Advocacy Statements

Missed Opportunity to Analyse Stereotyping under Article 14 ECHR

London, 22 March 2012
 
On 15 March 2012, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) delivered its judgment in Aksu v Turkey. The case concerned publications alleged to be offensive and discriminatory against the Roma. The Court found that Turkey had not breached the Convention in relation to the publications. One disappointing aspect of the judgment was the Court’s decision not to consider the case under Article 14 of the Convention (non-discrimination), but to re-characterise it as a purely privacy case. By doing so, the Court has missed the opportunity to generate principles on stereotyping, and on weighing non-discrimination against other Convention rights.

ERT Welcomes Convictions in Stephen Lawrence Murder Case

London, 6 January 2012

On 3 January 2012 two men, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were found guilty of the racially-motivated murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence (R v Dobson & Norris). The murder, described by the head of the judiciary of England and Wales as a crime “which scarred the conscience of the nation”, occurred in April 1993. Yet police failings in investigating the crime meant that until 2012, no one had been brought to justice. ERT welcomes the convictions, which mark the latest stage in a chain of events which have fundamentally changed the landscape of race relations in Britain.

Discrimination against a Person on the Basis of Gender Non-Conformity Constitutes Sex Discrimination

London, 19 December 2011

On 6 December 2011, the United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit delivered its judgment in Glenn v Brumby, No. 10-14833, 10-15015. The case concerned the dismissal of a transgender employee by Georgia General Assembly's Office of Legislative Counsel. Glenn claimed that her dismissal constituted sex discrimination, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

ERT Notes Steps Taken Around the World Recognising the Gender Identity of Gender Variant Persons

The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) notes an emerging trend of states taking an increasingly flexible approach towards official recognition of a person’s gender identity. This represents a shift towards greater understanding of the complexity of gender identity and better accommodation of gender variant persons’ needs. 

This year has seen moves by various states which indicate, to varying degrees, a growing acceptance of the need to move away from the biological assessment and/or categorisation of gender, towards a situation in which the self-defined gender identity of gender variant persons is reflected in official documentation.

Argentina

Resolution and Recommendation on the Declaration of Principles on Equality Adopted by PACE Committee

On 25 November 2011, the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a Resolution and a Recommendation on “The Declaration of Principles on Equality and the Activities of the Council of Europe” at its meeting in Edinburgh, UK, welcoming and endorsing the Declaration.  
  
The Resolution, for the adoption of which a simple majority was necessary, and the Recommendation, which required a qualified majority of two thirds, were voted on during the session of the Standing Committee under the UK Chairmanship of the Council of Europe in Edinburgh. The Standing Committee acts on behalf of PACE when the latter is not in session, and its Resolutions and Recommendations have identical legal status with those of the full assembly. 
  

ERT Urges Commonwealth Heads of Government to Repeal Legislation that Criminalises Same-Sex Sexual Conduct

London, 14 October 2011 

In advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting later this month, The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has called on the Commonwealth Heads of Government to take immediate steps to repeal legislation that criminalises same-sex sexual conduct. ERT urges the Heads of Government to establish a Ministerial Action Group to address the issue of laws criminalising same-sex sexual conduct and advise states on the legal implications of retaining such laws, and to include a commitment to tackling laws criminalising same-sex sexual conduct in the final communiqué of the 2011 meeting.

ERT Impact through the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

London, 12 September 2011
 
At its 79th Session (8 August - 2 September 2011), the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (the Committee) considered the state report of the Republic of Kenya. The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) submitted information to the Committee in the form of a parallel report which urged the Committee to recommend a number of specific legislative and policy actions to increase protection for racial and ethnic equality. ERT welcomes the decision of the Committee to adopt a number of these recommendations in its Concluding Observations.   

Committee Incorporates ERT Recommendation on Need for Comprehensive Equality Legislation

London, 7 August 2011

At its 52nd session (9 to 27 July 2012), the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women considered the state report of Jamaica. The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) submitted a parallel report focused on the country’s obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to non-discrimination under Article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. ERT welcomes the decision of the Committee to incorporate all but one of its principal recommendations in its Concluding Observations. 

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