Welcome to the Campaign    
The launch of the Declaration of Principles on Equality, on 21 October 2008 in London, marked the beginning of a campaign for its universal recognition. The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) is seeking the widest possible dissemination of the Declaration and is calling for endorsements from individuals and organisations who want to publicly state their recognition of the Principles set out in the Declaration.

Click here to read and endorse the Declaration.

How can the Declaration help you?
The Declaration should be a useful tool in combating discrimination in the broadest range of activities, from raising awareness about the right to equality to setting in place laws that will effectively protect from discrimination and promote equality. For example: make a reference to the Declaration when reporting about acts or practices that are in breach of the Principles; invoke the Declaration when formulating a complaint in a public interest litigation case; appeal to the Parliament to be guided by the Declaration’s principles when drafting a comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation; call on the government to abide by the principles when drafting and implementing any policies relevant to equality.

How you can help
In addition to signing the Declaration you may also wish to join the Equal Rights Trust in disseminating it. Please use the “Email this” facility at the bottom of this page or send a link to this page to any individual or organisation concerned with human rights or equality as well as individuals and organisations representing or supporting a discriminated group.

You could also write an article about the Declaration for your local paper, or write about it on your blog, or take other appropriate steps to make the Declaration known to the people who should know about it: both the victims of discrimination and those who have the duty to protect them.

Should you wish to translate the Declaration into another language, it is recommended that you first contact ERT at info@equalrightstrust.org to avoid unnecessary duplication. To check translations of the Declaration that are already available please click here.

Everyone is free to post the text of the Declaration on their website or to disseminate it by other means. Please note that the only condition for translation, reproduction, storage or transmission of this document is that the source, The Equal Rights Trust, is mentioned and that reproduction is not for commercial purposes.

Remember to send ERT a copy
ERT would like to receive notification of any electronic posting and a copy of any printed reproduction of the Declaration as well as an electronic copy of any translation, which should be available for sharing with others free of charge.

Send us your news
ERT would also appreciate receiving information on any steps taken, no matter how small, to disseminate and publicise the Declaration as well as any reactions to the Declaration from authorities, including judicial bodies, if a reference to the Declaration was made in the course of litigation. We will make this information available together with other news about the Campaign on this website. Please send all information to info@equalrightstrust.org, or use the “Feedback” function at the bottom of the page.     

For other language versions of the Declaration click here.

Campaign News

11/12/2008 - Center for Legal Resources (CLR) publishes Romanian translation of the Declaration
The CLR endorses the Declaration on Human Rights Day. To read the CLR press release in Romanian click here. To read the Declaration of Principles on Equality in Romanian click here.

19/11/2008 - Media coverage of the Declaration since its launch on 21 October 2008
To read articles published in the world press about the Declaration, please click here.

02/11/2008 - New translations of the Declaration of Principles on Equality   
In November 2008, in Sofia, the Bulgarian translation of the Declaration of Principles on Equality was published by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) in the Human Rights in Focus, an electronic bulletin. To read the BHC editorial in Bulgarian click here. To read the Declaration of Principles on Equality in Bulgarian click here.

30/10/08 – Statements by Declaration Signatories
Many of the human rights and equality law experts and advocates who endorsed the Declaration of Principles on Equality have stated that they find this document a useful and timely tool for promoting equality around the world.
More

21/10/08 - Sir Bob Hepple QC calls for a universal recognition of the Declaration of Principles on Equality
At the launch of the Declaration of Principles on Equality, Sir Bob Hepple, QC, Chair of the Equal Rights Trust, said: "Nations must act now to ensure that everyone – regardless of wealth, ethnicity, sex or religion – has the same rights and that these rights are enshrined in laws at the time they are made."
More

21/10/ 08 - Experts Urge New Era of Global Human Rights and Equality Amidst Economic Turmoil
More than 120 of the world’s leading human rights and equality experts are today calling for the most radical re-think of equal rights in two generations as global economic turmoil holds nations in its grip.
More