§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, before deciding not to accept the right of individual petition under the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination and under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, they consulted the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Disability Rights Commission and the Northern Ireland Equality and Human Rights Commissions; and, if so, what representations were received from each commission. [HL4760]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)As part of their interdepartmental review of international human rights instruments, the Government consulted the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Disability Rights Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. They did not formally consult the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission recommended that the United Kingdom should accept the competency of the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination to receive communications from individuals who believe their rights under those conventions to have been violated. There is no record that the other commissions made formal representations about individual petition to the United Nations.