COMMISSION FOR EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

That this House deplores the call by the Chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights for a change in the law to allow discrimination on the basis of race and gender; believes that only certain races and one gender would benefit from this policy, which would undermine the principle of equal opportunities; notes that this is completely contradictory to the Commission's own stated purpose `to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people and protect human rights'; and believes that the best way to effect the Commission's stated aims would be simply to award jobs on the basis of merit, irrespective of the race or gender of the person applying for the job.