Policy paper

Universal Periodic Review: UK response mid-term report 2025 introduction

Published 21 August 2025

Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in the UK – Mid-Term Report 2025 – Introduction

1. The United Kingdom is fully committed to upholding human rights, at home and abroad, and supports and actively participates in the United Nations’ human rights framework, including the Universal Periodic Review process. The UK is pleased to provide this mid-term report that provides an update on our response to the 4th Cycle recommendations and on progress since they were made.

2. Since the conclusion of the 4th Cycle, and following the general election in June 2024, there has been a change in the UK government. This means that, alongside progress more generally on UPR recommendations, new policies have been introduced in some areas, with the revision or discontinuation of policies in others.

3. Key areas of progress and commitments, including within devolved responsibility in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, are highlighted below.

Commitment to the ECHR

4. The Government has made clear that the UK will continue to be a member of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the UN Human Rights Conventions that the UK has signed and ratified. The UK will also keep the ECHR rights in domestic law, respect international law, and work to promote better fulfilment of rights in the UK.

5. Several UPR recommendations concerned the then plans for the Human Rights Act 1998 to be replaced by a ‘Bill of Rights’. Under the previous Government, the then Lord Chancellor informed the House of Commons on 27 June 2023 that the UK would not be proceeding with the Bill of Rights Bill, and it was withdrawn from Parliament.

Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024

6. The UK Government has made clear that it will not be proceeding with the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, and that no one will be relocated under the terms of the UK-Rwanda Treaty that underpinned the partnership. On 30 January 2025, the Home Secretary introduced the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which will repeal the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.

Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023

7. The UK Government has taken the first steps towards fulfilling its commitment to repeal and replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 brought in by the previous Government. This includes laying a Remedial Order in Parliament to remedy the human rights deficiencies in the Act identified by the Northern Ireland courts (removing the ‘conditional immunity’ scheme), and a commitment to introducing primary legislation that will strengthen the powers and independence of the new investigatory body - ensuring it commands public confidence and that human rights obligations are met.

Equality in employment

8. The UK Government last year announced an initial £240m investment to support employment reforms through the ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper, supporting the Government’s ambition to increase the employment rate and grow the economy. Alongside this, the plan to Make Work Pay sets out an ambitious agenda to ensure employment rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and contribute to economic growth. Once implemented, it will represent the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation.

9. The UK Government’s call for evidence which closed on 30 June will help shape the measures included in the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, and it includes consideration of how we make the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority and disabled people. This follows a mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting consultation which closed on 10 June 2025.

Legal aid for migrants

10. The UK Government has undertaken a comprehensive review of civil legal aid and recently consulted on uplifts to housing and debt, and immigration and asylum, legal aid fees which when implemented, would inject an additional £20m into the sector each year. The uplifts would increase the overall spend for immigration and asylum work by 30%.

Digital inclusion

11. The UK Government published a Digital Inclusion Action Plan on 26 February 2025, setting out the first steps towards delivering digital inclusion for everyone across the UK, regardless of their circumstances.

Scottish Government

12. In Scotland, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation)(Scotland) Act 2024 came into force in July 2024, which incorporates the UNCRC into domestic law. The Scottish Government intends to introduce a Human Rights Bill in the next Parliamentary session to give legal effect within its devolved competence to rights contained in the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination on All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, subject to the outcome of the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.

13. In 2018, the Scottish Government recognised the right to social security through the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. In 2025-26, this includes committing a record £6.9 billion in social security benefits and other payments, with £638 million of this relating to seven social security payments that are only available in Scotland. Eradicating child poverty is the top priority of the Scottish Government, and the Scottish Government is committed to meeting the 2030 child poverty targets set through the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.

Welsh Government – Environment

14. Under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, the Welsh Government has set a legal requirement to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The legislation requires interim decadal targets and a series of carbon budgets. The Welsh Government achieved its first carbon budget (2016 – 2020) and is on track to meet its second carbon budget (2021 – 2025).

15. Other legislation and policy positions in Wales include the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Act 2023 which aims to reduce plastic pollution and ban commonly littered single-use plastic products; the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Act 2024, which is designed to enhance air quality and soundscapes, mitigating the effects of air pollution on public health, biodiversity, and economic well-being;  and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (Public Bodies) (Amendment) Regulations 2024, which extends the number of devolved Welsh public bodies that are required to prioritise long-term sustainability and well-being when making decisions, including environmental well-being. These measures are intended to improve environmental quality for all.

Conclusion

16. The UK received 302 recommendations from other UN states during the 2022 Universal Periodic Review. The UK supported 135 of these recommendations and partially supported a further 55. This Report shows that the UK is now able to support 152 recommendations and partially support a further 59.