Equalities and Human Rights.
Race equality is the bedrock of the work ROTA does. ROTA fully intends to continue its focus on race in coming years. But we are aware that people within BAME communities may face inequality on one or more of a number of equality issues - as women and/or refugees for example, so we also intend to ensure we are looking at the experience of those within our communities who are further discriminated against in terms of gender, age, refugee status, sexual orientation disability and/or religion and belief. Our work is therefore, enhanced by facilitating HEAR which works on human rights and issues affecting all equality strands and by working in partnership with other organisations with expertise in this area.
ROTA believes that human rights values such as dignity, respect and fairness can offer a holistic understanding of equality.
We sit on various policy boards, forums, networks and steering groups making sure that the needs, contribution and aspirations of third sector organisations and networks working with BAME communities are heard. Through our work we also aim to raise the awareness of the BAME third sector of human rights and how they can be used to promote race equality.
In addition, ROTA has made one of its priorities the regional presence of the newly established Equality and Human Rights Commission, especially in terms of its relationships with the third sector. This has included working in partnership with others to hold events and produce reports as can be seen on the publications webpage’s. As a leading social policy think-tank devoted to issues that affect BAME communities in London we inform our members about the issues facing the Commission and ensure BAME representation in the development of policy. We are also taking a proactive role in the development of the Single Equality Act, which we hope will create a common legal framework that will make the human rights vision of equality a reality for BAME groups.
The Human Rights Dimensions of Social Cohesion Project: is a research and policy project being delivered by ROTA, HEAR and Independent Academic Research Studies. It investigates how legislation, case law, the Government, local authorities and the third sector have used human rights principles to promote social cohesion. In particular the review will pay attention to work carried out where human rights law is not always obvious, but where local projects use human rights based approaches, to protect, maintain and promote community cohesion. This work will help inform the future research and policy programme of the Equality and Human Rights Commission it and will also help with the development of a framework within which the EHRC and government can support the use of human rights as a tool to improve social cohesion.
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