6. 4. Statement by the Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee on the Committee's Inquiry into Human Rights

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:41 pm on 14 December 2016.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 3:41, 14 December 2016

I thank Mark Isherwood for those points. What we’re doing today, of course, is launching our inquiry and inviting evidence to come forward. I’m sure a whole host of organisations will raise many matters and I’m sure many of them will be on the ground that Mark Isherwood has set out today because, obviously, these matters are very relevant to human rights here in Wales. So, we look forward to that process and to receiving evidence from, hopefully, a very wide range of organisations and indeed individuals. As I said earlier, I hope Members will play their part in encouraging that feedback.

As far as some of the constitutional matters are concerned, obviously it will not be just the committee that I chair that will be concerned with these matters. As I said earlier, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, I’m sure, will take a keen interest, and the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee similarly, and others, including committees elsewhere in the UK. So, I’m sure that a wealth of work will be taking place and obviously we will, as a committee, take a keen interest in all of that. But we are trying to be both high-level and, at the same time, focused. So, that’s why we’ve set out the three aspects really: to give focus and discipline to this body of work, because it could be very complex and almost all-encompassing. So, it is about the impact on human rights in Wales of withdrawal from the European Union, it is about the UK Government’s decision to repeal the human rights legislation and replace it with a UK Bill of rights, and it is about public perceptions in terms of the relevance of human rights to everyday life in Wales. So, those will be the parameters of the committee’s approach and, within that, as I say, I’m sure we’ll have a very strong feeding in of ideas that we can consider in that context.

As far as asylum seekers and refugees are concerned, that particular inquiry will focus on organisations in Wales and the role they can play in providing support and assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in Wales. When we went to visit some of those organisations that are making that provision in Wales, we met numerous voluntary organisations and members of the community that are doing just that, and that was very informative and obviously we will have further evidence provided in other ways.

I did think the Sanctuary in the Senedd event was very worthwhile. Members of the committee I chair were at that event and indeed spoke at that event, as did Mark Isherwood. Afterwards, it was interesting to meet a number of people representing different organisations that are involved in these areas of activity. So, I think we will take a keen interest in the sanctuary movement in Wales and indeed the steps that they consider appropriate to make Wales the welcoming country that I think we all want to see.