Legal Standards on Equality and Non-Discrimination
Purpose
The objective of this project is twofold. The project aims at systematising, modernising and publicising in appropriate formats legal standards related to the protection against discrimination and the promotion of equality. The objective of the first stage of the project is to elaborate and publicise a short document reflecting a moral and professional consensus among human rights experts, entitled Principles on Equality. The objective of the second stage is to develop standards on equality law and policy which can be translated into national legal norms.
Project Description
The project began in June 2007 with an examination of international, regional and national legal standards of protection against discrimination. In December 2007, an Advisory Committee was set up to lead the work on the drafting of the Principles. The committee includes the following members: Barbara Cohen, Discrimination Law Consultant, Vice-Chair of the Discrimination Law Association, London; Andrea Coomber, Senior Lawyer, Equality, Interights, London; Sandra Fredman, Professor in Law and Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford; Sir Bob Hepple, Emeritus Professor of Law, Emeritus Master of Clare College, Cambridge, Chair of the Advisory Committee and ERT’s Board of Trustees; Christopher McCrudden, Professor of Human Rights Law and Fellow and Tutor in Law at Lincoln College, Oxford; Alice Leonard, Independent Legal Expert, Bath; Gay Moon, Special Legal Advisor, Equality and Diversity Forum, London; Colm O’Cinneide, Senior Lecturer in Laws, University College, London; Michael O’Flaherty, Professor of Applied Human Rights and Co-Director of the Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham; and Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director, ERT, London.
An international conference of equality law experts and human rights advocates acted as a catalyst to consolidate the work of the first stage and opened the second stage of the project. The conference took place in April 2008 and achieved its two goals: 1) experts discussed a draft of the Principles on Equality and agreed a process of their finalisation and adoption; 2) experts discussed, in six thematic sessions, emerging and controversial issues relevant to equality and non-discrimination law. These discussions will inform future ERT work in the development of a comprehensive reference document setting out international legal standards of equality and non-discrimination.
To view the conference programme click here.
To view the list of participants click here.
To view the conference report click here.
Law Enforcement Discrimination and Deaths in Custody
Purpose
This two-year project, launched in December 2007, has three main objectives. Firstly, to systematise the existing pool of knowledge on the relationship between deaths in custody and discriminatory policy or conduct by law enforcement bodies. The second objective of the project is to further enhance the global understanding of the nexus between deaths in custody and discrimination. The final objective lies in developing and promoting new advocacy tools that will complement existing prevention and investigatory standards into custodial deaths by adding a distinct, anti-discrimination component. In that regard, the project will help law enforcement and investigatory authorities to fulfil their duty to take all possible steps to prevent discrimination and investigate whether or not discrimination may have played a role in the events leading to the deaths.
Scope
The project covers discrimination on one or more relevant grounds including, sex, race, ethnicity, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth, or other status. The key terms of reference, namely, “custody”, “death”, “law enforcement” and “discrimination” are defined in accordance with the practice of international and regional treaty bodies responsible for the protection against torture. The project is not restricted geographically and encompasses in-depth case studies in a number of countries strategically selected to cover all relevant regions.
Detention of Stateless Persons
Purpose
The goal of this two year project which started in May 2008 is to strengthen the protection of stateless persons who are in any kind of detention or imprisonment due at least in part to their being stateless, and to ensure they can exercise their right to be free from arbitrary detention without discrimination. The focus of the sought improvement in protection is on the limits, length and conditions of detention. UNHCR and others have expressed the view that stateless persons should not be detained only because they are stateless. If detention has no alternative, its maximum length should be specified, based on strict and narrowly defined criteria. However, this principle has not been translated into international or national legal standards and into practice. Progress is hampered by the paucity of information on cases of detention, including prolonged and indefinite detention, of stateless persons. The ERT project has two interrelated objectives. The first objective is to fill the documentation gap that exists regarding the detention of stateless persons around the world. The second objective is to draw upon relevant factual information and develop detailed legal analysis to advocate for improved international and national protection standards against arbitrary detention of stateless people. ERT will develop a set of guidelines in this regard and will publish a comprehensive report. Following its publication, ERT will engage in advocacy to contribute to change.
Scope
The project is global in scope with a focus on those countries which host the greatest number of stateless persons. The project will address the detention and protection needs of de jure and de facto stateless persons, given that a strict distinction between the two categories is difficult to be made in practice, and that individuals from each category have similar protection needs. Research will highlight individual cases, with particular focus on individuals who face indefinite detention, and will provide in-depth analysis of the situation in six or seven case study countries.
The State, Religious Diversity and Healthcare in Europe
Purpose
The purpose of this project which started in June 2008 is to draft a thematic dossier mapping out the problem field on “The State, Religious Diversity and Healthcare in Europe”. The project aims to identify problems, indicate possible solutions and give access to a range of strategies in relation to religious diversity and healthcare in Europe to facilitate and benefit practitioners, policy makers and civil society actors. In respect of religious discrimination in healthcare provision, the project will scan and formulate the state of the play in respect to general healthcare (dietary requirements, clothing, burial ritual, male circumcision, equitable public facilities, organ/tissue donation, blood transfusion, smoking, etc.), sexual and reproductive health (contraception, abortion, infertility treatment, access to information, female genital mutilation, HIV/AIDS, STDs), and mental health. The project will also examine the thematic field from the angle of the healthcare implications of religious observance. The project will be presented in the format of a concept paper, structuring the problem field and briefly setting out the issues, the discourses and the state of existing research.
Scope
For the purposes of the project, religion will not be limited to any specific list of denominations, and will include where appropriate all world religions. Healthcare for the purposes of the project will be given a broad definition to include healthcare in hospitals, prisons, psychiatric facilities, etc, as well as healthcare in relation to bereavement, and general wellbeing such as access to leisure facilities. Healthcare will not be limited to the provision of healthcare in publicly funded organisations or institutions but will also include private institutions. The project will map out all types of religious discrimination, including direct and indirect, harassment, victimisation, incitement and instruction to discriminate, as well as multiple discrimination where religion is one of the grounds. The project will not be limited to direct patient-practitioner relations, but will also cover institutional and practitioner relations with a patient’s family members. Geographically, the project will be restricted to member states of the European Union. It may be possible to undertake similar project work beyond the European Union at a later stage.
In September 2008, a roundtable discussion took place between thematic and country experts from Europe and the United States. The roundtable discussion examined the thematic field from the angle of religious diversity and general healthcare, religious diversity and sexual and reproductive healthcare, religious diversity and mental healthcare and the healthcare implications of religious observance. The discussion will inform a concept paper which will map out and structure the problem field and briefly set out the issues, the discourses and the state of existing research.
To view the conference programme click here.
To view the list of participants click here.