On this page you can search and filter the UN recommendations submitted to the UK
Government should: Develop a measurable action plan to improve the lives of disabled people across the UK. The Committee recommends...
Government should: Ensure equal pay and access to safe reproductive health services across the UK. Continue with legislative and policy...
Government should: End trafficking of people, women and girls especially women and girls, and support victims. Put an end to...
Government should: Tackle human trafficking and sexual exploitation properly. Effectively combat human trafficking and sexual exploitation...
Government should: Promise to set up a national program aimed at stopping women and girls being trafficked for sexual or...
Government should: Keep doing more to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Continue its work on strengthening measures for the...
Government should: Introduce policies, and provide funding for, professional skills training aimed at, reducing income inequality and making more opportunities...
Government should: Enhance efforts to further narrow the gender pay gap. Enhance efforts to further narrow the gender pay gap...
Government should: Increase opportunities for women to gain access to formal employment with equal pay for work of equal value....
Government should: Keep revising and strengthening laws to improve access to healthcare for women and girls. Continue to address and...
Government should: Keep taking action to ensure a gender balance in political and public life, particularly in Northern Ireland. Continue...
Government should: Make education, employment and healthcare easier to access for women and girls in remote rural areas. Make education,...
Government should: Extend the Equality Act 2010 so that it applies in Northern Ireland and protects women there. Extend the...
Government should: Review the Domestic Abuse Act to support and protect women and girls, whatever their immigration status is. Review...
Government should: Ensure that women, including women from ethnic minorities are involved in decision-making at all levels. Continue measures to...
Government should: Update the law to end gender discrimination in employment, including pay gaps and access to fund enforcement bodies....
Government should: Ensure victims of domestic violence and their families can access support and protection from further abuse. Take measures...
Government should: Ensure that changes to tax and benefits policies do not have disproportionately negative effects on older women. Apply...
Government should: Do more to tackle human trafficking, especially of women and girls. Strengthen efforts to combat human trafficking, especially...
Government should: Act urgently to stop violence, discrimination and hate speech violating trans people’s rights and dignity; change any law...
Government should: Do more to protect women from harassment at work and promote access to employment for women from marginalised...
Government should: Recognise the right to identity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children. Do more to ensure that...
The Welsh Government has legislated to make relationships and sexuality education a statutory component of the new curriculum – ensuring...
UK Government actions In December 2020, NHS England published revised guidance on visitor restrictions in maternity units during the coronavirus...
Funding cuts to the public health grant have affected sexual and reproductive health budgets, access to services across England varies,...
The Welsh Government has legislated to make it mandatory for all school children aged 5–16 to learn about sexual and...
UK Government actions: In September 2022, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy introduced the Retained EU Law (Revocation...
UK Government actions: Between May and August 2022, the UK Government submitted several reports to the UN: its report for...
UK Government actions: In April 2022, the Elections Act gained Royal Assent. The stated purpose of the Act is to...
Government should: (a) Focus on children’s rights in all systems and actions taken to prevent abuse and neglect of children;...
Government should: Take steps to put the Istanbul Convention into practice across the UK and other UK territories. Take all...
Government should: (a) Introduce national strategies to stop harmful practices that affect children, such as child marriage, female genital mutilation...
Government should: (a) Do more to help parents and carers balance their work and family responsibilities, including by providing enough...
Government should: Continue reviewing the reservations on ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women...
Government should: Remove reservations on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Withdraw reservations to...
Government should: Consider withdrawing the reservation to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Consider...
Government should: Reform the Gender Recognition Act so that it is in line with international human rights standards, including by...
Government should: Reform national laws to include protection against gender-based discrimination. Undertake the necessary reforms to include protection against gender-based...
Government should: Give resources to central, devolved and local authorities to put the Istanbul Convention into practice effectively. Dedicate sufficient...
Government should: Ensure women in rural areas have a say in policy making, responding to disasters and climate change. Ensure...
Government should: Keep taking action to end discrimination against minorities, especially women in rural areas. Continue to strengthen mechanisms and...
UK Government actions In July 2021, the UK Government published a revised draft of its statutory guidance for schools, ‘Keeping...
Government should: Do more to protect people from gender-based violence. Further promote efforts to protect persons from gender-based violence...
Government should: Combat media disinformation about the LGBTQI+ community. Combat media disinformation about the LGBTQI+ community...
Government should: Ban conversion practices for all LGBTQI+ people. Ban conversion therapy practices for all LGBTQI+ persons...
Government should: Consider moving towards the implementation of the action plan for LGBTI people, and ban conversion practices. Consider moving...
Government should: Increase protection from sexual harassment in the workplace for disabled women and LGBTIQ workers, in line with the...
Government should: Uphold and improve laws protecting LGBTQI+ people, especially transgender people. Uphold and strengthen legal protections for LGBTQI+ persons,...
Government should: Remove the reservation to article 59 of the Istanbul Convention, so that all migrant women receive the same...
Government should: Change the Domestic Abuse Act to ensure protection and support for migrant women. Revise the Domestic Abuse Act...
Government should: Develop and implement public awareness campaigns on the human rights of trans people, including dealing with misinformation and...
Government should: Introduce a law banning conversion practices in all forms and settings. Adopt legislation to ban all conversion...
Government should: Remove or reform the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. The Government should adopt independent, transparent,...
Government should: Keep working to ban conversion therapy, including in Northern Ireland. It should also remove unnecessary legal requirements for...
Government should continue work to combat violence against women and girls, including domestic and sexual violence. It should ensure comprehensive...
Government should continue work to improve access to legal, effective, safe, confidential and equal access to abortion for women and...
Government should increase efforts to ensure conditions in detention align with international human rights standards, including the United Nations Standard...
Government should: Set a legal limit on immigration detention. It should be a last resort, for the shortest time possible....
Government, including in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies, should: Increase its action to improve...
Government should: Introduce a law banning conversion therapy for all LGBTIQ+ people of all ages. Adopt legislation to ban all...
Government should: Keep fighting the discrimination faced by transgender people by expanding the planned ban on conversion practices to include...
Government should: Keeping working to protect women’s rights. Continue efforts towards ensuring the protection of women rights...
Government should: Take action to increase women’s representation in political and public life including Parliament, the judiciary and decision making...
Government should: Ensure that all domestic violence cases are fully investigated and prosecuted and that the authorities have the training...
Government should: Keep doing more to increase opportunities for women to find and undertake formal employment. Continue taking additional measures...
Government should: Promote gender equality and ensure women are free from all discrimination and violence. Promote gender equality and ensure...
Government should: Do more to prevent forced marriages. Redouble efforts to fight against forced marriages...
Government should: Protect all women and girls equally from violence. Ensure all women and girls are equally protected from violence...
Government should: Take action to increase prosecution and conviction rates for domestic violence. Take effective measures to address low prosecution...
Government should: Keep working to update the Gender Recognition Act in line with international human rights standards, including recognising trans...
Government should: Take diverse actions to prevent violence against women, including improving reporting systems, increasing conviction rates and providing targeted...
Government should: Keep promoting equal political, social and economic rights for ethnic minorities, especially women and girls. Continue efforts to...
Government should: Review the laws on violence against women to protect and support women migrants, including those without access to...
Continue addressing violence against women and girls, in particular domestic violence. Continue combating violence against women and girls in particular...
Government should: Take steps to increase prosecution and conviction rates in domestic abuse cases including by ensuring that all gender-based...
Government should: Take action to improve data collection on gender-based violence, including on how it affects disabled people. Take measures...
Government should: Keep taking action to prevent violence against women and girls. Continue its efforts to combat violence against women...
Government should: Increase formal employment opportunities for women and disabled people, and ensure equal pay for work of equal value....
Government should: Do more to protect the rights of women, disabled people and LGTBI people and take action to prevent...
Government should: Keep taking action to end inequalities affecting minorities in accessing criminal justice, employment, health and education. Keep taking...
The UK Government’s new relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education guidance is welcome, as is action taken in...
There have been a number of positive legislative and policy changes to increase education and awareness of the UN Convention...
Government should: (a) Fund disabled people's organisations and involve them in planning and implementing all laws affecting disabled people (including...
Government should: in line with advice issued by the UN on the rights of rural women: (a) Take action to...
Government should: In line with advice issued by the UN on women in conflict and post-conflict situations: a) Address obstacles...
Government should: (a) Do more to encourage girls to study non-traditional subjects and courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics;...
Government should: (a) Take action to increase the number of women in decision-making roles in the workplace and reduce women's...
Government should: (a) Ensure that affordable and accessible childcare is available throughout the UK, particularly in Northern Ireland. (b) Consider...
Government should: Implement the Committee's previous recommendations on abortion law in Northern Ireland, in line with provisions in the Good...
Government should: Implement programmes and policies that provide effective access to healthcare for women from marginalised groups, particularly asylum-seeking and...
Government should: (a) Ensure that women in abusive situations can receive payments under Universal Credit independent of their partners. (b)...
Government should: in line with advice issued by the UN on women's asylum, nationality and statelessness issues: (a) Introduce a...
Government should: (a) Ensure that vulnerable women can access employment opportunities, housing and social security so they don't need to...
Government should: (a) Provide enough resources to effectively implement the Female Offender Strategy for England and Wales and ensure that...
Government should: (a) Ensure the law provides for 'no-fault' divorce and introduce a requirement that all religious marriages, including Islamic...
Government should: Share the recommendations of the Committee widely across all levels of government and public bodies, as well as...
Governent should: Ratify international human rights instruments it has not yet agreed to be bound by, including the International Convention...
Government should: Provide a written report on the steps it has taken to implement the recommendations in paragrapHs 13, 21(a)...
Government should: Submit its next report to the Committee in March 2023, following the harmonised guidelines on reporting under international...
Government should: Use the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to help implemement the provisions of CEDAW. The Committee calls...
Government should: Take specific steps to increase the numbers of women in general, and ethnic minority women and disabled women...
Government should: (a) Adopt in law the internationally agreed definition of human trafficking, as set out in the Palermo Protocol;...
Government should: (a) Take urgent steps to provide redress, including compensation and rehabilitation, for victims identified by the Historical Institution...
Government should: Review its reservations to the Convention and consider withdrawing them. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation that the...
Government should: Embed the rights of disabled women and girls into disability and gender equality policies. Fully consult on this...
Government should: (a) Increase the number of women in decision-making roles, in public and private sectors. (b) End the gender...
Government should: Ensure childcare services are accessible and affordable, particularly in Northern Ireland. Review the system of shared parental leave....
Government should: Provide information on the impact of the national strategy on gender-based violence (particularly with regard to violence against...
Government should: Increase efforts towards equal representation for women in the civil service and the judiciary. Implement the recommendations of...
Government should: Take action to tackle violence against women, including domestic violence and sexual abuse, by: (a) prioritising introducing domestic...
Government should: Urgently amend abortion laws in Northern Ireland. Extend exceptions to the abortion ban to include cases of rape,...
Government should: Make CEDAW part of UK and devolved law without delay to ensure all women in the UK are...
Government should: Fully implement its laws on female genital mutilation (FGM) and take further measures to prosecute people who carry...
Government should: (a) Change laws in Northern Ireland to ensure women there have the same protections as those elsewhere in...
Government should: Look at how changes to public spending, tax and welfare are affecting women’s rights. They should take urgent...
Government should: Continue to tackle money laundering and tax evasion, particularly in its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, and assess...
Government should: (a) Assess the impact of leaving the EU on women's rights, including those in Northern Ireland, and take...
Government should: Ensure that women, particularly women in vulnerable situations such as disabled women, ethnic minority women, asylum-seeking and refugee...
Government should: (a) Strengthen the capacity of the Government Equalities Office so that it can provide national leadership on women's...
Government should: Engage with the media to eliminate images that stereotype or objectify women, take steps to end negative gender...
Government should: in line with advice issued by the UN on gender-based violence: (a) Ratify the Istanbul Convention. (b) Take...
Government should: (a) Urgently implement the Stormont House Agreement, which was adopted by the British and Irish Governments and the...
Government should: Ensure that all women and girls in the UK, including Northern Ireland, can access abortions in situations where...
While the introduction of compulsory relationships and sex education (RSE) may create further opportunities for schools to teach children about...
Government should: Tackle violence against women. Take further action to combat sexual exploitation and sexual crimes against children. Effectively fight...
Government should: Tackle long-standing discrimination against women in political, economic and social settings, particularly regarding the gender pay gap and...
Government should: Urgently address gender, racial and ethnic discrimination. Make the CERD part of UK law. Pay priority attention to...
Government should: Adopt laws, especially in Northern Ireland, to tackle domestic violence. Ensure all cases of domestic violence are fully...
Government should: Take a joined-up approach to preventing violence against women and girls, including harmful practices. Ensure a holistic approach...
Government should: Combat violence against women and girls, in particular domestic violence. Combat violence against women and girls, in particular...
Government should: Continue tackling discrimination and violence against women and girls. Continue efforts to combat discrimination on any ground and...
Government should: Continue efforts to tackle domestic violence throughout the UK. Continue its positive efforts to reduce domestic violence throughout...
Government should: Strengthen laws in relation to forced marriage and female genital mutilation. Strengthen its legislative framework by including penal...
Government should: Ensure the abortion law in Northern Ireland is in line with international human rights law. Decriminalise abortion and...
UK Government actions In July 2021, the UK Government published its new ‘Tackling violence against women and girls strategy’ for...
There have been important recent reforms to strengthen the policy and legal framework, and it will take time for their...
The introduction of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 (the VAWDASV Act) and the...
UK Government actions In June 2021, Ofsted published the findings of a UK Government-commissioned review of sexual abuse in schools...
The UK Government has taken some policy and legislative steps to address aspects of violence, abuse and neglect, including its...
The Welsh Government has taken some positive policy and legislative steps, including a range of actions to address childhood adversity....
UK Government actions In October 2020, the UK Government updated the ‘headteachers’ standards’, which set baseline expectations for professional practice...
Government should: Encourage Northern Ireland to align its law on sexual and reproductive health services and rights with the rest...
Government should: Provide reproductive health care for all women and girls, in line with CEDAW. Government should: Provide reproductive health...
Government should: (a) Take steps to address the low prosecution and conviction rates for domestic abuse and sexual violence. Ensure...
Government should: Ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence ('Istanbul Convention')....
Government should: (a) Improve efforts to investigate claims of human trafficking, prosecute perpetrators and ensure that victims obtain compensation. Consider...
Government should: Consider ways to encourage migrant domestic workers to report abuse or ill-treatment to authorities, including giving migrant domestic...
Government should: make CERD part of UK and devolved law, and: (a) Ensure caste-based discrimination is banned by immediately bringing...
Government should: Raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years across all devolved administrations and overseas territories. The Committee...
Government should: (a) Revise the Children and Young Persons Act (1933) to protect all under 18s from abuse and neglect...
Government should: (a) Collect and publish disaggregated data on child exploitation and abuse. Make reporting on child exploitation and abuse...
Government should: (a) In line with UN advice on harmful practices, ensure that marriage of 16 and 17-year-olds is based...
Government should: Make the necessary changes to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women...
Government should: Introduce policies to prevent trafficking in women and girls. Guarantee a fair trial to victims of trafficking. Adopt...
Government should: Put the victims at the heart of its strategy to combat human trafficking (especially of women and girls)....
Government should: Adopt a comprehensive strategy to combat trafficking in women and girls. Reinforce the National Referral Mechanism to identify...
Government should: Strengthen measures to combat human trafficking (specifically of women and girls), and to support and rehabilitate victims. Strengthen...
Government should: Monitor the implementation of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act, including its affect on combating trafficking in women and...
Government should: (a) Work harder to acknowledge past wrong and raise awareness of colonialism and the trafficking of enslaved people....
