ICESCR concluding observations 2025, paragraph 25
Plain English recommendation
Government should:
(a) Ensure thorough and complete anti-discrimination and equality laws are in place, especially in Northern Ireland. The law should comply with article 2(2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and should be guided by the UN advice on fighting discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights;
(b) Bring into effect the parts of the Equality Act 2010 that are not yet in effect, especially the section on the Socio-economic Duty, which requires public bodies to consider how their actions affect socioeconomic inequalities, and the section on combined discrimination;
(c) Stop and fight discrimination, racism, stereotypes and inequalities experienced by disabled people, ethnic minorities (including Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers), people of African or Asian background, members of Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu communities, and migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers. This should include targeted public awareness campaigns and approaches that help provide opportunities to these groups in particular, in areas like decent work, social security, housing, healthcare and education. This should be done so that everyone can fully enjoy their rights under the ICESCR without being discriminated against.
Original UN recommendation
The Committee recommends that the State Party, along with the devolved governments, the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies:
(a) Ensure the adoption of a comprehensive anti-discrimination and equality law, particularly in Northern Ireland, in accordance with article 2 (2) of the Covenant and guided by the Committee’s general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social, and cultural rights;
(b) Enact the outstanding provisions of the Equality Act 2010, in particular part 1 (1), on the public sector duty regarding socioeconomic inequalities, and section 14, on combined discrimination;
(c) Prevent and combat discrimination, racism, stereotypes and inequalities faced by persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, including Gypsies, Roma and Travellers, persons of African or Asian descent and members of Jewish, Muslim and Hindu communities, and migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers by implementing targeted awareness-raising campaigns and affirmative action measures in such areas as decent work, social security, adequate housing, healthcare and education to ensure that all persons fully enjoy Covenant rights without discrimination.
Date of UN examination
12/03/2025
Original UN document
Download the original ICESCR concluding observations 2025 on the UN website.
Last updated on 21/08/2025