About the Equality and Human Rights Commission

Our role

The Equality and Human Rights Commission, other UK national human rights institutions (NHRIs), Parliament and civil society all have a role to play in holding government to account for its human rights record. As a NHRI, one of our jobs is to monitor the UK’s compliance with the seven UN human rights treaties it has signed and ratified (agreed to follow). We monitor the UK government’s performance across these treaties, and provide information to the UN in what are known as ‘shadow reports’. We work closely with the other UK NHRIs on monitoring compliance with the UK’s international human rights obligations: the Scottish Human Rights Commission, with whom we share our remit in Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC). Read more about our role in monitoring compliance with international human rights standards in Great Britain.