Strategic Equality and Human Rights Plan 2025 to 2029

Equality and human rights are central to the work of the Welsh Government and our vision for Wales. We believe that every person should be treated fairly, and we are working towards a more equal Wales, a country which ensures equity of access to services, tackles inequality and discrimination and seeks fairer outcomes for all our citizens, both current and future generations.

These aims have never been more important. The gap between the richest and the poorest in our society continues to widen. Of huge concern is that some extremist voices exploit social media to promote intolerance and hatred, attempting to undermine our shared values and divide our communities.

In addressing inequality in Wales, it is important to safeguard and advance the human rights that protect each and every one of us. We must protect the rights of those groups and individuals who remain at the greatest risk of discrimination and unfair treatment which in turn, can lead to very unequal life outcomes. Inequity can be even greater where different forms of discrimination and disadvantage overlap so that, for example, people can experience racism and sexism at the same time.

I am proud of the progress that we have made during the last 4 years, which has included the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan, our Advancing Gender Equality Plan, our Adoption of the Social Model of Disability (explained later) as the driver of our action to support Disabled People, and our actions to support LGBTQ+ communities, which we have set out in our LGBTQ+ Action Plan. A Disabled People’s Rights Plan for Wales will be published in 2025.  All of this work will have significant impact during the lifetime of this Strategic Plan and far beyond.

This Strategic Equality and Human Rights Plan brings together our National Equality Objectives with our work to promote human rights. The Equality Objectives set out our ambition for meaningful change across all areas in a changing environment. They are supported by a Human Rights Statement setting out that we will embed a human rights approach into our work. Actions to support the delivery of our NEOs and human rights approach are also included in the separate equality plans.

Jane Hutt MS 
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip

This plan fulfils our duties in relation to specific protected characteristics set out in regulation 14(2) (c) of the Equality Act 2010 (Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulation 2011. It also sets out Welsh Government's commitments to Human Rights. This plan demonstrates our commitment to further embed equality and human rights into the fabric of Welsh Government culture. Through setting out our long-term National Equality Objectives (NEOs) and Human Rights Statement, this plan introduces a framework to bring together Welsh Government equality plans, guiding future planning and the delivery of action where it can have the greatest impact.

Welsh Government is committed to achieving all of the national well-being goals, ‘a prosperous Wales, a resilient Wales, a healthier Wales, a more equal Wales, a Wales of more cohesive communities, a Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language, and a globally responsible Wales’, introduced through the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Without having a more equal Wales, we will not achieve the other goals. 

An integral step towards achieving a more equal Wales is to recognise the important relationship between equality and human rights when developing policy and making decisions. We believe that equality is both a principle and an outcome of the effective respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights. Embedding human rights into our work will strengthen and advance equity for all. 

Embedding equality and human rights approaches into Welsh Government work will require systemic and cultural change and will take time. Through our NEOs and Human Rights Statement, this plan introduces a coherent framework for planning and delivery. This framework will underpin our individual plans and ensure they contribute to our overarching objectives, targeting action where it can have the greatest impact. This will provide a basis for wider mainstreaming activity and enable more coherent communication with external stakeholders on Welsh Government’s equalities and human rights agendas.

The NEOs and Human Rights Statement have been developed in partnership with stakeholders. Specific actions to support delivery are contained within various equality and human rights related plans. 

Human rights 

Human rights are fundamental to ensuring dignity, freedom, and equality for all individuals, forming the bedrock of just, fair and democratic societies. Recognising the interconnectedness of equality and human rights, and alongside delivering on our Wales Specific Equalities Duties, Welsh Government is committed to a principle which we are setting out in this following Human rights statement.

Human rights statement

Human rights are rights which belong to everyone. We will respect, protect and fulfil our human rights and equality duties so everyone in Wales may live their lives with dignity, freedom, security and without discrimination. We commit to a human rights approach which puts people at the centre of everything we do, improving the well-being of current and future generations.

Our goal is that a ‘human rights approach’ is embedded across all areas of Welsh Government. We will do this by implementing the actions we have agreed to take in response to the Strengthening and Advancing Equality and Human Rights in Wales Research Report 2021, and through taking actions to support human rights within specific equality plans. We will develop our approach as we take our work on human rights forward, learning and working with stakeholders to refine the steps we take. We will continue to uphold our obligations in respect of international human rights law, including United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People; the Conventions to Eliminate Race Discrimination and Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as all other binding international human rights obligations in Wales. 

Equality 

Welsh Government is committed to fairer and more equal outcomes for the people of Wales. 

Wales is a nation based on equity, anti-discrimination, and inclusion, through strengthening and advancing equality and human rights.

National Equality Objective 1: we will create a Wales where everyone has opportunities to prosper in line with our organisational goal to reduce poverty.

National Equality Objective 2: we will create a Wales where everyone can be aware of their human rights, and where those rights are protected, promoted, and underpin all public policy.

National Equality Objective 3: we will create a Wales where everyone can be aware of and has equitable access to high quality public services.

National Equality Objective 4: we will create a Wales free from discrimination, victimisation, harassment, abuse, hate crime and/or bullying against all people.

National Equality Objective 5: we will create a Wales where everyone from the full diversity of backgrounds can participate in public life, have their voices heard and see themselves reflected in leadership positions.

National Equality Objective 6: we will create a Wales with fair and equal opportunities to gain employment and for fair and equal treatment in the workplace, including fair pay and conditions.

National Equality Objective 7: we will create an environmentally sustainable Wales with the capacity to both ensure our journey to net zero is fair and to respond to the inequitable impacts of climate change.

Our NEOs and human rights approach are cross cutting and will require action across all Welsh Government policy areas.  In most cases existing published action plans set out the actions targeting particular areas of work or particular groups of stakeholders where these are most likely to drive change. Delivering these specific plans will contribute towards meeting the collective aims of the NEOs and in turn our Long-Term Aim alongside supporting a human rights approach. The NEOs and this Plan provide an outcome framework under which these plans align. The targeted plans are outlined below. 

Over time, we will continue to review alignment of individual plans and evolve our approach to target action where it can have the greatest impact, with actions and delivery milestones which support our NEOs clearly identified.

Key areas of work with targeted plans, contributing to delivery of the NEOs and focussed on specific protected characteristics or human rights are outlined below.

Disability

The Welsh Government is committed to ensuring equality for all disabled people in Wales and eliminating barriers to inclusion, in line with the ‘Social Model of Disability’ which makes an important distinction between ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’. The Social Model recognises that people with impairments are disabled by barriers that commonly exist in society. These barriers include negative attitudes and physical and organisational barriers which can prevent disabled people’s inclusion and participation in all areas of life. Our Disabled People’s Rights Plan, scheduled for publication in 2025, aims to remove barriers and enhance participation for all disabled people in Wales.

Gender

Welsh Government is determined to address systematic gender inequalities. Our Advancing gender equality: action plan sets out how we intend to achieve this ambition. We maintain progress towards delivery of this plan and are considering a refresh this year to ensure we maintain focused on the most impactful actions to improve outcomes.

Race

Our Anti-racist Wales Action Plan (ArWAP) sets out how Welsh Government intends to collectively, make a measurable difference to the lives of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities by 2030. The 2022 to 2023 ArWAP Annual Report shows that the impact of ArWAP may not yet be as apparent in the lived experience of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities as we would want, but significant structural foundations have been laid for long-term change. The ArWAP was refreshed in 2024. 

Sexual orientation and gender identity

The Welsh Government is committed to Wales becoming the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe. Our LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales sets out how we intend to achieve this by 2026.

Human rights

Through our response to the Strengthening and Advancing Equality and Human rights in Wales research report: Welsh Government response in 2021 we outlined the action we are taking to safeguard and promote equality and human rights of everyone in Wales. This includes actions to undertake preparatory legislative work, develop an integrated human rights impact assessment and develop plans to raise awareness of human rights. We continue to progress these actions, including in relation to our commitment to explore how to embed the UN Conventions on the Rights of Disabled People (UNCRDP) and Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in Wales. 

As well as the actions we are taking as part of the individual plans, we will use the levers (inputs) in our control to drive such change across Welsh Government to advance equality and human rights at every opportunity. Our actions will contribute directly to achieving our NEOs (Outcome) and realising our Human Rights Statement (Outcome). These levers are:

Funding

Delivery of our NEOs is cross-cutting work with all policy areas supporting these efforts. Funding is an important lever that will support delivery. We have reformed our equality and inclusion grant programme, launching new innovation and awareness and engagement funds to best deliver against the aims of this plan. We are considering over the longer term how levers like the budget process, procurement and grants more widely might be further developed to reflect consideration of equality and human rights, and how to pilot approaches making funding more accessible to the third sector. We are also exploring how to further embed gender budgeting approaches.

Governance and leadership

Governance

As an organisation we are strengthening our internal governance processes to improve accountability, aligned with our wider reforms to better support outcomes. 

Leadership

We will recognise and support the work of colleagues leading on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) commitments, enabling them to embed inclusive behaviours and values, driving fairer policy decisions.

Workforce

While we are clear that there remains work to be done, as an organisation, Welsh Government also aspires to fully reflect the diversity of Wales at every level.  The Welsh Government workforce equality, diversity and inclusion strategy: 2021 to 2026 sets out how we intend to achieve this. 

Delivery and legislation

As part of the work on human rights we continue to work with the Legislative Options Working Group to take forward our commitment to explore embedding of United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Disabled People and the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women into Welsh law. 

The Equality Act, 2010 introduced the PSED which says that those subject to the duty must have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
• foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

The aim of the PSED is to ensure that those subject to it consider advancement of equality when carrying out their day-to-day business. This includes shaping policy, delivery of services and in relation to employees.

In Wales, WSED consist of a number of specific statutory requirements for public bodies, including the Welsh Ministers, to follow. These requirements aim to ensure the better performance of the PSED and include setting equality objectives and outlining steps to meet the objectives, conducting engagement, undertaking equality impact assessments, collating employment data, providing annual reports and considering equality as part of procurement activity. Welsh Ministers have an additional requirement to report on the public sector organisations' performance against the Public Sector Equality Duty in Wales.

Consideration of the PSED and WSED will be strengthened through driving improvements in the use of impact assessment. The NEOs will be promoted as a planning framework for future equality delivery plans. A measurement framework will be developed to provide a transparent approach to understanding and sharing progress, providing opportunity to strengthen action as required. 

The Socio-economic Duty (SED)

The Socio-economic Duty requires listed public bodies, including Welsh Ministers, when making decisions of a strategic nature, to give due regard to reducing inequalities of outcome that result from socio-economic disadvantage. Such inequalities of outcome may include for example, educational attainment, health outcomes, capability to enjoy a comfortable standard of living, feeling safe, capability to participate in public life or everyday life and access services. We will develop an approach to ensure that the Socio-economic Duty is fully considered to ensure compliance with the requirements of the SED ensuring decisions are designed to achieve optimal impact in reducing such inequalities.

Impact Assessment and other tools

Work is underway to create an integrated approach to equality and human rights Impact Assessments. We are also exploring a range of different approaches to improve decision-making. We will seek to continuously improve our processes to maximise outcomes, improve consideration of intersectional barriers (i.e. where person faces barriers as a result of a combination of a number of protected characteristics, e.g. being a disabled woman) and better understand and mitigate against negative or unintended impacts.

Embedding

To meet the outcomes of this strategic plan we want to further improve capability within Government. We will deliver communication and training, ensuring that the NEOs are understood, and that all the available levers are effectively used. We will identify and take forward opportunities to integrate equality and human rights into our existing processes and systems. We will show leadership in demonstrating positive behaviours and empowering innovation and ensure our approach is transparent. 

Involvement, engagement and awareness raising

We are exploring opportunities to better work with external stakeholders in taking forward reforms and raising awareness of our work to in turn improve outcomes. Over the period of this plan, this will include reviewing the effectiveness of our stakeholder groups and wider communities of interest in line with the Well-being and Future Generations Act 2015 requirements. We will also build on our existing engagement including events linked to our Anti-racist Wales Action Plan and steps we have taken raise awareness of human rights. 

Collaboration

Currently Welsh Government has a range of different ways it engages with the wider third and public sectors in Wales alongside working with other Governments both nationally and internationally. We continue to meet representatives from stakeholder organisations through distinct equality and human rights forums, including, as an example, the Human Rights Advisory Group. We are reviewing how we might take a more joined-up approach to working with external partners and other Governments and to share learning. This will include reviewing how we make use of existing networks and seeking out opportunities to learn from others.

Evidence

We are developing an approach to better understand progress towards delivery of our NEOs, setting out key outcomes and indicators across specific equality plans that may contribute to delivery of the NEOs and how we report progress. A regular equalities evidence summary will be delivered which collates Welsh Government evidence on a range of equality groups. We are also taking steps to improve how we measure and monitor delivery and outcomes and make use of evaluation across individual plans.

Annual Reports, including biennial Public Sector Equality Duty progress report

We are required under our Welsh Specific Equality Duties to report annually on progress. Each year the Welsh Government will publish an Annual Report on equality and human rights which sets out progress against our work to strengthen and advance equality and human rights in Wales. Progress against the NEOs will be included in future reports. 

Measurement framework to shows how change has occurred

Over time, to support improved outcomes, the measurement frameworks from existing Welsh Government equality and human rights plans will be brought together to show changes against the outcomes of this plan in an overall measurement framework.  Consideration of ‘lived experience’ will remain an important element of our plans, and evaluation approaches, and will be reflected in the overall approach to measurement.

The Human Rights Advisory Group receives regular updates on the progress on delivering the Welsh Government agreed recommendations contained within the Strengthening and Advancing Human Rights Research Report.

Additionally, as required by the United Nations and the Council of Europe, Welsh Government updates on progress (via the UK Government, as State Party) on delivering against compliance with the Human Rights treaties that have been ratified by the UK Government, in respect of matters for which the Welsh Government has devolved competence. Updates are made by both written report and by attendance at the UN examination sessions held in Geneva. The timetables for reporting progress to both the UN and the Council of Europe are set by those organisations and are mandatory.

Progress made against delivery of recommendations made by both the UN and the Council of Europe is also monitored by the EHRC via its online ‘Tracker.’