The findings come from the Cross‑Party Group on Human Rights, chaired by South Wales West MS Sioned Williams, which has published its inquiry into the state of human rights in Wales. The report concludes that despite a decade of recommendations from the UN, Senedd committees and civil society organisations, key international treaties have not been incorporated into Welsh law.
The group is calling for a new Human Rights Wales Act to be introduced “at the earliest opportunity.”
Sioned Williams said the report revealed “a Wales where human rights are too often promises rather than protections — aspirations rather than guarantees.” She added that poverty, barriers to healthcare, housing and education, and ongoing discrimination against disabled people, women, racialised communities and children showed why stronger legal protections were needed.
The report was produced by Professor Simon Hoffman of Swansea University and Glenn Page of Amnesty Cymru. Glenn Page, Director of Amnesty International Cymru, said: “It is not enough to say we support human rights; the Welsh Government must protect human rights in law to ensure that now, and in the future, people’s everyday rights are protected and upheld.”
The report will be launched at the Senedd today (Wednesday 12 November), with a debate scheduled later in the evening on the importance of strengthening human rights for the people of Wales.
