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Call for Equality Act amendment to be speeded up in the UK (19 November 2013)

Date: 19/11/2013
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Call for Equality Act amendment to be speeded up in the UK

The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has called on the UK government to move quickly to implement an amendment to the Equality Act 2010, which would effectively protect victims of caste-based discrimination.

She pointed out that tens of thousands of people in the UK are frequently discriminated against because they are traditionally from a ‘low status’ Asian background. This is an infringement of civil liberties and human rights, however, it is not currently covered by the list of items that gives citizens ‘protected status’ in the UK.

There has been a lengthy campaign on this issue and the government has suffered two defeats in the House of Lords. Eventually, agreement was reached to amend the act so that discrimination on the basis of caste would be outlawed as of April this year. In July, however, the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) declared that the process of consultation and enshrining the legislation would take until summer 2015, as public authorities, the judiciary and employers would all need to be involved.

Navi Pillay has warned that unnecessary delays to implementing the amendment would be disappointing to the international community, and may well interfere with efforts the UK is making to win a seat on the UN Human Rights Council next year.

Who does this affect?

In 2010, the government commissioned a report from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) on the issue of caste-based discrimination. It identified evidence that those of low caste suffered discrimination, exclusion and harassment in schools, workplaces and provision of services.

This report estimated that in the UK there are between 50,000 and 200,000 people who are classified as low caste. One campaigning group, known as the Dalits (formerly known as ‘untouchables’) is concerned that by deliberately extending the implementation of the amendment until beyond the next election, the Conservatives will then declare their intention to repeal it.

What can people do?

The Equality Act 2010 provides some protection against discrimination and harassment to those people who have ‘protected status’ which includes, for example, gender, age and race. The specialist civil liberties practitioners at ,a href="https://www.duncanlewis.co.uk">Duncan Lewis who provide legal aid solicitors, no win no fee lawyers, and those for private clients, are highly experienced in challenging human rights violations. They also have an expert team of immigration solicitors who deal daily with difficult cases.

Schools, businesses and public bodies in the UK are expected to act in accordance with the law, however it is clear from the NIESR report that things do go wrong in relation to caste-based discrimination and, in this respect, people should be empowered to undertake legal action.

The team of civil liberties and human rights solicitors at Duncan Lewis stay abreast of changes to the laws affecting people across a number of different areas. They are used to dealing with clients who are very vulnerable, and are expert at keeping up to date with the protections and freedoms granted by UK domestic law and acting upon them in defence of those who are being discriminated against, on any basis. They are happy to be consulted on the issue of caste-based discrimination, which will continue to be monitored closely.

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