Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process, which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. It provides an opportunity for all States to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to overcome challenges to the enjoyment of human rights.
 

Equality Commission Recommendations

In our engagement with the Executive Office, we sought to highlight key points from across our various responses to international treaty bodies (as summarised across this paper); recommendations made by the UPR Committee in its 2012 Outcome Report  and the 2014 Second cycle Mid-term report  submitted by the UK Government.  

We recommended that the National Report should provide an update on progress and/or plans by the State under Review (SuR) to give effect to the Commission’s overarching recommendations to:
 

• mainstream equality across the PfG framework as a whole (including through a clear commitment to equality, underpinned by the inclusion of robust, outcome focused action measures and monitoring on S75 grounds)
• withdraw the three remaining reservations  and the interpretative declaration under the UNCRPD
• ratify the Istanbul Convention  and the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
   

 

• strengthen the equality legislation  and the laws that impact on Section 75 groups; for example, changes to law so as to permit same-sex marriage promote gender equality including by ensuring women’s economic independence  and addressing barriers to participation
• eradicate gender based violence and transphobic hate crime including through ratification of the Istanbul Convention ; implementing an effective strategy to tackle gender based violence; and action to prevent and detect transphobic hate crime
• address the barriers experienced by women in accessing reproductive health care services by issuing a full public consultation on abortion law
• protect the most vulnerable from the adverse impact of welfare reform
• develop dedicated Traveller/Roma and refugee integration strategies
• tackle prejudicial attitudes; racial violence; improve reporting in respect of racist hate crime; promote values of acceptance and respect so as to improve good relations and increase representation in public life
• maximise the potential for shared education to address education inequalities and advance cohesion, sharing and integration, including through targeted strategies and training to address key issues such as prejudice-based bullying
• collect, monitor and evaluate appropriate data relating to S75 groups  (including against relevant UNCRPD articles)  and include gender budgeting as a commitment in the Gender Equality Strategy.