Advocacy Statements

ERT Urges UK Government to Resist Calls for Repeal or Emasculation of Equality Act 2010

London, 7 July 2011

The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has written to David Cameron MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, calling on him not to repeal or emasculate the Equality Act 2010, stating that such a move would both damage the UK’s international reputation and limit the UK’s ability to meet its international law obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to equality and non-discrimination.

The letter comes in response to the inclusion of the Equality Act in the Red Tape Challenge – a consultation on the impact of regulations which are perceived to affect business performance – and focuses on the international dimensions of any decision to repeal or emasculate the Act.

UN Human Rights Council Adopts First Resolution on LGBTI Rights

London, 24 June 2011

On 17 June 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) narrowly adopted a Resolution expressing grave concern about acts of violence and discrimination against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. ERT welcomes this Resolution as an important first step by the HRC in the struggle to combat discrimination and violence against LGBTI persons around the world.

ILO Adopts New Protections for Domestic Workers

London, 22 June 2011 
 
 
On 16 June 2011, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted the Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers (the Convention) and the Recommendation Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers (the Recommendation). The Convention and Recommendation represent an important recognition of the equal employment rights of domestic workers, a group which has been largely omitted from international agreements in the past, who are often not protected by domestic laws from which other workers benefit, and who are, as a result, particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses. 

Syria Grants Nationality to Stateless Kurds

London, 8 April 2011 

The Equal Rights Trust welcomes Syria’s move to grant citizenship to ethnic Kurds who have been stateless for five decades. This is a positive step which if implemented properly will resolve one of the most entrenched cases of statelessness in the world, and allow hundreds of thousands of people to fully enjoy the benefits of citizenship for the first time.

The Government-operated Syrian Arab News Agency reported on 7 April 2011 that President Bashar al-Assad issued Legislative Decree No. 49 (the Decree), securing Syrian nationality for those Kurds registered as “Hasaka foreigners”. The Decree, which is one of a series of measures taken by the President to appease the public, was issued a week after Kurdish protestors joined widespread anti-government demonstrations in Hasaka.

ERT Makes Submission to the UPR on Thailand

London, 16 March 2011

On 14 March 2011, The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) made a stakeholder submission on Thailand to the twelfth session of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The submission focussed on the treatment of Rohingya “boat people” by the Thai authorities since 2008, and urged Thailand to remedy existing human rights violations against the Rohingya and review its policy with regard to the Rohingya in order to uphold its human rights obligations by them.

Equality Act 2010 commences in Britain

Today, the main provisions Equality Act 2010 (the Equality Act) are brought into force by The Equality Act 2010 (Commencement No. 4, Savings, Consequential, Transitional, Transitory and Incidental Provisions and Revocation) Order 2010 (Commencement No. 4 Order). The purpose of the Equality Act is to both strengthen and harmonise existing equality legislation, previously spread across numerous statutes and statutory instruments, into a single comprehensive piece of legislation. Some notable developments coming into force today are:

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