London, 9 March 2011

On 8 March 2011, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe held a hearing on “The Declaration of Principles on Equality and the Activities of the Council of Europe”. The hearing was held as a part of the preparation for a report by Rapporteur Boriss Cilevičs on possible Council of Europe action to promote the Declaration of Principles on Equality in member states.

The Declaration of Principles on Equality was elaborated in 2008 by a group of international human rights and equality experts, under the auspices of The Equal Rights Trust. The Declaration – which consists of 27 principles – expresses the current moral and professional consensus among experts and advocates on the main elements of equality and non-discrimination law and appropriate legal standards.

At the hearing, Dimitrina Petrova, ERT’s Executive Director, presented the Declaration of Principles on Equality to the Committee, focusing on its relationship to existing legal approaches to equality in the Council of Europe and the European Union frameworks, as well as explaining how the Principles could be of use in strengthening the rights to equality and non-discrimination in the member states. The Committee also heard opinions on equality standards from two other experts, Frédéric Edel, Doctor of Law at Ecole nationale d’administration (France) and Michal Gondek, representing the European Commission (DG Justice). The panel presentations were followed by a discussion in which Committee members posed questions, made comments and engaged the experts in an exchange of views.

The hearing was held as a part of the preparation for a report entitled “The Declaration of Principles on Equality and the Activities of the Council of Europe” on possible Council of Europe action to promote the Declaration. The Committee will consider the report and decide on a course of action at one of its future sessions.

The Council of Europe is an international organisation which works towards European integration with a focus on legal standards, human rights, democratic development and the rule of law. It was founded in 1949 and has 47 member states. The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights is a standing sub-committee of the Parliamentary Assembly, one of the Council of Europe’s central institutions which comprises national parliamentarians from each of the member states.

To see the Declaration of Principle on Equality, click here.