Monitoring Welsh Government progress towards its international human rights obligations

Using UN treaties and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Human Rights Tracker

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is an independent statutory body and A-status National Human Rights Institution (NHRI). It has a mandate covering equality in Great Britain, human rights in England and Wales, and human rights in Scotland for issues reserved to the UK Parliament. 
As an A-status NHRI we are assessed against the Paris Principles. They require NHRIs to:

• be competent to promote and protect human rights
• have a broad, clear constitutional and legislative mandate
• submit advice on human rights issues to government and Parliament
• cooperate with the United Nations and other international organisations to protect and promote human rights
• promote education of human rights in schools, universities and professional circles
• combat all forms of discrimination by increasing public awareness of human rights
• ensure plural representation in its appointments
• have adequate funding
• be independent in its decision-making and operation

The EHRC was last re-accredited as an A-status NHRI in May 2024. 

This briefing introduces the process for monitoring compliance with international treaty obligations, and how the Senedd can apply it when scrutinising the Welsh Government. 

As an NHRI, we monitor the implementation of international UN human rights treaties. We do this by engaging in the UN’s treaty monitoring cycle for the seven international convents and conventions that the UK government has ratified. 

UN treaties are not directly enforceable in the UK due to the dualist legal system, which means that international law does not automatically become part of domestic law. UN treaties do, however, represent binding obligations in international law on governments. 

While both the UK and Welsh governments are examined, for the purposes of treaty monitoring the UK is the state party, and it is the UK government that ratifies a treaty. However, the Welsh Government is expected to implement obligations within its competencies.

Examples of protecting and fulfilling the standards set out in UN treaties can be seen in Welsh law and policy:

• the partial incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Welsh law and the Children (Abolition of the Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020, both of which are strongly influenced by the UNCRC’s concluding observations or recommendations, has improved rights for children in Wales
• Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states all people should have the right to vote, take part in public affairs and to be elected, and the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024 places a duty on Welsh Ministers to help disabled candidates overcome barriers related to their disability when participating in elections
• the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 Code of Practice notes that due regard must be given to the importance of an adult’s independence and the right to independent living, as expressed in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) 

For each of the treaties a UN committee looks at how well the UK, including the Welsh Government on devolved matters, is meeting the standards it has agreed to follow. The committees, or treaty bodies, review the UK approximately once every five years. As an NHRI, we have a role in monitoring compliance with the treaties. 

We do this through engaging in the UN’s treaty monitoring cycle, where we produce detailed, evidence-based reports to the UN on our assessments of UK and Welsh government progress towards upholding the rights set out in the treaties. Each treaty body has its own rules of procedure, but there tend to be three key opportunities for stakeholders, including the Senedd, to engage in the process:

• the List of Issues (LOI) or List of Themes (LOT), which are formal requests by a UN Committee focusing on certain areas and provide an initial assessment of concerns, based on evidence provided by NHRIs and other stakeholders
• a more detailed shadow report from NHRIs and stakeholders which assess government fulfilment of treaty obligations since the last examination, the themes of which are informed by the LOI
• a UN examination of government in which a treaty body questions the government on the evidence provided by NHRIs and stakeholders and then publishes concluding observations or recommendations – governments are expected to fulfil these before their next examination

We also monitor compliance through our human rights tracker, which is an online tool for assessing how well the UK and Welsh governments are putting their international human rights obligations into practice. It includes over 60 assessments of Welsh Government actions against specific UN recommendations. 

Using the human rights tracker to engage in the UN treaty monitoring cycle

Commitments and actions across government should always consider human rights and the articles within treaties or concluding observations from UN Committees. These can be used to measure progress across government. 

Some examples of recommendations and concerns across thematic areas include:

• the UNCRC notes the importance of addressing inequalities in education outcomes, introducing an inclusive education strategy and including disabled children in mainstream education
• the UNCRC also notes with concern children living in poverty, food insecurity and homelessness
• the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) 2024 concluding observations note slow progress towards culturally appropriate site provision for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities in Wales
• the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ (CRPD’s) concluding observation notes that disabled people’s organisations should be supported to fully participate in designing the policies which affect disabled people’s rights and also calls for creating a legal right to high-quality sign language interpretation
• the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) concluding observations in 2024 called for amendments to legislation which denies convicted prisoners the right to vote and despite a commitment from the Welsh Government to give some prisoners the right to vote in 2022, no further action has yet been taken

The Senedd can also:

• inform the UN Committee’s priorities for their state examination by providing evidence and analysis to the list of issues
• reference UN recommendations in relevant and ongoing Senedd work
• encourage the Welsh Government to conduct meaningful consultations with civil society to inform the UK state report
• encourage the Welsh Government to review UN Committee recommendations following examination and report on progress against them
• encourage the Welsh Government to establish a formal National Mechanism for Implementation, Reporting and Follow-up (NMIRF) of UN recommendations, as per best practice guidance

How the Equality and Human Rights Commission can help

We can:

• highlight practical information on upcoming treaty body examinations and opportunities to input
• share priority recommendations made to the Welsh Government following a review
• provide further briefings on the human rights framework and individual treaties
• provide expert evidence for Senedd Committees
• meet with Senedd Members and / or Senedd Committees to demonstrate our Human Rights Tracker 

For a fuller view of UK compliance with international human rights obligations and the enjoyment of human rights, read our treaty monitoring reports and our Equality and Human Rights Monitor 2023: Is Wales Fairer?.