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A coalition of trans and human rights groups has called for the UK’s top human rights regulator to be downgraded over what they say are “deeply disturbing” actions surrounding its trans guidance.
The set of six organisations brought a formal challenge calling for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to lose its ‘A-status’ accreditation over what they described as an “obsessive campaign to strip trans people of our basic rights.”
In a set of submissions to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), LGBTQ+ and human rights organisations TransActual, Amnesty International, Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, the Equality Network, Scottish Trans, and the Trans Advocacy & Complaints Collective (TACC) called for an immediate investigation into the regulator, which they said is “not fit for purpose.”
Earlier this month, the EHRC was accused of trying to ‘bully‘ the government into rushing out legislation based on its updated guidance on gendered facility provision.
The revisions, if implemented, would ban trans people from facilities, including toilets and changing rooms, consistent with their gender identity.
Losing its ‘A-status’ accreditation would massively undermine the EHRC’s authority both in the UK and internationally.
It wouldn’t be an unprecedented move. GANHRI has previously recommended downgrading NHRIs in Egypt and Iraq over Paris Principles violations.
In a statement to PinkNews, an EHRC spokesperson said: “We’re confident that we remain fully compliant with the Paris Principles and were pleased to have this confirmed by the SCA only last year, when we retained our ‘A’ status as a National Human Rights Institution.
Source: Major human rights groups call for EHRC to be downgraded over ‘deeply disturbing’ actions