Amnesty International UK works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

As a global movement of over ten million people, Amnesty International is the world’s largest grassroots human rights organisation.

We investigate and expose abuses, educate and mobilise the public, and help transform societies to create a safer, more just world. We received the Nobel Peace Prize for our life-saving work. Amnesty International UK is a dual entity comprising of two organisations, the Amnesty International UK Section and the Amnesty International UK Charitable Trust who work together in a close partnership to deliver our human rights aims.

Dara is a Policy and Legal Officer with the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), an independent, non-governmental human rights organisation, based in Belfast, that promotes justice and protects rights. Dara also co-ordinates the Equality Coalition, an umbrella group of over 100 organisations that aims to advance equality in Northern Ireland.

Carole Ewart is the Director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland (CFoIS), Since 2017, CFoIS has convened the Scottish Public Information Forum to build stakeholder engagement on access to information rights and duties.  Carole is also a public policy and human rights consultant working with organisations primarily in the not for profit sector. 

Equality Network has a breadth of experience supporting and representing the interests of LGBTQIA+ people in Scotland. We are a national organisation working on LGBTQIA+ equality and human rights and  have achieved real and lasting change for the community in Scotland.

We recently coordinated and submitted a shadow report to the UN Committee on ICESCR, and attended the review in person. We are keen to explore the follow up of the concluding observations as part of the steering group.

The Human Rights Consortium Cymru works with voluntary sector and civil society organisations in Wales to:

• increase their voice and influence in policy, legislation, and practice in Wales relating to human rights;
• provide increased capacity to work together and achieve change in relation to human rights in Wales;
• build capacity in voluntary sector organisations to understand, use, and influence human rights in Wales;
• coordinate work around human rights in Wales; collaborate with devolved nations human rights consortia and networks;
• and work with UK human rights networks and organisations.

We believe that these aims link well with the ESCR steering group and we can add value and drive forward work at the UK level, from a devolved perspective.

The Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS) is Scotland’s civil society human rights network and has 230 civil society/NGO members and 250 individual members. HRCS is independent of Government and is dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights. Our mission is to bring together organisations and campaigners to work for the incorporation of international human rights standards into Scottish law and policy, to ensure delivery of human rights and accountability and develop accessible and informative resources. HRCS plays a vital role in amplifying marginalised voices and ensuring human rights are at the core of decision-making.

Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that monitors the human rights situation in more than 100 countries around the world. Human Rights Watch investigates human rights abuses, documents and exposes them, and advocates for change, partnering with large and small organizations. In recent years, Human Rights Watch has dedicated considerable resources to reporting on social and economic rights issues in the United Kingdom. Kartik Raj is senior researcher in the Europe and Central Asia Division, and focuses on the human rights dimensions of poverty and inequality in the region.

Chloë is the Director of Participation and the Practice Rights, a community organising human rights NGO based in Belfast dedicated to supporting the most marginalised communities to use human rights based approaches to realise their social and economic rights. Before that Chloë worked at the Scottish Human Rights Commission in both participation and policy roles.

René Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights, is named after the French-Jewish co-author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Our mission is to promote and protect the universal rights of all people, drawing on Jewish experience and values.