this treaty are being accepted by the UN until mid-January 2020, which will then influence the UK Government’s review.

See for yourself

The human rights tracker is an online tool to help you track how well the UK is putting its human rights duties into practice. Find out how we monitor human rights, which international standards the UK has to meet, and search the UN’s most recent recommendations.

Try the human rights tracker

Press contact details

For more press information contact the Commission's media office on:

0161 829 8102

07767 272 818 (out of hours)