London, 9 April 2008

On Thursday 3 April 2008, Ecuador became the twentieth country to ratify the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This ratification means that the Convention along with its Optional Protocol, permitting individual communications to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, will enter into force on 3 May 2008.

The Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 December 2006 and has, to date, 126 signatories. As explained by the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:

London, 27 February 2008

On 26 February 2008, The Equal Rights Trust again urged Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, to ensure that the police does not abuse its powers to discriminate against certain civil society groups and opposition party activists.  Discriminatory treatment in relation to freedoms protected by international law also violates the victims’ right to participate on equal terms with all other voters in Malaysia in the parliamentary elections set for 8 March 2008.

London, 14 December 2007

Today, The Equal Rights Trust urged Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi, the Prime Minister of Malaysia , to immediately release from detention P. Uthayakumar, M. Manoharan, R. Kenghadharan, V. Ganabatirau and T. Vasanthakumar; and to ensure that everyone, without distinction of any kind, including ethnic origin and political or other opinion, is effectively protected from arbitrary arrest and charges for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. 

London, 15 November 2007  

In support of the Global Day of Action to protest against the state of emergency in Pakistan, The Equal Rights Trust urged President Musarraf today to order the immediate release of all those arbitrarily arrested and detained, following the introduction of the state of emergency on 3 November 2007, to reinstate dismissed judges, to lift all imposed restrictions on the media and take all other necessary measures to return Pakistan to its constitutional rule.

Amnesty International and The Equal Rights Trust call on the Slovenian government to withdraw the draft Constitutional Law, presented to parliament on 30 October, which is intended to resolve the status of the “erased” – people unlawfully removed from the registry of permanent residents in 1992. 

IN THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Makuc and Others v. Slovenia (Application No. 26828/06)

WRITTEN COMMENTS OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS TRUST

I. Introduction

1. The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) respectfully submits written comments by permission of the President of the Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court)(1)  in accordance with Article 36(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Equal Rights Trust and International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights: Joint statement to the OSCE 2007 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting

Warsaw, 25 September 2007

Central Asian OSCE participating States fail in protection against discrimination

Dear Mr Phillips,

The Equal Rights Trust welcomes the establishment of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The need for a central independent and influential organisation to provide guidance and authority on non-discrimination and human rights has long been recognised in Britain.