UK – Major Events – Timeline
UK – Major Events – Timeline
Link | Description |
|---|---|
| 1969: UK Event – UK Government Ratifies – International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) | The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) was signed by the UK in 1966 and ratified in 1969. |
| 1999: UK Event – The Macpherson Report (UK) | In 1999 a significant inquiry exploring matters arising from the death of Stephen Lawrence identifed lessons to be learned for the investigation and prosecution of racially motivated crimes. The term institutional racism was brought into prominance as a result of this inquiry. The inquiry report is commonly referred to as the Macpherson Report |
| 2003: UK Event – The Victoria Climbie Inquiry: Report of an Inquiry by Lord Laming | The Victoria Climbié Inquiry was an independent inquiry into the events leading up to the death of Victoria Climbié, an eight-year-old child who died in hospital in February 2000 of injuries sustained after months of abuse. |
| 2010: UK Event – The Equality Act 2010 | The Equality Act 2010 consolidated the previous legislation around preventing discrimination and improving equality of opportunity and good relations. The Act applies to both the private and public sectors; however, there are additional provisions for the public sector, and guidance has been published by the UK Home Office Equalities Unit. The previous legislation on ethnicity included the Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000), which amended the earlier Race Relations Act 1976. |
| 2017: UK Event – Lammy Review: Final Report (UK) | The Lammy Review is an independent review into the treatment of, and outcomes for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the criminal justice system (Lammy, 2017) |
| 2017: UK Event – Launch of the Ethnicity Facts and Figures Website (UK) | The UK's Ethnicity Facts and Figures website was launched in October 2017. It was created to provide a central resource for government data on how people from different ethnic backgrounds experience public services. The website aims to increase awareness of disparities in outcomes and experiences between ethnic groups, stimulating debate and action to reduce these differences. |
| 2017: UK Event – Race in the Workplace: The McGregor-Smith Review (UK) | This independent review sets out recommendations for employers in the public and private sectors to improve diversity within their organisations. The government response is published alongside the report (McGregor-Smith, 2017) |
| 2019/07: UK Event – United Nations – Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance | At the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance visited the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 30 April to 11 May 2018 to assess the authorities’ efforts in eliminating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The Special Rapporteur expresses her appreciation to the Government of the United Kingdom for its invitation and cooperation in coordinating the visit. |
| 2020: UK Event – Disparities in the Risk and Outcomes of COVID-19 (UK) | An analysis of survival among confirmed COVID-19 cases shows that, after accounting for the effect of sex, age, deprivation and region, people of Bangladeshi ethnicity had around twice the risk of death when compared to people of White British ethnicity. People of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Other Asian, Black Caribbean and Other Black ethnicity had between 10 and 50% higher risk of death when compared to White British (Public Health England, 2020) |
| 2020: UK Event – Windrush Lessons Learned Review by Wendy Williams (UK) | The Home Office established the Windrush Lessons Learned Review on 2 May 2018. The review is asked to “identify the key lessons for the Home Office going forward”. Issues identified in the report relate to all three of those levels in the Home Office. The review’s task was to investigate: the key legislative, policy and operational decisions that led to members of the Windrush generation becoming entangled in measures designed for illegal immigrants; what other factors played a part; why these issues were not identified sooner; what lessons the organisation can learn to ensure it does things differently in future; whether corrective measures are now in place and, if so, an assessment of their initial impact; what (if any) further recommendations should be made for the future (Williams, 2020). |
| 2021: UK Event – Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Report (UK) | The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Report (UK) led by Tony Sewell attempted to lay the ground for a country built on the full participation and trust of all communities. The Scottish Human Rights Commission shares the concerns of many that the recent Report from the UK Government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities does not accord with the experiences of many people from black and minority ethnic communities in Scotland, nor the available data. We know from our work that black and minority ethnic people across Scotland face many barriers, including systemic racism, to their human rights, including in areas such as health, social care, housing and employment. |
| 2021: UK Event – NHS – Race and Health Observatory | NHS Race & Health Observatory (UK) an independent expert body, established by the NHS to identify and tackle inequalities experienced in health and healthcare by Black and minority ethnic patients, communities and the workforce. |
| 2022: UK Event – Inquiry into Racial Injustice in Maternity Care (UK) | In May 2022, Birthrights published "Systemic Racism, not Broken Bodies," a report detailing the findings of a year-long inquiry into racial injustice in UK maternity care. The inquiry, overseen by an expert panel, included over 300 Black, Brown, and mixed-ethnicity women and birthing people who shared their experiences. The report revealed that systemic racism within maternity services, from individual interactions to policies, deeply impacts the basic rights of these women during pregnancy and childbirth. |
| 2022: UK Event – Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review Child Q (UK) | The Child Q inquiry arose when the Child Q scandal in 2022 brought the topic of strip searching children and young people under public scrutiny, particularly the failures in decision-making by the officers involved and of applying practice within policy guidelines. Child Q, a 15-year-old girl, was strip-searched after she was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis at school. The search was conducted despite officers having the knowledge that Child Q was menstruating and without another adult present. |
| 2022: UK Event – UK Government – Inclusive Britain strategy (UK) | The Inclusive Britain strategy sets out 70 actions to tackle racial disparities, boost opportunity and promote fairness. |
| 2022: UK Event – United Nations – Fourth Universal Periodic Review: National State Report | The UK welcomes the 4th UPR of its human rights record. The UPR is a constructive process for States to learn from and to help each other in protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. The UK remains fully committed to the UPR and the UN treaty reporting system as well as to promoting human rights internationally. Since the last UPR dialogue in May 2017, the UK has submitted reports and responses to the relevant UN Treaty Committees as follows: its response to the List of Issues under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, its 7th Periodic Report under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights along with its updated Common Core Document, and its One-Year on Report under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (2020) |
| 2025: UK Government – Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill (UK) | The 2025 UK Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill aims to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers (250+ employees) and strengthen the right to equal pay for ethnic minority and disabled people. The government conducted consultations on these proposals in March-June 2025 to gather evidence and views, which will help shape the final version of the Bill, expected to be published later in the parliamentary session. |
| 2025: UK Government – The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (UK) | A Bill to make provision about border security; to make provision about immigration and asylum; to make provision about sharing customs data and trailer registration data; to make provision about articles for use in serious crime; to make provision about serious crime prevention orders; to make provision about fees paid in connection with the recognition, comparability or assessment of qualifications; and for connected purposes. |
| 2025: UK SPL – Planning and Infrastructure Bill | A Bill to make provision about infrastructure; to make provision about town and country planning; to make provision for a scheme, administered by Natural England, for a nature restoration levy payable by developers; to make provision about development corporations; to make provision about the compulsory purchase of land; to make provision about environmental outcomes reports; and for connected purposes. |
