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Human Rights Report Fulfilling the Paris Principles
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Page 1: Human Rights Report › sites › default › files › paris_principles.pdfUnited Nations: Human Rights Council 29 European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) 30 ... promoting human rights

Human Rights ReportFulfilling the Paris Principles

Page 2: Human Rights Report › sites › default › files › paris_principles.pdfUnited Nations: Human Rights Council 29 European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) 30 ... promoting human rights
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Foreword 3

1. Introduction to the Commission 5

2. Joining the international human rights system: our accreditation 7

3. Our vision of human rights and key achievements to date 9

4. Fulfilling the Paris Principles 13

Bill of Rights 13Using our legal powers 14Our Human Rights Inquiry 15Our Human Rights Strategy 17Meat Processing Sector Inquiry 19Inquiry into Sex Discrimination in the Finance Sector 19Scotland Trafficking Inquiry 20Reception – 60 years of the Universal Declaration 20United Nations Human Rights Treaties 21United Nations: Human Rights Council 29European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) 30European Union 31The ICC and Eurogroup of NHRIs 31Guardian roundtables 31Schools 32Care pathways 32Social landlords 32Regulators and inspectorates 33Business and human rights 33Human rights measurement framework 34

Contents

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5. Our work in Wales and Scotland 37

Wales 37Scotland 38

6. Future plans 39

Appendix: Paris Principles relating to the status of national institutions 41

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Sixty years ago Eleanor Roosevelt spoke about theimportance of making the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights ‘a living document, something that isnot just words on paper, but something which wereally strive to bring to the lives of all people’.

Foreword

In today’s Britain, this is the responsibilityof the Equality and Human RightsCommission: to give substance to humanrights. Our aim is that everyone, no matterwho they are, should be treated withdecency, dignity and respect. With a rangeof powers entrusted to us by parliament,we can examine government’s actions,educate public service providers,encourage private firms and empowerindividuals.

This document sets out the way in whichthe Commission has used those powerssince we were granted ‘A’ status as aUnited Nations accredited NationalHuman Rights Institution in January2009. It contains many successes, andshould encourage everyone who believesin the importance of human rights. But weknow that this is just the beginning of ourmission.

As we live through unprecedentedeconomic circumstances, as the advance oftechnology poses new questions aboutprivacy and freedom, and as evolvingpublic policy redefines the relationshipbetween individual and state, it remainsvital to protect and promote the corevalues of human rights. That is preciselywhat the Commission is committed todoing. Few tasks could be more importantor more worthwhile, and we approach itwith the utmost resolve.

Trevor PhillipsChairEquality and Human Rights Commission

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The Equality and Human Rights Commission (theCommission) is a statutory body, established by theEquality Act 2006, and launched in October 2007.The Commission has responsibility for protecting andpromoting human rights and equality in relation toage, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity,religion and belief, disability and race.

1. Introduction to theCommission

The Act gives the Commission specificpowers on human rights, including to:

Promote understanding of theimportance of human rights.

Encourage good practice in relation tohuman rights.

Promote awareness, understanding andprotection of human rights.

Encourage public authorities to complywith section 6 of the Human Rights Act1998 (c. 42) (compliance withConvention rights).

Human rights is defined quite broadly inthe Equality Act and incorporates both therights found in the Human Rights Act1998 as well as those human rightsdefined by other mechanisms, at theEuropean or international level.

The Commission is committed toencouraging public bodies to adopt a‘human rights approach’ to the planningand delivery of their services. We also havethe power to intervene in legal casesinvolving human rights and we arelobbying for the expansion of existinghuman rights legislation in Great Britain.The Commission has the status of GreatBritain’s National Human RightsInstitution (NHRI), which gives us a keyrole in engaging with the United Nations(UN) human rights system.

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2. Joining the international human rights system: our accreditation

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) areincreasingly being recognised as important humanrights actors at both national and international level.

Although the creation of NHRIs in UnitedNations (UN) member states wasenvisaged as part of the internationalhuman rights infrastructure conceived bythe founders of the UN in 1946, NHRIs arein fact a relatively new phenomenon.Indeed the UN General Assembly onlyadopted the Paris Principles (the mainsource of normative standards for NHRIs)in 1993. Most NHRIs were established inthe early 1990s, and Great Britainestablished its own NHRI when theEquality and Human Rights Commission(the Commission) opened its doors inOctober 2007.

In 2009 the Commission joined the familyof 66 ‘A’ status-accredited NHRIs aroundthe world, becoming Great Britain’s firstaccredited NHRI and the UK’s second –joining the Northern Ireland HumanRights Institution which was awarded ‘A’status in 2006.

The Paris Principles (see Appendix)establish the minimum standards requiredfor the independence and effectivefunctioning of NHRIs. They detail the rolethat NHRIs are expected to perform (thatis, monitoring and implementing humanrights standards) and the way this roleought to be undertaken (that is,maintaining independence fromgovernment and civil society).

The International CoordinatingCommittee on NHRIs (ICC), with theassistance of the United Nations Office ofthe High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR), assesses NHRIs for compliancewith the Paris Principles in order todetermine their accreditation status.Depending on the extent to which NHRIscomply with the Paris Principles, they maybe awarded ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’. Only fullmembers (‘A’ status) of the internationalNHRI network may exercise voting rightsin the ICC and full participation rights ininternational fora (for example, the UNHuman Rights Council).

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In order to determine the Commission’saccreditation status, we were rigorouslyassessed according to a number of well-established criteria including: compositionand guarantees of independence andpluralism; having a mandate and adequatestaff and budget to effectively protect andpromote human rights; and our work inthe following areas:

encouraging ratification ofinternational human rights instruments

engagement with the internationalhuman rights system, and

cooperation with other NHRIs.

The ICC’s review of our work andstructure found us to be compliant withthe Paris Principles and it was a greathonour to be awarded ‘A’ status in January2009. In order to preserve thisinternational recognition and trust, wecontinue to strive towards the highestinternational standards in fulfilling thefunctions expected of us as an ‘A’ status-accredited NHRI.

This publication marks the one-yearanniversary of our accreditation anddocuments some of the achievements ofthe past year.

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Too often, human rights have been narrowlyrepresented as pertaining only to matters ofindividual liberty. The Commission’s mandate – topromote equality, human rights and good relations –offers us the opportunity to talk about rights inentirely different terms, in line with the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and the values andstandards that we are charged with promoting as ahuman rights institution.

Respect for human rights is essential tothe functioning of an open democracy andhuman rights principles provide a basisfrom which to build and maintain a safer,more prosperous, cohesive society, withcare and consideration for the dignity andwellbeing of everyone at its heart.

Ultimately, it is the state which mustretain overall responsibility for respecting,protecting and promoting human rights.However, the Commission believes thatfor human rights to become trulyembedded, we must inculcate a sense ofcommon ownership and responsibility forhuman rights across the public and privatesectors, the media, civil society and itsinstitutions.

3. Our vision of human rights and key achievements to date

The Commission’s vision for human rightsin Britain is one in which:

there is a dignified life for everyone

people’s freedom and opportunities toachieve their life goals are progressivelyexpanded and are unhindered byprejudice, discrimination or arbitraryrestraint, and

human rights are recognised as valueswe share with one another, as well asrights we claim for ourselves, helping tobuild a more cohesive, civilised and fairsociety.

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participated in every session of the ICC,the UN European regional humanrights meeting, the Durban ReviewConference, the EU FundamentalRights Conference and several EUFundamental Rights Agency (FRA)conferences and events

have been selected to chair theEuropean Group of NHRIs (the‘Eurogroup’) working group on CRPD,and

intervened in 10 international humanrights cases at the ECtHR.

The Paris Principles detail the roles andresponsibilities of NHRIs. The remainderof this report will outline in more detailhow we have been fulfilling therequirements of our accreditation.

We have routinely used our legal powersand legislative mandate to help achievethis change. The promotion and protectionof human rights is at the core of theCommission’s vision and underpins ourequality and good relations work.

Our accreditation as an ‘A’ status NHRIprovides added impetus for our humanrights work and our engagement with theinternational human rights system is acritical part of this work.

We are proud of our achievements in theinternational domain. Since ouraccreditation, we:

have engaged with the UN TreatyBodies each time the UK has beenexamined under its internationalobligations – submitting four shadowreports to date and attending all stateexaminations

have participated in every session of theHuman Rights Council (HRC): sinceour accreditation we have submittedtwo written statements, made one oralsubmission, and organised a side event

were one of only a handful of NHRIspresent at the first meeting of thenewest UN Treaty Body withresponsibility for the UN Convention onthe Rights of Persons with Disabilities(CRPD), where we delivered an oralstatement, and at the Conference ofState Parties for CRPD, where we spokeat the ICC side event

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The Paris Principles can be found in full in theAppendix. We have annotated the list of functions ofNHRIs specified in Principle 3 below and detailed ourwork in each of these areas:

3. A national institution shall, inter alia, have the followingresponsibilities:

(a) Submitting opinions,recommendations, proposals andreports on any matters concerningthe promotion and protection ofhuman rights, including withrespect to:

(i) Legislative or administrativeprovisions: the national institutionshall examine the legislation andadministrative provisions in force,as well as bills and proposals, andshall make such recommendationsas it deems appropriate in order toensure that these provisionsconform to the fundamentalprinciples of human rights

Bill of Rights

The previous government consulted withthe public on the creation of a Bill ofRights for the United Kingdom, with thehope of enshrining human rights intoBritish law in a way that builds on theexisting Human Rights Act. Considerationwas given as to whether there should befurther rights or reference to

4. Fulfilling the ParisPrinciples

responsibilities in a Bill of Rights. Sincethe general election in May 2010, the newcoalition government has indicated that itwill establish an independent Commissionto investigate the creation of a British Billof Rights that incorporates and builds onall our obligations under the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights.

The Commission aims to play a pivotalrole in the debate about a Bill of Rights for the UK. In response to the previousgovernment's consultation, theCommission produced two reports: adetailed submission on the contents of aBill of Rights to build on the HumanRights Act, and a research report on theprocess for developing any Bill of Rights.The Commission also developed a set ofkey principles. We believe they areessential in developing a Bill of Rights thatwill ensure both comprehensive protectionof the human rights of all and a greaterunderstanding and ownership of humanrights throughout society.

Principle 1: The Human Rights Act isessential for the protection of humanrights in the UK and should be retained.Any Bill of Rights should build on the

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Human Rights Act. Any Bill of Rights thatreplaces the Human Rights Act should notbe brought into force until and unless itcontains at least the same levels ofprotection of rights and mechanismsunder the Human Rights Act, andcomplies with obligations underinternational treaties.

Principle 2: The government and anyfuture government should ensure that theprocess of developing any Bill of Rightsinvolves and includes all sectors of society,creates a feeling of ownership in society asa whole, and is adequately resourced andthe consultation conducted by anindependent body.

Principle 3: In any Bill of Rights process,the government should actively promoteunderstanding of the Human RightsAct/European Convention on HumanRights and the rights they protect, as wellas countering any misconceptions.

Principle 4: The Commission will usethe results and recommendations from itsHuman Rights Inquiry to inform itsresponse to any Bill of Rights and furtherdevelop the current human rightsframework.

(ii) Any situation of violation ofhuman rights

Using our legal powers

The majority of the human rights cases theCommission has been involved in havebeen third-party interventions. TheCommission does not currently have thepower to fund claims or representclaimants in litigation which raises onlyhuman rights issues – though it can do so

where issues under the equalityenactments are raised as well, as in a casewe supported relating to national securitywhich raised issues of both racialdiscrimination and the right to a fair trial.

The Commission seeks to intervene only instrategic cases where there are issueswhich are of wide public importance orconcern the interpretation of equalityand/or human rights enactments. Inintervening, the Commission brings anindependent view and expertise to theproceedings.

Our most notable human rightsinterventions in the domestic courts in2009 have been:

R(B) v Director of Public Prosecutions[2009] EWHC 106 – a case challengingthe decision to discontinue aprosecution of an assault on the basisthat the victim’s reliability as a witnesswas undermined by his mental health.The court found that the victim’shuman rights had been breached.

Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coronerand Secretary of State for Defence v R(Catherine Smith) [2009] EWCA Civ441 – the court found that Britishservicemen and women were protectedby the European Convention whileserving in Iraq whether they werephysically on the armed forces base ornot.

Weaver v London and QuadrantHousing [2009] EWCA Civ 587 – a casewhich resolved the question of whetherhousing associations (Registered SocialLandlords) are hybrid public authoritiesand therefore subject to obligationsunder the Human Rights Act.

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The key findings of the Inquiry were that:

the overwhelming majority of Britishpeople (84% according to a poll byIpsos MORI) support legislationprotecting their human rights, and

where a human rights approach isincorporated into public services bothusers and providers benefit (a numberof case studies, from health trusts toprimary schools, illustrated this).

The report made extensiverecommendations and findings, the coreof which involved the need to changeperceptions to ensure the publicunderstands that human rights:

empower individuals when dealing withpublic bodies

have a real impact on people’s everydaylives, and

encourage participation by service usersin service planning and delivery.

The Inquiry is a crucial part of theCommission’s strategy on human rights,and the formal legal process of carrying astatutory inquiry ensured that our humanrights work is appropriately focused,authoritative and evidence-based. It alsoprovided the Commission with theopportunity to engage with a wide range ofparticipants; and to offer an evidence-based output to the public.

(iii) Reports on the national situationwith regard to human rights ingeneral, and on more specific matters

Our Human Rights Inquiry

Under section 16 of the Equality Act 2006,the Commission may conduct inquiriesinto human rights issues. This may involveinquiries into particular issues or sectorswhere concerns relating to human rightsexist. The Commission made use of thesepowers in its first year, conducting thenation’s first ever Human Rights Inquiry,illustrating the general state of humanrights in Great Britain.

The Commission Chair Trevor Phillipsdescribed the rationale for conducting aHuman Rights Inquiry as follows:

‘We wanted to get past the hubbub ofmedia rhetoric, in which the supportersand opponents of human rights shoutloudly from the margins, to uncover thefacts about what the people of Britainreally think about human rights andhow the Human Rights Act has made agenuine difference in the day-to-daylives of many.’

The Inquiry was launched in April 2008and was chaired by Dame Nuala O’Loan.In total 2,855 individuals providedevidence to the inquiry and we alsocollected evidence from many sourcesincluding: the voluntary and communitysectors, central and local government,politicians, the NHS and other publicsector bodies, advice agencies, the media,and regulators, ombudsmen andinspectorates.

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Our Human Rights Strategy

Having developed a baseline picture ofhuman rights in Great Britain andidentified the barriers that public bodiesface in implementing a human rights-based approach to their policy-making, theCommission has developed a three-yearstrategy on human rights. Linking humanrights into our broader Strategic Plan, itsets out how we plan to make a societythat supports and respects a culture ofhuman rights a reality.

Our human rights strategic aims are:

Promoting awareness,understanding and respect forhuman rights domestically andinternationally

Our objective: To ensure widespreadawareness and accurate understandingof human rights among those withrights or responsibilities, their advisersand advocates, and across the politicalspectrum and the media.

Translating human rightsprinciples into the everydaypractice and behaviours of public,private and voluntary institutions

Our objective: To ensure public,private and voluntary institutions haveaccess to practical, sector-specificadvice on how to translate humanrights law and principles into everydaypolicy, practices and behaviours.

Measuring compliance withexisting domestic human rightslaw and progress towardsimplementation of non-justiciablehuman rights, including social,economic and cultural rights

Our objective: To establish credibleand influential methodologies by which

to measure the performance ofgovernment, public, private andvoluntary sector organisations inprotecting and promoting humanrights.

Holding accountable government,public bodies and otherinstitutions for their performanceon protecting and promotinghuman rights

Our objective: To build a strongerframework of ‘top down’ and ‘bottomup’ accountability for government,public authorities and othersconcerning their performance onhuman rights.

Intervening to protect andpromote human rights, using ourlegal powers

Our objective: Acting as custodians ofhuman rights, to ensure that humanrights are protected and promoted,including through challenging breachesand influencing the development of law.

Advising government on theeffectiveness of existing orproposed human rights law, andon the compatibility of widerpolicy or legislative proposalswith human rights

Our objective: To ensure there is noregression from the levels of humanrights protection and mechanisms forenforcement under the Human RightsAct and to ensure the compatibility offuture policy and legislative proposalswith human rights law and principles.

Developing the Commission’scapabilities as a National HumanRights Institution

Our objective: The Commissionwishes to become an internationally

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recognised centre of excellence withrespect to its status as a NationalHuman Rights Institution.

(iv) Drawing the attention of theGovernment to situations wherehuman rights are violated andmaking proposals for initiatives toput an end to such situations

Meat Processing Sector Inquiry

The Commission carried out an Inquiry,using our powers under Section 16 of theEquality Act 2006, to examine how peopleworking in the meat and poultryprocessing industry are recruited, and howthey are treated once they are at work.This helped us to identify practices thatinhibit equality and damage relationsbetween different nationalities and typesof worker, and barriers that preventprogress. It also allowed us to makerecommendations to overcome theseissues by drawing on current good practicein the industry.

We looked at employment andrecruitment issues related to all stages ofmeat and poultry processing andpackaging activity prior to delivery toretail outlets but excluding the slaughterand initial preparation of red meat.

The Inquiry revealed evidence of thewidespread mistreatment and exploitationof migrant and agency workers in thesector, and made recommendations to thekey bodies – supermarkets, agencies,processing firms, government, regulatorsand unions – which we believe willencourage a systemic change in behaviour.

Inquiry into Sex Discrimination inthe Finance Sector

When the Equal Pay Act was introduced40 years ago, it heralded a new era inequality. However, four decades on, agender pay gap still persists across theeconomy. In the finance sector, despitewomen and men making up equalproportions of the finance workforce,women earn significantly less on averagethan their male colleagues.

The Commission used its inquiry powers toinvestigate the extent of the gender pay gapwithin the finance sector, the causes andpotential solutions. The first part of thisInquiry revealed that women in the financesector working full-time earned up to 55per cent less annual average gross salarythan their male colleagues. This comparedto the economy-wide gender pay gap of 28per cent.

The next phase took a detailed look intothe pay, policies and practices of 44organisations employing the equivalent to22.6 per cent of the workforce in thesector. This revealed that bonuses are asignificant factor behind the gender paygap within the organisations with menreceiving five times the performance payof women, an average of £14,554 in annualperformance related pay compared to thefemale average of £2,875 (based on full-time equivalent earnings).

Significantly, our Inquiry found that noimprovements appear to have been made.Responses to our questionnaire showedthat women in new jobs were still onaverage receiving lower salaries than men.The high proportion of workers in the 25–39 age group – the age at which employeestend to have children – also makes itharder for women to have a viable careerin the sector that balances family life.

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The Inquiry report highlights how a lack oftransparency over pay and workingconditions, direct discrimination, longworking hours and the difficulties faced bythose with caring responsibilities allcontribute towards the significantdifference between what men and womenearn.

There were examples of good practice insome of the organisations, among themone employer reporting that they madedata on average bonus payments bygender available to employees.

Scotland Trafficking Inquiry

The Equality and Human RightsCommission’s Scotland office haslaunched an in-depth Inquiry into humantrafficking in Scotland with a particularfocus on commercial sexual exploitation.

The Inquiry is being led by BaronessHelena Kennedy QC and will seek toidentify the nature, extent and causes ofhuman trafficking in Scotland. It will alsoassess to what extent Scotland is meetinginternational and domestic human rightsobligations to prevent and prohibittrafficking, prosecute traffickers andprotect its victims.

The Inquiry will gather material ontrafficking in Scotland from broad sourcesand will take evidence from victims ofabuse, experts and those withresponsibility for combating trafficking.

Launching the Inquiry Baroness HelenaKennedy QC said:

‘Human trafficking is recognised as agrave abuse of human rights, involvingcoercion and deception. It entails ongoingexploitation and its victims suffer untoldmisery. This Inquiry is about making areality of people’s human rights andserving those whose rights have beenviolated. We will consider whetherrecommendations on prevention,prohibition, prosecution and protectionare necessary and ensure human rightsare at the centre of Scotland’s anti-trafficking policy and practice.’

The Inquiry will aim to be completed bysummer 2011. Once it has reached aconclusion, a full report of theCommission’s findings, and anyrecommendations, will be published.

(b) To promote the internationalhuman rights instruments to whichthe State is a party, and theireffective implementation

Reception – 60 years of theUniversal Declaration

To mark the 60th anniversary of the UNUniversal Declaration of Human Rights inthe UK, the Commission brought togetherpublic figures, human rights activists,non-governmental organisations (NGOs)and ambassadors and diplomatic staff at acelebratory reception in London inDecember 2008. The event was headlinedby the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown,who spoke about the importance of humanrights and the progress that has beenmade on securing those rights since thesigning of the declaration on 10 December1948. The Prime Minister’s speech wasfollowed by a speech from Rt Hon MichaelWills, Minister of State for ConstitutionalRenewal at the Ministry of Justice.

Human Rights Report

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United Nations Human RightsTreaties

The UK has ratified seven of the UN’sinternational human rights treaties. Theseare:

International Convention on theElimination of All Forms of RacialDiscrimination (CERD) 1965, UK: 1969.

International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights (ICCPR) 1966, UK: 1976.

International Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)1966, UK: 1976.

Convention on the Elimination of AllForms of Discrimination againstWomen (CEDAW) 1979, UK: 1986.

Convention Against Torture and OtherCruel, Inhuman or DegradingTreatment (CAT) 1984, UK: 1988.

Convention on the Rights of the Child(CRC) 1989, UK: 1991.

Convention on the Rights of Personswith Disabilities and its OptionalProtocol (CRPD) 2008, UK: 2009.

State compliance under each treaty ismonitored by a UN treaty body, whichexamines states on a periodic basis tomonitor their implementation of theprovisions of the relevant treaty and tomake recommendations (known as‘concluding observations’). NHRIs andNGOs are encouraged to submit reports tothe UN treaty bodies to assist them withtheir examinations of the state party.

In order to monitor the UK’s compliancewith its obligations under the humanrights treaties, the Commission hasdeveloped a scorecard to track thegovernment’s performance across all UNtreaties. The scorecard contains a set of

indicators which enables us to monitor UKcompliance with core treaty obligations in asimple and easily accessible manner. It isdeliberately restricted to obligations whichare the minimum requirements of treatymonitoring best practice, and questionswhich can have a clear yes/no answer (forexample, have the reservations to the treatybeen lifted; was the state report submittedon time?).

More subjective issues and in-depthanalysis of progress towards full realisationof the rights in each treaty are addressed inour shadow reports. The scorecard will beposted on our website in the coming yearand will serve as a valuable resource forgovernment, NGOs and the public alike.

The Commission has set up internalworking groups for each of the treaties toensure that our work is not confined tosubmitting shadow reports at periodicintervals, and rather that the treatiesbecome a core part of our human rightswork in order to ensure that we use everypossible opportunity to promote and usethe treaties and the optional protocols.Here we provide a brief overview of projectwork relating to each treaty. Further detailabout our work on those treaties which theUK has been examined on since ourinception is given in section d) on page 27.

CERD

The UK was due to submit its next periodicreport to the CERD treaty body in 2006. InAugust 2009 the Commission formallywrote to the Department for Communitiesand Local Government expressing itsconcern about the lateness of the reportand urging the government to comply withits CERD treaty obligations.

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Prompted by this, the governmentcirculated a draft state report forconsultation and the Commission suppliedextensive oral and written comments onthe report. We highlighted the need for agreater racial dimension to the state reportwith specific data on the impact of policiesand initiatives on race equality rather thanjust a general descriptive narrative. Thestate report was finally submitted to theUN in March 2010.

In terms of compiling our own shadowreport for the UN, we have set up a CERDadvisory group consisting of Equality andHuman Rights Commissioners andleading external UK experts on raceequality from the public and privatesectors and the media to help inform thecontent of our report. Subject to the UNexamination being scheduled in 2010, weplan to present our views to the CERDtreaty body and attend the stateexamination.

ICCPR

The UK was examined on its sixth periodicreport on the ICCPR in July 2008. Amongthe Human Rights Committee’sconcluding observations wererecommendations on the return ofindividuals suspected of terrorism tocountries where they could be in danger oftorture or cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment; stop and search powers underthe Terrorism Act 2000; detention policyin relation to asylum seekers, particularlychildren; the definition of anti-socialbehaviour and the use of ASBOs, againparticularly in relation to children; the useof Control Orders under the Prevention ofTerrorism Act 2005; and the conduct ofUK service personnel overseas. TheCommittee also made clear that the UK

government should, as a priority, accedeto the Optional Protocol to the conventionto allow for individual petition.

Looking forward, we will be engaging withthe Ministry of Justice, as the UKgovernment department charged withcoordinating periodic reports and follow-up work on the ICCPR, as well as officialsfrom the devolved institutions in Scotlandand Wales, with the aim of UK anddevolved government developing ICCPRaction plans, setting out clearly the stepswhich will be taken to follow up onprevious concluding observations. We willalso continue to consider the UK’sobligations under the treaty in relation toongoing debates on, for example, a BritishBill of Rights, DNA retention and use ofscanner technology at airports.

ICESCR

Following the UK examination in May2009, the ICESCR treaty body issued itsConcluding Observations. We weredelighted to see the impact oursubmissions to the treaty body had on theeventual recommendations, many ofwhich were based on evidence andsuggestions we had submitted. Theseincluded the recommendations that theproposed Equality Act providecomprehensive protection fromdiscrimination; that the governmentshould take further steps to reduce thegender pay gap taking into considerationthe Commission’s Finance Sector Inquiry;that the government introduce moreflexible working taking into considerationthe Commission’s Working Better Report;and that pension reforms are sufficientlyflexible to eliminate adverse effects ondisadvantaged groups.

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The Commission is following up on theConcluding Observations, calling on thegovernment to develop an action plan withspecific targets and milestones on therecommendations, and to improveawareness of the rights in the Convention.Through our advocacy work on theproposed UK Bill of Rights, we aredrawing attention to the value of includingincorporation of socio-economic rightsinto the debate.

CEDAW

The Commission integrates the rights andprinciples expounded by CEDAW in allour work on gender equality and humanrights. For example, our Map of Gapsstudy in 2009 identified significant gaps inthe provision of services to help womenescape and recover from violence andabuse. As part of the legal enforcementdimension of the project, in November2009 we issued compliance notices tothree local authorities who failed topublish Gender Equality Schemes incompliance with their legal obligations.The purpose of a Gender Equality Schemeis to ensure that public authorities have anin-built mechanism by which theyconsistently and thoroughly consider theneed to eliminate unlawful discriminationand harassment and promote equality ofopportunity between men and women.This applies across their employmentpractices and the delivery of their services,including the extent of the need for theprovision of specialist services such asdomestic violence and rape crisis centresfor women who have experienced violence.

In our Human Rights Strategy we setourselves the goal of creating andpromoting widespread awareness andaccurate understanding of human rights atall levels of society, including how they canbe used by individuals and applied bypublic, private and voluntaryorganisations. We have been working withstakeholders and partners to do this. InMarch 2009, the Commission co-hosted acapacity-building conference with theWomen’s Resource Centre for thewomen’s NGO sector to raise awareness ofCEDAW and how to engage with UNprocesses. There were a range of expertspeakers on the day and the eventattracted over 100 delegates from all overGreat Britain. In November we ran a well-attended workshop at Womankind andOne World Action’s international CEDAWconference on the Commission’s role as anational human rights institution and ourperspective on CEDAW.

During the next 12 months, we plan toundertake an audit of Great Britain’sprogress on CEDAW. We aim to look ateach article of the convention, focusingparticularly on the ConcludingObservations made by the committee, inorder to measure where progress is beingmade and where more work might beneeded. We are also keen to see greateruse of the CEDAW Optional Protocolwhich the UK has now ratified and we aremonitoring cases to identify any whereusing the Protocol might be an option. Wewill issue guidance on how to use theOptional Protocol to promote greaterunderstanding among the womens’ andlegal sectors and the general public.

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with our stakeholders, not only for theirvaluable input into our report, but also toencourage and assist them in submittingreports of their own. Finally, we willattend the UK examination itself and meetwith the Committee prior to theexamination to present the main issues ofconcern.

CRC

This year, CRC celebrated its 20thanniversary. To celebrate this specialoccasion, the Commission invited a groupof young people from our youth projects,including the Our Space summer campsand the Young Brits at Art competition, topresent their views of the convention tostaff. At the staff seminars, young peoplespoke about how their involvement in theCommission’s youth projects helped thembecome equality and human rights leadersin their schools and communities.

Inspired by their right to have their viewsand opinions heard, as embodied by theCRC, these young people spoke eloquentlyabout the importance of the conventionand their personal experiences ofpromoting fairness and respect to theirpeers and local communities.

Sixteen-year-old Azhar Hussein toldCommission staff:

‘Equality is an issue that is a work inprogress. There will always be someform of inequality and it’s up to us ashuman beings to do what’s morallyright and break barriers to help others... Human rights helps everyone tosupport each other and outline the basicneeds that everyone has a right to.’

CAT

The UK government was due to submit itslast state report to the Convention AgainstTorture (CAT) treaty body in 2008. TheCommission has expressed concern thatthe state report is overdue and hasrepeatedly asked government officials forupdates on when the report will besubmitted. We have written formallyseveral times to the government to remindthem of their obligations under the treaty.

The Commission’s concerns aboutcompliance with the treaty range fromissues about degrading treatment of theelderly and others in residential care, ofchildren detained in immigration removalcentres for unreasonably long times andfor uncertain reasons, and of theconditions faced by some prisoners,particularly those with disabilities.

We are also particularly concerned aboutthe reliance on diplomatic assurances andmemoranda of understanding in thedeportation of suspects to countries wherethere is a real risk of torture, allegationsconcerning the conduct of UK troops inIraq and the widespread recent allegationsof complicity by UK security services andarmed services personnel ininterrogational torture associated with the‘war on terror’. In August 2009 andFebruary 2010, our Chair wrote to theSecretary of State for Justice in respect ofthe latter. This work is continuing, whilewe await submission of the state report toCAT.

Once the state report is submitted, theCommission intends to submit acomprehensive shadow report to theCommittee detailing our outstandingconcerns at that stage. We will also engage

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CRPD

CRPD is the most recent convention towhich the UK has signed up and theCommission has been very activelyinvolved in engaging with the conventionright from the start. The Equality andHuman Rights Commission, the ScottishHuman Rights Commission (SHRC), theNorthern Ireland Human RightsCommission (NIHRC) and the EqualityCommission for Northern Ireland (ECNI)have together been designated under theconvention as the component parts of theUK’s ‘independent mechanism’ and aretasked with promoting and monitoring theUK and devolved governments’implementation of it.

Many of the rights in the CRPD coveringhealth, education, housing andparticipation are still not fully protected inUK law. Evidence gathered by theCommission shows that many disabledpeople continue to experience restrictedopportunities:

People with learning disabilities faceserious barriers to accessing healthcare,in some cases resulting in deaths whichcould have been avoided.

Many disabled people are subjected toviolence and hostility on a daily basiswhich prevents them from activelyparticipating in society.

More than one third of disabled adultsof working age live in poverty, with overhalf not in paid employment.

At age 16 disabled people are twice aslikely not to be in any form ofemployment, education or training.Disabled people aged 16–24 are alsotwice as likely as their peers to have noformal qualifications.

At an event held jointly by the fourcommissions in the Houses of Parliamentto mark UK ratification of CRPD, thenEquality and Human RightsCommissioner Baroness Jane Campbellsaid:

‘Ratification of the disabilityConvention is an important and historicmilestone, but we cannot allow theConvention to now sit on a shelfgathering dust. The Convention willonly have meaning to disabled people inwhat Eleanor Roosevelt famouslyreferred to as “those small places, closeto home”. That is why we want to seethe Convention guiding futurelegislative and policy development in allthe UK jurisdictions, and we want to seethe withdrawal of the reservations thatthe UK has declared on ratification.’

The Commission is undertaking a numberof specific actions to promote and monitorimplementation of the CRPD including:

Producing guidance for disabled peopleand disabled people’s organisationsabout what the Convention can mean toindividuals.

Working with legal professionals andlegal advisers to increase awareness anduse of the Convention.

Hosting events for disabled people andtheir organisations to increaseunderstanding of the CRPD anddeveloping ways we can work togetherto implement it in Britain. In Wales, theInternational Day of Disabled Peoplewas marked with conferences hosted bythe Commission in Swansea andLlandudno to raise awareness of theConvention.

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Actively consider using our Inquirypowers to assess Britain’s compliancewith and progress towardsimplementation of the CRPD.

(c) To encourage ratification of theabove-mentioned instruments oraccession to those instruments, andto ensure their implementation

The Commission worked to influence theprompt ratification of the CRPD, includingissuing a position statement from theDisability Committee to urge UKgovernment to ratify at the earliestopportunity.

The Commission had two rounds ofcorrespondence with cabinet ministersabout the issue of reservations to theConvention. In January 2009, and againin March 2009, Equality and HumanRights Commissioner Baroness JaneCampbell wrote to the four cabinetministers presiding over the departmentsseeking reservations and declarations, toask that they set out the detail of theirproposals and the underpinning rationale.

As a result of repeated calls by theCommission for the UK to ratify withoutreservations, each governmentdepartment entering reservations to theConvention has agreed to review thereservations annually to see whether theycan be lifted.

In the international arena, theCommission has been equally active. Wewere the first NHRI to attend and speak atthe inaugural session of the UN CRPDcommittee, we presented at the ICC sideevent at the Conference of State Parties,and we have established good

relationships with the Chair and membersof the Committee and the Secretariat. AUN report on the implementation of theconvention singled out the Commission asa leading example of how the independentmechanism outlined in the Conventionshould work.

(d) To contribute to the reportswhich States are required to submitto United Nations bodies andcommittees pursuant to their treatyobligations

Since the Commission started work inOctober 2007, the UK has been examinedby the UN under the following fourtreaties:

CEDAW: UK examined July 2008

ICCPR: UK examined July 2008

CRC: UK examined September 2008

ICESCR: UK examined May 2009

In each case, the Commission submitted ashadow report to the UN, coordinatedwith civil society and other stakeholders,and briefed the relevant UN Treaty Body.Since then we have been undertaking workto promote the Concluding Observationsissued by the Treaty Bodies.

CRC

This important convention has not yetbeen fully incorporated into British lawand our report called on the governmentto fully implement CRC by ratifying allprotocols. We called for an end toreservations on the involvement ofchildren in armed conflict, ratification ofthe protocol on the sale and prostitution ofchildren, and removal of reservationsregarding children subject to immigrationcontrols.

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Other concerns highlighted in our reportwere:

that ‘the best interests of the child’ isnot always at the heart of policy-making

the lack of advocacy for children

that punitive rather than rehabilititativeapproaches to offending or badbehaviour are being increasing adopted,and

that certain groups of children, forexample black boys, Gypsy andTraveller children, asylum seekerchildren and children in care, are notbenefitting from the wealth andopportunities that Britain has to offer.

CEDAW

The Commission submitted a shadowreport to the CEDAW committee in 2008,containing our views on theimplementation of CEDAW in GreatBritain. We focused on:

The Optional Protocol.

The Gender Equality Duty in the publicsector.

Violence against women.

Employment and reconciliation of workand family life.

Education and stereotypes.

Women’s health.

We also briefed the CEDAW committeeand attended the state examination. Sincethen, we have continued to engage withthe committee by, for instance, invitingand hosting one of the committeemembers to the UK to speak at ourCEDAW conference in May 2009. We arepleased to see our recommendationshaving some influence, with the UKgovernment since publishing a national

action plan on violence against womenand progress being made on the genderequality duty through the Equality Act.

ICCPR

Our shadow report detailed a number ofconcerns relating to the enjoyment of civiland political rights in Britain and maderecommendations for change. Concernsraised included:

the need for the Equality Act to providea constitutional right to equality andcoverage of multiple discrimination

the possibility of a Bill of Rights whichcould in some way reduce the currentlevels of protection provided by theHuman Rights Act

the proposals by the government toextend possible pre-charge detentionperiods in counter-terrorism offences to42 days

the treatment of disabled and olderpeople in health and social care, and

that the DNA database provisions mayinfringe the right to privacy and havedisproportionate impact on ethnicminorities.

The Commission attended the stateexamination in July 2009, meeting withthe Human Rights Committee and makinga public statement to them on our keyconcerns.

The Commission’s submissions werewelcomed by the Human RightsCommittee and have been demonstrablyinfluential. For example, the governmentincluded a prohibition on multiplediscrimination in the Equality Act; it hasdropped its proposals to extend pre-charge detention in counter-terrorismoffences to 42 days and it is proposingchanges to the law on DNA data retention.

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ICESCR

The UK was examined on its obligationsunder the ICESCR in May 2009. TheCommission produced a shadow report tothe ICESCR committee in relation to theUK government’s performance underICESCR and attended the stateexamination as well as hosting a lunch forthe committee the day before theexamination.

Among the issues highlighted in theCommission’s shadow report were:

Representation of ethnic minorities inpublic life.

Equal pay and career opportunities.

Welfare reform and employmentopportunities.

Disabled persons and employment.

Violence against women.

Poverty and social exclusion.

Access to adequate and affordablehousing.

We were pleased that a number of ourconcerns were reflected in theCommittee’s Concluding Observations andthat specific reference was made to ourrecommendations and reports such as theFinance Sector Inquiry and the WorkingBetter Report.

(e) To cooperate with the UnitedNations and any other organizationin the United Nations system, theregional institutions and thenational institutions of othercountries

United Nations: Human RightsCouncil

Our accreditation gives us speaking rightsat the UN Human Rights Council inGeneva, as well as the ability to submitwritten statements and reports to theCouncil. Since our accreditation, we havedelivered an oral statement to the Councilon the human rights of women based onthe findings of our Map of Gaps work, andsubmitted a written statement and reportinforming the Council of the findings ofour Human Rights Inquiry (HRI).

In September 2009, the Commissionhosted its first side event at the HumanRights Council. Entitled ‘Putting PeopleFirst: The story of human rights inBritain’, the focus of this event was toshare the findings from our HRI and ourexperience in using the inquiry process toassess progress towards the effectivenessand enjoyment of a human rights culturein Great Britain.

The event was moderated by Mr GianniMagazzeni, Coordinator of the NationalInstitutions and Regional MechanismsSection, Office of the High Commissionerfor Human Rights (OHCHR). TheCommission’s Group Director Legal JohnWadham presented the HRI, key findingsand key learnings. Also speaking on theHRI, the role of the Commission and nextsteps were Katie Ghose, Director of theBritish Institute of Human Rights; AndrewDismore MP, Chair of the JointCommittee on Human Rights, and MaaritKohonen, Coordinator of the HumanRights and Economic and Social IssuesUnit at the Research and Right toDevelopment Division, OHCHR.

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This event allowed us to share our findingsfrom the HRI with the Human RightsCouncil (HRC) and start a discussionabout the barriers facing themainstreaming of human rights in the UKand elsewhere. In the year ahead, we willbe developing our position on HRCreform, looking at ways in which theCouncil’s ability to hold states to accountcan be strengthened.

European Court of Human Rights(ECtHR)

In February 2009 the Commissionsubmitted its first intervention in a casebefore the ECtHR. That case concernedthe rights of parents with learningdisabilities to have their interests properlyrepresented in the UK courts in careproceedings. Since then we have appliedfor, and been granted, leave to intervenein nine other cases before the ECtHRinvolving issues about housing,immigration, family law, employmentissues, the right to a fair trial and othermatters including:

Whether the concept of family lifeunder the European Convention onHuman Rights (ECHR) includes same-sex couples.

Whether the ban on the use of interceptevidence in court should be lifted.

Whether persons subject toimmigration control who wish to marryoutside the Church of England (whetherin a civil or religious ceremony) shouldbe subject to requirements that thosewho have a Church of England weddingare not.

Whether the protections of the HumanRights Act extend to the actions of UKtroops abroad.

The Commission is also starting to play akey role in ensuring that human rightsjudgments are properly and expeditiouslyimplemented. Our efforts in this respect in2009 have been targeted mainly at thegovernment’s proposals in response to thedecision in S and Marper v the UK (inwhich the court held that the UK’sindefinite retention policy in relation toDNA samples constitutes an unjustifiedinterference with their rights under Article8 ECHR), and on the government’s failure,over four years since the ECtHR GrandChamber decision, to implement anylegislative change to give effect to thefindings in Hirst (No.2) v the UK, a casewhich established that thedisenfranchisement of prisoners violatestheir rights under Article 3 of the FirstProtocol, ECHR.

We are now monitoring all judgmentsagainst the UK with a view to ensuringthat they are quickly and effectivelyimplemented. To assist civil society inengaging with the implementationmonitoring that the Committee ofMinisters oversees, we held a seminar inOctober 2009 entitled ‘Making StrasbourgWork: The Execution of Judgments of theEuropean Court of Human Rights’, jointlyhosted with Matrix chambers andfeaturing speakers from the Departmentfor the Execution of Judgments, from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), andfrom the bar.

Moreover, we are active members of theEuropean Group of NHRIs working groupon reform of the ECtHR and have played afull part in the discussions at the Councilof Europe relating to the reform agenda –an urgent process if the right of individualpetition is to endure in the future.

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With other members of the Europeangroup of NHRIs, we have attendedsessions of the Council of EuropeCommittee considering the reformprocess, and have prepared briefing andcommented on the Council of Europe’sproposal for reform, which are due to bediscussed more fully at anintergovernmental conference in 2010,which we shall also attend to makerepresentations. We have highlighted theneed to take urgent action to reduce thenumber of violations of the Convention byStates and that the right of individualapplication remains the cornerstone ofreforms.

European Union

With the adoption of the Lisbon Treatyand the appointment of a new EUCommissioner for Justice, FundamentalRights and Citizenship, the EU isbecoming an increasingly important actorin the human rights landscape of Europe.We have commissioned advice on theimplications of the Charter ofFundamental Rights for the UK andEurope in general and for the Commissionin particular, and we are running a seriesof internal training seminars for staffabout how to use the Charter.

The Commission sits on the board ofEquinet – the European Network ofEquality Bodies and has a good workingrelationship with the EU FundamentalRights Agency (FRA). In November 2009we co-organised a workshop with FRA inLondon on how NHRIs can use new mediaand digital technology to communicatebetter, particularly with vulnerablegroups.

The ICC and Eurogroup of NHRIs

The Commission became a full votingmember of the ICC in 2009 when we weregranted our A status accreditation. Weshare the UK seat on the ICC with theNorthern Ireland Human RightsCommission. We are active members ofthe European Group of NHRIs and havebeen asked to chair the Eurogroup’sWorking Group on CRPD. We will belooking at implementation of theConvention in Europe and sharing bestpractice among the participant NHRIs.

(f) To assist in the formulation ofprogrammes for the teaching of, andresearch into, human rights and totake part in their execution inschools, universities andprofessional circles

Guardian roundtables

From October 2009 to March 2010, theCommission undertook a major campaignto tackle misconceptions and barriers tothe mainstreaming of a human-rightsapproach across the public sector. Wepartnered with The Guardian newspaperby hosting four sector-specific deliberativeroundtable sessions with senior leadersand champions in the education, healthand social care, local government andcriminal justice sectors. The goal of theseevents was to explore why human rightshave not been effectively incorporated intopublic service delivery and identify themost effective way of overcoming theobstacles individuals were facing.

These events were very effective atengaging the participants in the humanrights agenda and illustrating the value oftaking such an approach. This learningwas then shared more broadly by thedissemination after the event of a write-up

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of the discussions. Appearing in TheGuardian’s Society section, the findingsfrom the roundtables received nationalcoverage. Following the roundtables, theCommission worked with The Guardian’sPublic section to develop a 32-pagesupplement entitled ‘Human Rights andthe Public Sector: Deconstructing themyths’, which explores further the benefitsof a human rights-based approach inpublic service delivery, including sectionson myth-busting and case studies.

The value of these sessions has beenextensive. The Commission has been ableto gather information on how differentareas of the public sector perceive humanrights and has received guidance on howto best reach them, while the publicityafter each event has ensured that positivemessages about human rights have beendisseminated in the national media.

Schools

In the HRI, the Commission foundevidence of the beneficial effects of ahuman rights approach within schools.Two particular schemes identified wereUNICEF’s Rights Respecting Schoolsscheme and Hampshire County Council’sRights, Respect and Responsibility. Anindependent evaluation of the Hampshirescheme reported positive outcomes,including pupils being more respectful andhelpful to others, improved academicachievement and significantly reducedschool exclusions.

In recognition of this success, and with thegoal of supporting schools to promote andmainstream human rights, theCommission has committed to supportingthe development of a whole schoolapproach to human rights, includingsupporting teachers through teacher-

training programmes. Through this work,we will actively encourage a widerapplication of the human rightsframework in schools and more humanrights education of young people.

Care pathways

Working jointly with Macmillan Cancer,we are exploring the mechanisms andbenefits of embedding equality and humanrights into cancer care pathways, throughworking with three pilot cancer networks:Merseyside & Cheshire Cancer Network,South East London Cancer Network andBury NHS. The goal of this work is to ‘test’how human rights principles can be usedin practice – both in the context of serviceuser and staff experiences – and to assessthe real-life difference it makes in people’slives. Due to report in spring 2010, thiswork is groundbreaking in the healthsector as it looks at the impact of taking ahuman rights-based approach in an end-to-end treatment process.

Social landlords

Recognising the vulnerability ofindividuals living in social housing, theCommission intervened in the case ofWeaver v London and Quadrant HousingTrust ([2009] EWCA Civ 587).Increasingly the government is usingprivate bodies to carry out publicfunctions in areas such as social housing,care homes and detention and deportationservices. The Commission arguedsuccessfully that Registered SocialLandlords, who are providing these publicfunctions, be treated as a public authorityand be subject to the Human Rights Act.This will require Social Landlords toconsider the proportionality andreasonableness of their actions by taking ahuman rights approach.

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which called for sector-specific guidanceabout the benefits of a human rightsapproach.

It is also exploring the application of thehuman rights approach to the regulationof essential services such as water,electricity and gas. In addition, it isdeveloping a number of different workingarrangements with inspectorates andregulators concerning equality and humanrights to assist all parties to conduct theirregulatory activities in a manner which isconsistent, transparent, accountable andproportionate, focusing on service userexperience and outcomes.

Business and human rights

The Commission is developing an excitingnew programme of work on business andhuman rights, in recognition of the factthat it has moved up the agenda in the UKand internationally.

We presented written and oral evidence tothe inquiry by the Joint Committee onHuman Rights on business and humanrights and participated on the Ministry ofJustice’s Private Sector and Human RightsSteering Group. We worked closely withthe Ministry of Justice and Business in theCommunity on the launch of the MoJ’sscoping report on the private sector andhuman rights, and held an internalstrategy workshop facilitated by thereport’s authors. We participated in theinternational conference in Geneva on theframework proposed by John Ruggie, theUN Special Representative on Businessand Human Rights, and will use thesefindings to frame our own work withBritish business.

The case arose out of the attemptedeviction of Susan Weaver from a flat whereshe had lived as an assured tenant since1993. The London Quadrant HousingTrust alleged that Mrs Weaver had failedto pay her rent for eight weeks and soughtan order to repossess her property. Whilethe High Court found the Trust had notbreached her human rights, it did find thatits role in allocating, managing andterminating social housing was a publicfunction, making the Trust a publicauthority for those purposes and sosubject to obligations under the HumanRights Act.

This ruling benefits over two millionhomes and increases human rightsprotection for the tenants of registeredsocial landlords. The Commission willexplore the possibility of developing apilot project in relation to RegisteredSocial Landlords by working with theTenant Services Authority, CharteredInstitute of Housing and RSLs on theimplications of this decision. TheCommission will work with them toprepare guidance or support materials forthe sector, as appropriate.

Regulators and inspectorates

The Commission co-chairs theInspectorates and Regulators Forum onHuman Rights with the Ministry of Justice(MoJ), sharing good practice, ideas andissues across the regulatory spectrum anddeveloping further commitment andunderstanding among inspectorates andregulators regarding the value andpractical application of the human rightsapproach to regulatory activity, includinginspections and complaints-handling. It isfollowing up on the work undertaken withinspectorates and regulators in the HRI

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We have committed to:

Developing a strategy on the privatesector and human rights which takesforward recent work from the Ministryof Justice, the Joint Committee onHuman Rights and the UN SpecialRepresentative on Business and HumanRights.

Encouraging and supporting a multi-stakeholder dialogue on business andhuman rights in the UK with business,civil society and government.

Undertaking research on the keyhuman rights issues on which UKbusinesses have an impact.

Building business and public awarenessof the key human rights issues in theprivate sector.

Holding a high-level summit on theimplementation of the work of the UNSpecial Representative on Business andHuman Rights in the UK.

Human rights measurementframework

The Commission is building ameasurement framework that will define arange of quantitative indicators tomeasure the relative social outcomes ofour various strand groups across GreatBritain in relation to human rights,equality and good relations. Theframework of human rights indicators willhelp us to understand the state of humanrights in Britain today and to establishwhere progress is and is not being made.We are keen to build on all the work that iscurrently being done in different countriesaround the world and at the internationallevel, to create an objective, empiricalframework to assess the realisation ofhuman rights in the UK. The purpose of

the framework is to inform analysis ofpriorities in consultation with experts andother stakeholders for making futureprogress in human rights, and also toprovide data against human rightsindicators to present to parliament in ourtriennial report on the state of equalityand human rights in Great Britain.

(g) To publicize human rights andefforts to combat all forms ofdiscrimination by increasing publicawareness.

Through the Equality Act 2006, theCommission has a specific responsibilityto promote awareness and understandingof human rights in Great Britain. Section 9of the Act reads:

(1) The Commission shall, by exercisingthe powers conferred by this Part:

(a) promote understanding of theimportance of human rights

(b) encourage good practice in relation tohuman rights

(c) promote awareness, understandingand protection of human rights, and

(d) encourage public authorities tocomply with section 6 of the HumanRights Act 1998 (c. 42) (compliancewith Convention rights).

Following on from the findings of the HRI,which illustrated that many individualsand organisations did not see therelevance of human rights to theireveryday lives, we aim to illustrate howrespect for human rights and humanrights principles can make a real, tangibledifference in service delivery, public sectorefficiency and, ultimately, people’s lives.

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To this end, we have developed a robustcommunications strategy to illustrate theimportance of human rights and the valueit adds to public sector service delivery; totackle myths and misconceptions abouthuman rights; and to work withparliamentarians and stakeholders todefend and strengthen human rightsprotection. Our communications strategyaims to:

Promote awareness, understanding andrespect for human rights amongdecision-makers, public serviceproviders, the media and key segmentsof the general public.

Position the Commission as a leadingand credible authority and source ofinformation and guidance on humanrights issues in Great Britain.

Translate human rights principles intoeveryday practice and behaviours.

To achieve these aims, we are:

Engaging with parliamentarians onhuman rights issues.

Influencing the legislative agendathrough the active promotion of humanrights.

Working closely with key stakeholdersto develop and strengthen support andunderstanding of human rights in thevoluntary sector.

Engaging with key public sectorrepresentatives to build awareness andcapacity of human rights as it relates totheir work.

Working with the media to encouragemore accurate reporting on humanrights issues and provide support toincrease their capacity in this area.

Developing and disseminating goodpractice and guidance for the publicsector, advocates and individuals onusing and applying human rights totheir everyday lives.

We believe that it is through thisintegrated approach to communicationsthat we can actually effect change in theperceptions of human rights acrosssociety.

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Our HRI report was launched at theSenedd in Wales. The report was wellreceived by an audience of AssemblyMembers and other decision-makers whoundertook to reflect on the findings andadopt the learning within their ownorganisations. The Minister for SocialJustice and Local Government spoke andwelcomed the report. We launched thereport to a Welsh language audience at the2009 National Eisteddfod.

The Commission in Wales marked theInternational Day of Disabled People 2009by hosting conferences in Swansea (on 2December) and Llandudno (on 4December) to raise awareness of the UNConvention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities. These events allowed peopleto explore how the Convention can be usedto make human rights an everyday reality.Around 150 disabled people and groupsattended the conferences. Disability issuesin Wales are brought into sharp focus bystatistics showing that:

Just over a quarter of the adultpopulation in Wales have impairmentsor long-term limiting health conditions– a higher proportion than bothEngland and Scotland.

Around 60 per cent of calls to theCommission in Wales’ helpline arerelated to disability issues.

Wales

At our Human Rights Summit in June2008 we brought together serviceproviders and users to find ways of placingdignity and respect at the heart of publicservices.

In December 2008 we celebrated the 60thanniversary of the Universal Declarationof Human Rights. We marked thisoccasion by challenging misconceptions ofhuman rights and by encouraging theWelsh public to understand theirimportance in modern-day Wales. Weworked with philosopher Theodore Zeldinwhen we hosted a Conversation Evening toencourage people to talk more deeplyabout everyday issues. Guests had a ‘Menuof Conversation’ to stimulate discussionabout human rights. The event wassuccessfully advertised through socialnetworks this brought us 150 new ‘friends’who had never before been involved in aCommission event.

Our Human Writes project saw some ofWales’ best-known writers, includingRachel Trezise and Catrin Dafydd, writingshort stories setting out what humanrights mean to them. We used thesestories as a way of engagingschoolchildren with human rights,promoting our website and reaching newaudiences.

5. Our work in Wales andScotland

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Our inquiry powers will also be used toundertake a Section 16 inquiry into humantrafficking in Scotland (see above).

Finally, we have been active in engagingwith the devolved institutions in Scotlandon human rights, including an event tomark the 60th anniversary of the UniversalDeclaration in the Scottish Parliament inDecember 2008, and several appearancesto the parliament’s very active Cross-PartyGroup on Human Rights and CivilLiberties.

Scotland

Scotland is unique in the UK in that it hastwo NHRIs with a shared human rightsmandate, the Equality and Human RightsCommission and the Scottish HumanRights Commission (SHRC). The twoorganisations share facilities in ourGlasgow office, including the ScotlandHelpline. Broadly, the two commissionshave responsibility in turn for the devolvedand reserved human rights agendas, andhave a memorandum of understandingsetting out how this will work in practice.However, both organisations recognisethat human rights cannot always beresolved along neat constitutional lines.

The two commissions have workedtogether in a range of settings, from jointfringes at party conferences to sharingplatforms at stakeholder events, forexample evidence-gathering to inform ourresponse to the Scottish Government’sconsultation on the scope and shape of thenew specific equality duties.

We will also be working jointly with theSHRC in our shared role in Scotland as the‘independent mechanism’ for thepromotion and monitoring of the CRPD.The commissions co-hosted a stakeholderevent in Glasgow in January and will beworking together on any future inquirywork on compliance with the Convention.

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While the Commission’s first year wasdedicated to gaining authoritative evidenceand understanding of the human rightslandscape in Great Britain, in our secondyear of operation we began to use thefindings of the HRI to inform our work andstrategy. As this report details, we haveaccomplished a range of achievements inthe domestic, European and internationalspheres. From gaining our international ‘A’status accreditation, to working to securehuman rights protection for armed forcespersonnel serving overseas, we have set amark for our work to come. We feel thatour future plans are ambitious andessential.

Engagement on the international stage willcontinue to be a core part of our humanrights work, alongside working with publicbodies to support and encourage them tomainstream a human rights-basedapproach into their planning and servicedelivery. We will continue to intervene inlegal cases where we think adding ourvoice can strengthen human rightsprotections, and at the same time,advocate for extending human rightsprotection in domestic law. We will workwith partners, stakeholders, the businesscommunity and the third sector tochampion human rights in Great Britain,helping to create communities whereindividuals are respected, opportunitiesare realised, dignity is universal andhuman rights are recognised, protectedand defended.

6. Future plans

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Paris Principles defined at the first InternationalWorkshop on National Institutions for the Promotionand Protection of Human Rights in Paris 7–9 October1991, adopted by Human Rights CommissionResolution 1992/54, 1992 and General AssemblyResolution 48/134, 1993.

Competence and responsibilities

1. A national institution shall be vestedwith competence to promote andprotect human rights.

2. A national institution shall be given asbroad a mandate as possible, whichshall be clearly set forth in aconstitutional or legislative text,specifying its composition and itssphere of competence.

3. A national institution shall, inter alia,have the following responsibilities:

(a) To submit to the Government,Parliament and any other competentbody, on an advisory basis either atthe request of the authoritiesconcerned or through the exercise ofits power to hear a matter withouthigher referral, opinions,recommendations, proposals andreports on any matters concerning thepromotion and protection of human

Appendix: Paris Principlesrelating to the status ofnational institutions

rights; the national institution maydecide to publicize them; theseopinions, recommendations,proposals and reports, as well as anyprerogative of the national institution,shall relate to the following areas:

(i) Any legislative or administrativeprovisions, as well as provisionsrelating to judicial organizations,intended to preserve and extendthe protection of human rights; inthat connection, the nationalinstitution shall examine thelegislation and administrativeprovisions in force, as well as billsand proposals, and shall makesuch recommendations as itdeems appropriate in order toensure that these provisionsconform to the fundamentalprinciples of human rights; itshall, if necessary, recommendthe adoption of new legislation,the amendment of legislation in

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force and the adoption oramendment of administrativemeasures;

(ii) Any situation of violation of human rights which it decides totake up;

(iii) The preparation of reports on thenational situation with regard tohuman rights in general, and onmore specific matters;

(iv) Drawing the attention of the Government to situations in anypart of the country where humanrights are violated and making proposals to it for initiatives toput an end to such situations and,where necessary, expressing an opinion on the positions and reactions of the Government;

(b) To promote and ensure theharmonization of national legislationregulations and practices with theinternational human rightsinstruments to which the State is aparty, and their effectiveimplementation;

(c) To encourage ratification of theabove-mentioned instruments oraccession to those instruments, and toensure their implementation;

(d) To contribute to the reports whichStates are required to submit toUnited Nations bodies andcommittees, and to regionalinstitutions, pursuant to their treatyobligations and, where necessary, toexpress an opinion on the subject,with due respect for theirindependence;

(e) To cooperate with the United Nationsand any other organization in theUnited Nations system, the regional

institutions and the nationalinstitutions of other countries that arecompetent in the areas of thepromotion and protection of humanrights;

(f) To assist in the formulation ofprogrammes for the teaching of, andresearch into, human rights and totake part in their execution in schools,universities and professional circles;

(g) To publicize human rights and effortsto combat all forms of discrimination,in particular racial discrimination, byincreasing public awareness,especially through information andeducation and by making use of allpress organs.

Composition and guarantees ofindependence and pluralism

1. The composition of the nationalinstitution and the appointment of itsmembers, whether by means of anelection or otherwise, shall beestablished in accordance with aprocedure which affords all necessaryguarantees to ensure the pluralistrepresentation of the social forces (ofcivilian society) involved in thepromotion and protection of humanrights, particularly by powers whichwill enable effective cooperation to beestablished with, or through thepresence of, representatives of:

(a) Non-governmental organizationsresponsible for human rights andefforts to combat racialdiscrimination, trade unions,concerned social and professionalorganizations, for example,associations of lawyers, doctors,journalists and eminent scientists;

Human Rights Report

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(b) Trends in philosophical or religiousthought;

(c) Universities and qualified experts;

(d) Parliament;

(e) Government departments (if these areincluded, their representatives shouldparticipate in the deliberations only inan advisory capacity).

2. The national institution shall have aninfrastructure which is suited to thesmooth conduct of its activities, inparticular adequate funding. Thepurpose of this funding should be toenable it to have its own staff andpremises, in order to be independentof the Government and not be subjectto financial control which might affectits independence.

3. In order to ensure a stable mandatefor the members of the nationalinstitution, without which there canbe no real independence, theirappointment shall be effected by anofficial act which shall establish thespecific duration of the mandate. Thismandate may be renewable, providedthat the pluralism of the institution’smembership is ensured.

Methods of operation

Within the framework of its operation, thenational institution shall:

(a) Freely consider any questions fallingwithin its competence, whether theyare submitted by the Government ortaken up by it without referral to ahigher authority, on the proposal of itsmembers or of any petitioner;

(b) Hear any person and obtain anyinformation and any documentsnecessary for assessing situationsfalling within its competence;

(c) Address public opinion directly orthrough any press organ, particularlyin order to publicize its opinions andrecommendations;

(d) Meet on a regular basis and whenevernecessary in the presence of all itsmembers after they have been dulyconvened;

(e) Establish working groups from amongits members as necessary, and set uplocal or regional sections to assist it indischarging its functions;

(f) Maintain consultation with the otherbodies, whether jurisdictional orotherwise, responsible for thepromotion and protection of humanrights (in particular ombudsmen,mediators and similar institutions);

(g) In view of the fundamental role playedby the non-governmentalorganizations in expanding the workof the national institutions, developrelations with the non-governmentalorganizations devoted to promotingand protecting human rights, toeconomic and social development, tocombating racism, to protectingparticularly vulnerable groups(especially children, migrant workers,refugees, physically and mentallydisabled persons) or to specializedareas.

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Additional principles concerning thestatus of commissions with quasi-jurisdictional competence

A national institution may be authorizedto hear and consider complaints andpetitions concerning individual situations.Cases may be brought before it byindividuals, their representatives, thirdparties, non-governmental organizations,associations of trade unions or any otherrepresentative organizations. In suchcircumstances, and without prejudice tothe principles stated above concerning theother powers of the commissions, thefunctions entrusted to them may be basedon the following principles:

(a) Seeking an amicable settlementthrough conciliation or, within thelimits prescribed by the law, throughbinding decisions or, where necessary,on the basis of confidentiality;

(b) Informing the party who filed thepetition of his rights, in particular theremedies available to him, andpromoting his access to them;

(c) Hearing any complaints or petitionsor transmitting them to any othercompetent authority within the limitsprescribed by the law;

(d) Making recommendations to thecompetent authorities, especially byproposing amendments or reforms ofthe laws, regulations andadministrative practices, especially ifthey have created the difficultiesencountered by the persons filing thepetitions in order to assert theirrights.

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England

Arndale HouseArndale CentreManchester M4 3AQ

Helpline:

Main number0845 604 6610

Textphone0845 604 6620

Fax0845 604 6630

Scotland

The Optima Building58 Robertson StreetGlasgow G2 8DU

Helpline:

Main number0845 604 5510

Textphone0845 604 5520

Fax0845 604 5530

Wales

3rd Floor3 Callaghan SquareCardiff CF10 5BT

Helpline:

Main number0845 604 8810

Textphone0845 604 8820

Fax0845 604 8830

© Equality and Human Rights Commission June 2010ISBN 978 1 84206 275 3

Artwork by Epigramwww.epigram.co.uk

Contact us

Helpline opening times:

Monday to Friday: 8am-6pm

If you require this publication in an alternative format and/or language please contact therelevant helpline to discuss your needs. All publications are also available to downloadand order in a variety of formats from our website:

www.equalityhumanrights.com

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