Sioned Williams says actions of ICE in America increases need for a Wales Human Rights Law

A Human Rights Bill for Wales would check the growing movement that seeks to redraw the boundaries of who deserves dignity and protection” – Sioned Williams MS

Sioned Williams MS is today (Wednesday 11 February) taking a legislative proposal to the Senedd for a Wales Human Rights Bill.

The proposed Bill would embed international human rights in Welsh law so that they are binding on Welsh Ministers and public authorities, which Sioned Williams says is “only way to ensure protections for people’s rights, both now and in the future.”

Citing news from the United States of America, where protestors have been arrested and even killed by ICE agents, Ms Williams warned against a “powerful and co-ordinated movement” which she says is “seeking to weaken human rights protections, to redraw the boundaries of who deserves dignity, and to decide whose lives, bodies, and freedoms are worthy of protection.“

In her proposal to the Senedd, Sioned Williams MS will also allude to examples closer to home, such as those detailed in a recent Welsh Government report, which described the detention and hospitalisation of people with learning disabilities and autistic people as a human rights scandal.

Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru Member of Senedd for South Wales West, and Chair of the Senedd Cross party Group on Human Rights, said:

“It’s not enough to say that human rights are already regarded in Wales, when they’re not enforceable. The Stolen Lives Campaign has shown quite clearly that for too many people with learning disabilities and autistic people, their rights are being breached, right here in Wales. 

“Disabled people continue to face systemic barriers to independent living, education, and healthcare. Women remain disproportionately affected by gender-based violence, poverty, and health inequality. Structural racism continues to shape access to housing, employment, healthcare and justice. Refugees and asylum seekers are unable to exercise even basic rights due to the collapse of legal aid and increasingly hostile systems. These can all be addressed if key international treaties are brought into Welsh law. 

“A Human Rights Bill for Wales would ensure Ministers and public bodies are bound by law to uphold the human rights of civilians, it would improve accountability and crucially, it would make our rights clearer and more accessible.

“Strengthening human rights protections for the people of Wales through incorporation of UN charters was a Welsh Labour Programme for Government commitment which has not been delivered. 

“I will be asking the Senedd something fundamental: to agree on whether we believe human rights in Wales should be real, enforceable protections, or simply aspirations expressed in policy documents and speeches.”