NEW REPORT WARNS OF CONSEQUENCES OF WELSH GOVERNMENT FAILURE TO DELIVER ON HUMAN RIGHTS PROMISES

“Strengthening human rights is a matter that strikes at the very heart of our democracy and our collective future” – Sioned Williams MS

The Labour Welsh Government has failed to deliver its Programme for Government commitments to incorporate key international human rights treaties into Welsh law, and this could have serious consequences for the people of Wales, a new report has found.

The Cross-Party Group on Human Rights, chaired by Sioned Williams MS, has today (Wednesday 12 November 2025) published a report following an inquiry into the state of human rights in Wales.

The report’s findings, which Ms Williams has called “both sobering and galvanising” shows that despite a decade of recommendations from the UN, Senedd committees, independent research, and civil society, the Welsh Government has not delivered its Programme for Government commitments to incorporate key UN treaties into Welsh law.

The report calls for a Human Rights Wales Act, which it says should be introduced at the earliest opportunity.

Sioned Williams will be taking a debate to the Senedd later today on the importance of strengthening human rights for the people of Wales.

Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru Member of Senedd for South Wales West, said:

“The findings, published in our report, are both sobering and galvanising. They reveal a Wales where human rights are too often promises rather than protections—aspirations rather than guarantees.

“Despite repeated commitments, including those made in the Programme for Government, the Welsh Government has failed to deliver on its promises. Meanwhile, the people of Wales continue to face poverty, inadequate social security, and barriers to accessing healthcare, housing, education, and justice, while discrimination continues to deny the rights of disabled people, women, racialised communities, and children.

“The timing couldn’t be more crucial, as a powerful, coordinated anti-human-rights movement is growing in Wales and across the world, threatening to roll back our hard-won freedoms and rewrite the rules on whose rights, bodies and lives deserve protection. If we want a Wales that values dignity, equality and justice, we must fight for it.”

The report was produced by Professor Simon Hoffman of Swansea University, and Glenn Page of Amnesty Cymru.

Glenn Page, Director, Amnesty International Cymru said:

“It is not enough to say we support human rights; the Welsh Government must protect human rights in law to ensure that now, and in the future, people’s everyday rights are protected and upheld.

“That why Amnesty International Cymru is calling for a Human Rights Wales Bill, because it’s the only way to ensure protections for people’s right to education, health, housing and all the things we need to live with dignity and security.”

Sioned Williams added:

“I want to thank the secretary of the Cross Party group, Professor Simon Hoffman of Swansea University, and Glenn Page of Amnesty Cymru for their work on producing this report and their longstanding dedication to the work of strengthening human rights in Wales.”