Committee publication · Correspondence · 24 June 2026
Correspondence from Chief Executive, EHRC re, Latest work on Human Rights, dated 18.06.2026
Summary
The EHRC Chief Executive writes to the Women and Equalities Committee to share a new report assessing UK government progress on three UN CERD recommendations made in September 2024: freedom of peaceful assembly, counter-terrorism measures, and Windrush justice. The EHRC identifies challenges across all three areas, including concerns that recent protest legislation creates a hostile environment for civil society, critical data gaps in Prevent oversight, and slow progress on Windrush accountability.
Key findings
- Recent protest legislation (Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022; Public Order Act 2023; Crime and Policing Act 2026) risks creating a hostile environment for civil society and moves away from the state's positive obligation to facilitate peaceful protest, raising particular concerns for communities already facing discrimination in policing contexts.
- Critical data gaps prevent proper scrutiny of the Prevent counter-terrorism programme's impact on ethnic and religious minorities.
- Progress towards justice for the Windrush generation remains slow and incomplete, despite steps to restore oversight and accountability.
- The UN CERD Committee required the UK government to provide evidence of action on these three recommendations within one year of September 2024.
- The EHRC, as an A-status National Human Rights Institution, has submitted its independent assessment to the UN CERD Committee and other interested parties.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
John Kirkpatrick, Sarah Owen MP, Equality and Human Rights Commission, UN CERD Committee, UK Government, Welsh Government
Notable line
“… recent changes to the legal framework surrounding protest, including the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 …”
Key Quotes
“… many of the recent changes to the legal framework surrounding protest, including the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, Public Order Act 2023 and Crime and Policing Act 2026, move away from the positive obligation on the state to facilitate peaceful protest”
“… critical data gaps are preventing proper scrutiny of Prevent's impact on ethnic and religious minorities”
“… although the UK government has taken steps to restore oversight and accountability for the Windrush scandal, progress towards justice remains slow and incomplete”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗