The UK has failed to meet many human rights recommendations made by the United Nations and should do more to prevent prison overcrowding, tackle hate crimes and restrict stop and search powers, a coalition of 175 civil society organisations claims.
Their report, coordinated by the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and submitted to the UN in Geneva on Thursday, also accuses the government of damaging international standards by threatening to scrap the Human Rights Act.
Repeal of the act would be a “denigration of international human rights law”, the submission asserts. “The UK’s retrogressive debates are already negatively influencing other countries. There is increasing concern that the UK’s political rhetoric will, if not checked, threaten the coherence and credibility of the post-second world war human rights settlement.”
As part of the universal periodic review process before the UN’s human rights council, all 193 member countries are subjected regularly to an assessment of their human rights records and asked to improve where violations are identified.
