The UK's Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has recently published a voluntary mid-term progress report on its implementation of recommendations received under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism (UPR). This is the process whereby every UN member state has its human rights record assessed at the Human Rights Council.
UNA-UK members and supporters have previously responded to an MoJ consultation on which recommendations should be made a priority. The Government gave the following response to UNA-UK's suggestions:
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Ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances (CED) and the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers (CRMW)
The Government remains unconvinced of the need to ratify the CRMW and believes that existing domestic remedies may be sufficient. On the CED it has said it that proposed changes will be elaborated upon in its next UPR in 2015.
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Ratification of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention
The Government is concerned the convention would "impose disproportionate burdens on businesses and raise issues of privacy, this could have serious social consequences".
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Ratification of optional protocols on the right to petition
The UK Government remains unconvinced of the need for optional protocols, given the domestic remedies available and the cost of responding to individual complaints at the UN.
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Risks to the independence of the Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
The UK Government maintains that its funding of and relationship with the EHRC is appropriate and that its A status remains intact.
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Removal of reservations to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
The UK Government position has not changed with regards to its reservations to the CRPD, though it keeps this under regular review.
UNA-UK maintains that these actions would be of benefit to human rights protections in the UK, and that the Government should seek to go beyond what's adequate by striving to set the highest possible standards. Other concerns not specifically addressed in the mid-term report include:
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UK position on the use of unmanned combat air vehicles (‘drones’), and details on the UK’s cooperation with the US drone programme
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Granting of arms export licenses to 25 of the 27 “countries of human rights concern” as identified by the FCO
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The Committee Against Torture’s request for further information on a number of areas of concern raised during the treaty body’s periodic review of the UK
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Weakening of human rights teaching in the National Curriculum
