The Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty (‘the Duty’) is a document which places a statutory obligation on public bodies to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and protect the human rights of those to whom they provide services and staff when carrying out their daily work. It puts equality and human rights in the mainstream of how public bodies execute their functions. To that end, it has the potential to positively transform how public bodies engage with members of the public, and their own staff.

The Duty has been part of Irish law since 2014, and is set out in Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has a mandate to give guidance to, and encourage, public bodies in developing policies and good practice in relation to human rights and equality.

The Commission has developed this guidance document, Implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, to provide public bodies with information on the Duty, and to suggest practical steps to implement it in their own organisations. It is structured in two parts: part one provides an overview of the Duty, and its context. Part two sets out the three steps that a public body must take to implement the Duty in line with its statutory obligation. These steps identify key actions that an organisation can undertake to assess, address and report on equality and human rights in the context of its purpose and functions.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission have published a document called “Implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty” which explores the three-step approach to implementing the Duty, namely

1. Assess
2. Address
3. Report

A PDF copy of the “Implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Right Duty” is available under “Other Resources” or here.

An information session will take place on Thursday September 19th, from 10am to 12pm in the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, 16-22 Green Street, Dublin 7. For more information, please click here.