On cover and title page: Equality Act 2010 code of practice

On cover and title page: Equality Act 2010 code of practice

Incorporating HC 1842-i and ii of session 2008-09

Foreword by Robert Bork Janet Smith, well-known philosophy professor and writer, presents a critical look at the meaning of the "right to privacy" that has been so often employed by the Supreme Court in recent times to justify the creation of rights not found in the Constitution by any traditional method of interpreting a legal document. Smith shows how these inventions have led to the legal protection of abortion, assisted suicide, homosexual acts, and more. As Judge Bork says it shows that "morals legislation now seems constitutionally impermissible", and that the counterfeit right to privacy belongs to the genre of the indecipherable and incoherent that no one who wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights would have contemplated.

Independent legal professionals play a key role in the administration of justice and the protection of human rights. Judges, prosecutors and lawyers need access to information on human rights standards laid down in the main international legal instruments and to related jurisprudence developed by universal and regional monitoring bodies. This publication, which includes a manual and a facilitator's guide, seeks to provide a comprehensive core curriculum on international human rights standards for legal professionals. It includes a CD-ROM containing the full electronic text of the manual in pdf format.

The Global Citizenship Commission was convened, under the leadership of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the auspices of NYU’s Global Institute for Advanced Study, to re-examine the spirit and stirring words of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The result – this volume – offers a 21st-century commentary on the original document, furthering the work of human rights and illuminating the ideal of global citizenship. What does it mean for each of us to be members of a global community? Since 1948, the Declaration has stood as a beacon and a standard for a better world. Yet the work of making its ideals real is far from over. Hideous and systemic human rights abuses continue to be perpetrated at an alarming rate around the world. Too many people, particularly those in power, are hostile to human rights or indifferent to their claims. Meanwhile, our global interdependence deepens. Bringing together world leaders and thinkers in the fields of politics, ethics, and philosophy, the Commission set out to develop a common understanding of the meaning of global citizenship – one that arises from basic human rights and empowers every individual in the world. This landmark report affirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and seeks to renew the 1948 enterprise, and the very ideal of the human family, for our day and generation.

This report examines the events leading to the qualified audit opinion on the Equality and Human Rights Commission's 2006-08 accounts and on the continuing weaknesses in the Commission's controls. The Commission took up its new powers, and those of the former Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission (the Legacy Commissions), on 1 October 2007. Serious errors were made in setting up the Commission, not helped by three changes of sponsor department in the months immediately before its launch. The Commission now accepts that it was not ready for business when the doors opened on 1 October 2007 and that its set-up process, which cost £39 million, was flawed and inefficient: it did not have in place sufficient senior staff, a transition strategy, business strategy, organisation design or job descriptions. Skills gaps were filled by bringing back former employees of the CRE as consultants, even though they had all received severance payments. The Treasury, which should have been consulted about these appointments, did not grant approval retrospectively as the Commission could not prove that the re-engagements gave good value for money. This expenditure was therefore deemed irregular and the Comptroller and Auditor General issued a qualified opinion on the Commission's 2006-08 accounts. This is not the way that the Public Accounts Committee expects public bodies to be run. Strong controls need to be in place to ensure that such errors do not recur.

The best country-by-country assessment of human rights. The human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories are put into perspective in Human Rights Watch's signature yearly report. Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken by Human Rights Watch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.