Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR)

The Equality Act 2006 which established the Commission for Equality and Human RIghts, gained Royal Assent on 16 February 2006. The CEHR will come into being in October 2007.

On 5 March 2007, Nicola Brewer took up her appointment as the CEHR’s first Chief Executive Officer.

Speaking about her appointment, Nicola Brewer said:

“Big initiatives on equalities and human rights in the UK right now have created a once in a generation opportunity to do something meaningful”.

This body is the first statutory body to protect lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Britain.

The Commission is charged with underlining the importance of equality as the commissions for Racial Equality, Equal Opportunity and Disabled rights currently do.

The CEHR will promote equal opportunities for all and will cover six strands of equality:

• age
• disability
• race
• religion and belief
• gender
• sexual orientation.