Submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial discrimination (July 2024)

This report is a submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (‘the CERD Committee’) in advance of its 19th periodic examination of the UK’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (the CERD). A shorter submission to inform the List of Themes (LOT) for this examination was shared with the CERD Committee in May 2024.

The aim of this report is to provide the Committee with up-to-date evidence and analysis of the enjoyment of certain CERD rights in Great Britain. There is a particular focus on:

• cross-cutting infrastructure for addressing racial discrimination
• criminal justice
• rights at work
• living standards
• health
• education

This report focuses on areas where racial discrimination and disparities continue to exist in the enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights under the CERD. Poverty and geography are important factors in inequalities experienced by all ethnic groups.

These factors can be made worse by other factors that disproportionately affect some ethnic minorities, such as cultural differences, stereotyping, power imbalances and discrimination. We have explored these possible causes where reliable evidence is available, with a view to identifying targeted action.