The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee agreed to undertake an inquiry into human rights in Wales.

This followed on from the Fourth Assembly Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee’s short inquiry into the Future of equality and human rights in Wales, and was also informed by the Committee’s consultation on priorities which ran over summer 2016.

Terms of reference:

The terms of reference were to consider:

• The impact of the UK’s withdrawal from European Union on human rights protection in Wales,
• The impact of the UK Government’s proposal to repeals the Human Rights Act 1998 and replace it with a UK Bill of Rights, and
• Public perceptions about human rights in Wales, in particular how understandable and relevant they are to Welsh people.

Evidence Gathering

The Committee initially held evidence sessions that are detailed in the table below. The Committee also consulted on the topic; the responses have been published.

Following the evidence sessions, the Committee agreed to narrow the scope of the inquiry to focus on the impact of Brexit on human rights.

Subsequently, the Committee undertook joint work with the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee to understand the equality and human rights implications of Brexit. Following this work, the Committees published their joint findings (PDF, 1MB).

The Committee continued to monitor the Brexit progress to ensure that our principles, in relation to human rights, are being adhered to. The Committee’s core principles can be viewed in our correspondence below dated 12 December 2017.