Ahead of the passage of emergency legislation to deal with the COFID-19 pandemic, our Chair David Isaac has written to the Prime Minister to advise him on some equality and human rights considerations which should be taken into account as the government responds to this unprecedented situation.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission recognises and supports the primary role of government in the current context: to keep people safe and protect the future of our nation. This must involve difficult decisions and compromises, far beyond the normal scope of everyday governing. However, such actions will be most effective when public safety and economic interests are balanced with with our long-held values of freedom and respect.

It is possible to protect rights while saving lives. At the Equality and Human Rights Commission, we stand ready to advise government and parliament in accordance with our statutory duties.

In evidence supplied to the United Nations on a range of civil and political rights issues, we have highlighted concerns about the use of automated facial recognition (AFR) and predictive algorithms in policing and suggested that AFR may not comply with the UK’s obligation to respect privacy rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

We have now called for the use of these new technologies to be suspended by police in England and Wales, until their impact has been independently scrutinised and laws are improved.

As well as concern that use of AFR may not be compliant with ICCPR, we also highlighted issues with the technology's accuracy. There is evidence that many AFR algorithms disproportionately misidentify Black people and women, and therefore could be discriminatory.

Our wide-ranging report reviews the progress the UK Government has made, and the challenges it still faces, when implementing the ICCPR. The full report covers:

• Enhancing the status of international human rights in domestic law
• Accountability for human rights violations and complicity by British military abroad
• Counter-terrorism measures
• Equality and non-discrimination
• The right to an effective remedy and fair trial
• Right to life, freedom from torture and ill-treatment, and conditions in detention
• Violence against women and girls
• Deprivation of liberty
• Human trafficking on modern slavery
• Right to privacy and freedom of expression
• Rights of the child
• Right to participate in public life

The long-awaited report from the independent review carried out by Wendy Williams was published yesterday. The report found that members of the Windrush generation and their children have been poorly served by this country and that what happened to those affected by the Windrush scandal was foreseeable and avoidable. 

The Commission is fully examining Williams' findings and we will be using our legal powers to ensure that this does not happen again.