The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has today released over 200 assessments of whether the central and Welsh governments have taken action to address human rights recommendations made by the UN.
Included are over 140 assessments of central government actions and over 60 assessments of Welsh Government actions on devolved matters. They span a range of human rights issues, from education to voting rights.
The EHRC will be updating the Human Rights Tracker with new assessments periodically.
Notable in the Tracker assessments were:
- the introduction of a significant piece of legislation – the UK Online Safety Act 2003 – to help prevent online bullying as well as the Welsh Government action plan to prevent peer-on-peer sexual harassment in education settings
- Some action towards updating the Mental Health Act in line with the UN recommendation
- the lack of action from both central and Welsh governments to prohibit the use of restraint in educational settings
- the lack of action from both central and Welsh governments to introduce a legal duty on local authorities to provide funds for parents of deaf children wishing to learn sign language
This Human Rights Tracker is just one of the many ways the EHRC is monitoring equality and human rights in the UK. Other methods include our UN treaty monitoring. In February, for example, the EHRC will publish a submission to the United Nations on the UK’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), updating them on how relevant rights are enjoyed and what has changed since the last review in 2016.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: