Civil and political rights in Great Britain: submission to the UN

Our reports to the United Nations (UN) look at the state of civil and political rights in Great Britain.

They form part of our work on monitoring the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the international human rights treaty that focuses on the protection of civil and political rights. For further information on the ICCPR, visit our human rights tracker.

The reports include:

• progress the UK and Welsh governments have made in upholding their obligations under ICCPR
• the challenges they face
• recommendations to the UK and Welsh government

Our 2024 report responds to the UN’s list of issues ahead of its examination of the UK, and provides updates since 2020, including information on:

• conditions and treatment in prisons and immigration detention, including overcrowding and difficulty accessing key services
• interference with the right to participating in public life, including the intimidation of parliamentary candidates and the impact of the UK government’s Elections Act 2022, which requires photo ID to vote in UK General Elections
• new restrictions on the right to protest, imposed by the UK government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and Public Order Act 2023

Both reports were submitted to the UN to inform its examination of the UK in 2024. Together, they provide a clear picture of civil and political rights in the UK since 2015.