Diolch, Llywydd. I very much welcome the opportunity today to debate the 'Equality and Human Rights Commission Wales Committee Annual Review 2016-2017'. I very much welcome the EHRC's annual review and reaffirm the Welsh Government's commitment to work with the commission to address the vital issues it highlights. We've already aligned the key objectives of our strategic equality plan for 2016-20 with the seven key equality and human rights challenges identifies in the commission's overarching report, 'Is Wales Fairer?' These seven key challenges highlight where improvements are needed in Wales. Aligning our plan and objectives with the commission's challenges ensures we are taking a targeted, joined-up approach to tackling inequality in Wales.

Our strategic equality plan provides a flexible basis for a wide range of work we're doing across many aspects of equality and human rights. This includes, for example, investing strongly in new and improved sites for Gypsies and Travellers, our new equality and inclusion funding programme, close partnership working to tackle all forms of hate crime and improved levels of reporting, increased support for refugees and asylum seekers with more funding to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. In all of this work and other examples I will mention shortly, we have taken careful note of the EHRC's advice and research. We will continue with this approach both by working with the commission and by listening and responding when they challenge us. 

It is fair to say that this year's annual review covers an unprecedented period for equality and human rights in the UK. the UK's impending exit from the European Union brings with it uncertainty about many things, including the future of important European funding streams. The decades of EU membership have produced a legacy of benefits covering many aspects of daily life in Wales, for example cherished employment rights. We aim to safeguard these benefits to daily life in Wales and we will vigorously oppose any attempt to cut corners and create worse conditions as we leave the EU.

The UK Government's plans to reform human rights are currently on hold until the UK's withdrawal from the EU is finalised. The UK Government has also said it intends to remain a signatory to the European convention on human rights for the duration of this current Parliament. We are very alert to the temporary nature of this statement.

The Welsh Government has said on numerous occasions that we are strongly against any regressive reform of the rights currently enjoyed by the people of Wales. This includes plans to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998. Despite the way it is sometimes caricatured, the Act is an inclusive piece of legislation that protects all our citizens and allows people to challenge inequality and injustice and to hold those in power accountable. This was recently illustrated during the second inquest into the Hillsborough disaster, where families of the victims were able to use the Human Rights Act to seek justice.

Last Sunday was Human Rights Day, which commemorates the day in 1948 when the UN General Assembly adopted the universal declaration of human rights. The declaration was drafted by representatives from all regions of the world and was the first internationally agreed definition of the rights of all people. It was written following the horrific violations of rights during the second world war, and it lay the ground work for the UN treaty system, which the Welsh Government actively participates in. Next year marks the seventieth anniversary of this milestone document, and it's a timely reminder of why we should value human rights and of the importance of promoting and safeguarding the rights of all people.

It continues to be a challenging time for human rights in the UK both at home and abroad. There are sections of the media and some politicians who are intent on fostering suspicion of human rights, even questioning the need for them. In these challenging times, the work of the Equality and Human Rights Commission is as important as it ever has been.

It's been another busy year for the commission. In April, Ruth Coombs was appointed the new head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Wales, and I know that Ruth is here. I'm looking forward to welcoming her to this role and very much looking forward to working with her in the future. I'd also like to take the opportunity to congratulate Kate Bennett, who led the EHRC's work in Wales for many years before her retirement at the end of 2016, on the award of her OBE in the Queen's birthday honours—very richly deserved.

This year, the commission was heavily involved in the UN examination of the UK on the implementation of the convention on the rights of disabled people. We welcome the UN committee's criticism of the UK Government's austerity measures. The chair of the committee went so far as to say that the UK Government policies have led to 'a human catastrophe' for disabled people living in the UK. This criticism comes less than a year since the UN held an inquiry into the UK Government's welfare reforms and cuts to public services. The inquiry concluded that there have been grave and systematic violations of the rights of disabled people in the UK. This is the harsh reality for some disabled people in the UK, and we will continue our efforts to mitigate the impact of austerity measures on some of the most disadvantaged people in Wales.

The UN convention reporting system provides an opportunity to highlight the work of the Welsh Government to promote human rights. We were pleased that the UN committee welcomed the introduction of our Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 in its concluding observations. We acknowledge that there is more to do in Wales to promote disabled people's rights, and we value the feedback from the committee on several areas where there is room for improvement.

We will now consider how to take forward the recommendations of the committee as they apply to Wales. We are also taking into account the EHRC's report 'Being disabled in Britain', which was published in April. Throughout this year, we have been working closely with disabled people across Wales to review our framework for action on independent living, which was published in 2013. I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank all those who've taken part in our engagement events, including the members of the steering group that has overseen the process.

We will shortly be setting out anew how our national strategy will support disabled people in Wales, taking account of the UN convention and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 to provide the basis for a new stronger approach. We will continue to rely heavily on public engagement as we develop our policies, now in the context of 'Prosperity for All'. Our focus on equality across the whole of the Welsh Government and beyond helps to ensure that our national strategy really is inclusive of everyone.

In September, the Welsh Government signed up to the Working Forward pledge, the commission's nationwide campaign to make workplaces the best they can be for pregnant women and new mothers. The commission established the pledge following its research that shows that pregnancy and maternity discrimination and disadvantage at work affect around 390,000 pregnant women and new mothers across Britain each year. The pledge supports the Welsh Government's equality objective to become an exemplar in the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda by 2020.

For the commission itself, it was another year of well-attended events. These included its annual lecture with human rights barrister Adam Wagner and its annual conference, which attracted over 120 people to the Cardiff City stadium. Once again, the commission has released a number of informative and challenging publications over the past year, in addition to the report on disability I've mentioned already. There have been reports on faith-friendly workplaces, reducing pay gaps, and a report called 'Healing the divisions' on protecting equality and human rights after we leave the European Union. These and many others are all available online and I recommend them to all Members.

This year, the EHRC celebrates its 10-year anniversary. The commission held an event at the Senedd last month to mark this milestone and also to formally launch the annual review. I would therefore like to thank the commission not only for its work over the last year but also for a decade of dedication to improving the lives of people in the UK. The commission is an evaluator, an enforcer, an influencer and a catalyst for change. We remain grateful for its guidance and we value its strong and distinct presence here in Wales. Diolch.