A/HRC/14/30/Add.3 Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The United Kingdom is also a party to several of the protocols to that Convention, although it is yet to ratify Protocol No. 12 on the prohibition of discrimination. The State has signed the (revised) European Social Charter but is yet to ratify regional instruments strengthening the human rights protection of migrant workers.25 The State is a party to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which it ratified in December 2008. B. The national legal and institutional framework 17. The United Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, comprises England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Westminster Parliament legislates on certain matters that affect the whole of the United Kingdom and some acts of Parliament (including the Human Rights Act of 1998) apply throughout the State. The United Kingdom Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are not part of the territory, but the United Kingdom is responsible for their external affairs.26 18. Migration is managed by both the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Home Office, through the UKBA, is responsible for securing and managing the borders and enforcing immigration and customs regulations. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office manages migration from a foreign affairs perspective, including the management of embassies and consulates worldwide, and works in partnership with the UKBA to achieve common strategic goals in migration governance. 19. The three national human rights institutions in the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland and Scotland) and the four children’s commissioners (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) have widely supported the protection of human rights in the context of migration, as described in section IV below. 20. Within the judiciary, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, a superior tribunal, deals with appeals against decisions made by the Home Office to deport foreign nationals on grounds of national security or for reasons of public interest. The Commission’s procedures allow it to examine all deportation-related evidence, including highly classified material, without jeopardizing the source through unauthorized disclosure.27 With the new reform, the Commission’s decisions may be reviewed by the Upper Tribunal. Immigration law and policy 21. The key legal instrument regulating immigration in the United Kingdom is the Immigration Act 1971. The current legal framework for immigration is complex and includes a wide range of legal instruments yet to be consolidated in a single text, such as the Immigration (Carrier’s Liability) Act 1987; the Immigration Act 1988; the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993; the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996; the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997; the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002; the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004; the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006; the UK Borders Act 2007 and the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009. 25 26 27 GE.10-12095 The European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers, together with the (revised) European Social Charter (arts. 18 and 19 in particular) and the European Convention on Social Security strengthen the protection of migrant workers in Europe. See A/HRC/WG.6/1/GBR/1, paras. 4–5. Ibid., para. 90 7