Equality - About Us
Equality and Human Rights comes under the remit of the Department's Equality and Public Safety Directorate and works to cover all areas of the Department's equality, diversity and human rights agenda.
The Branch has lead responsibility for enabling the Department to meet its equality and human rights obligations, including the equality statutory duties set out in Section 75 of the NI Act 1998; and compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998. It promotes equality through various initiatives; plans and coordinates the Department’s programme of policy evaluations; and provides advice on policy-formulation and the review and evaluation of policy to the rest of the Department.
The main functions of the Branch are:
- providing advice and information to the Minister on equality, diversity and human rights;
- providing information, advice and guidance to officials in the rest of the Department on equality, diversity and human rights;
- preparing and reviewing the Department's Equality Scheme (PDF 3635 KB);
- coordinating, implementing and monitoring initiatives to promote equality;
- planning, coordinating and monitoring the HSSPS Region-Wide Screening and Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) Programme;
- chairing and providing secretariat support for the HSSPS strategic steering groups on equality and human rights and,
- in partnership with these strategic steering groups, developing and implementing a strategy and action plan to promote equality, good relations and human rights;
- co-ordinating the Department's commitments under "Lifetime Opportunities"
;the Northern Ireland Anti-poverty and Social Inclusion Strategy
- acting as the central point in considering DHSSPS issues for groups such as Travellers and other minority ethnic groups, and
- ensuring that the Department respects and fosters human rights including complying with the Human Rights Act 1998 and other human rights instruments and social justice in its legislation, policies and procedures.
