Each year, World Refugee Day commemorates the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. On World Refugee Day this year the Equal Rights Trust stands in solidarity with thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled and who continue to flee discrimination and violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar. Today we make an urgent call to the government of Myanmar to address the root causes of this cycle of flight, and for governments of other countries in the region to fulfil their duties to protect the Rohingya and all other refugees within their borders.

Do you know of somebody who has made a significant contribution to combating discrimination or advancing equality, but who has not yet received the credit they deserve? If so, please nominate them for the third annual Bob Hepple Equality Award.

Established by the Equal Rights Trust in memory of the late Professor Sir Bob Hepple QC, champion of equality and non-discrimination, and Chair and then Honorary President of the Trust. The award celebrates those who have dedicated themselves to advancing equality, in particular recognising the achievements of those who promote the comprehensive approach to equality which Bob Hepple promoted, and which drives our work at the Trust. We seek to honour those whose work has not yet received the widespread recognition we feel it deserves.

Today, the Equal Rights Trust in partnership with Mizan for Law publish Shouting Through the Walls: Discriminatory Torture and Ill-Treatment, Case Studies from Jordan, a report which seeks to fill a vital gap in the under-explored relationship between discrimination and torture and ill-treatment and exposes shocking findings on the treatment of two marginalised groups in Jordan.

In February, the Equal Rights Trust and its partners in Serbia, Praxis and the Sandžak Committee for Human Rights and Freedoms launched a project which will protect highly vulnerable persons subject to discrimination and disadvantage. The project builds on the success of our previous work in Serbia which, among other things, developed an equality movement supporting 75 key civil society activists and the local media. Now, we will enhance our call for #EqualityforAll and expand to regions of Serbia where action on non-discrimination is limited.

The Equal Rights Trust exists to advance equality worldwide. We work with civil society, lawyers, journalists, experts and activists in more than 40 countries around the world to combat discrimination and promote equality. We pursue our objectives through advocacy, litigation, development of resources, and movement building.

The Trust is seeking new trustees with relevant skills and expertise to join our Board of Trustees and help us to achieve our objectives. This is an opportunity for those with an interest in combating discrimination to join the organisation at an exciting time in its development.

We would particularly welcome individuals with expertise in the following specific areas, to complement and strengthen the work of our existing Board:

On 20 and 21 December, the Equal Rights Trust launched three new comprehensive reports examining discrimination and inequality in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Published as these three countries mark the 25th year of their independence, the reports provide unprecedented insights into discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnicity, political opinion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and other grounds in states where little has previously been reported on such issues.

Tomorrow on Human Rights Day, we are called on to stand up for somebody else’s rights.

At the Equal Rights Trust, we have been standing up for the rights of others for almost a decade. Now we need you to stand up and support our #Campaign4Equality so we can keep up this work.

It’s #GivingTuesday, the antidote to Black Friday and we are asking you to help us seek justice for victims of discrimination by donating to our #Campaign4Equality. 

Ensuring people can access legal advice and the courts to challenge discrimination is just one of the ways the Equal Rights Trust works to advance equality worldwide.  

Could you donate £10 today to help us to fight discrimination?

On Wednesday 5 October 2016, the Equal Rights Trust launched Justice or Complicity? LGBT Rights and the Russian Courts, the first ever study of the practice of the courts in Russia in cases relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights.