News

Civil Society Coalition Calls for Protection of Rohingya and End to Violence
London, 18 July 2012
 
On 16 July 2012, a coalition of 58 civil society groups - led by The Equal Rights Trust (ERT), the Arakan Project (AP) and Refugees International (RI) - condemned the abuse and violence carried out by state authorities in Myanmar against the Rohingya community for over one month. What began as inter-communal violence between Rohingya and Rakhine, escalated into large-scale state sponsored violence against the Rohingya, following the deployment of the military. The joint statement also charges Bangladesh with flouting international law in its attempts to prevent fleeing Rohingya from reaching safety, and pushing them back into dangerous waters.

Detention Guidelines Available Online
London, 10 July 2012
 
The Equal Rights Trust Guidelines to Protect Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention are now available online. The Guidelines provide detailed guidance on how states should treat stateless persons in the context of immigration detention in order to comply with their obligations under international human rights law, in particular the rights to equality and non-discrimination and the right to be free from arbitrary detention.  
Strasbourg Court Grand Chamber Corrects Chamber Approach to Discrimination

London, 5 July 2012

On 26 June 2012, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) delivered its judgment in the case of Kurić and others v Slovenia. The case had been brought by eight of the roughly 18,000 people who had been left stateless after Slovenia “erased” their names from the civil registry following their failure to claim citizenship in the months after the country’s declaration of independence on 25 June 1991. The Court found that Slovenia had violated Article 8 and Articles 13 and 14 taken in conjunction with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). In respect to Article 14, the Grand Chamber approach departed from the Chamber approach of 2009.

ERT Launches Situation Report on Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh

London, 02 July 2012

Launch of ERT Guidelines to Protect Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention
London, 26 June 2012 
 
The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) cordially invites you to the launch of its Guidelines to Protect Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention (the Guidelines) on 18 July 6.00-8.30pm at Garden Court Chambers, 57-60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LJ. 
Myanmar and Bangladesh Must Protect Stateless Rohingya
The Equal Rights Trust is deeply concerned by the on-going sectarian and ethnically motivated violence that has resulted in an unknown number of deaths, serious injuries and extensive damage to property in the North Rakhine State in Western Myanmar. The violence between the Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya, a stateless minority described by the UN as one of the world’s most persecuted, has continued for over one week. 
Joint Initiative to Address Statelessness in Europe Launched
London, 11 June 2012 
 
The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) is a founding member of the European Network on Statelessness (ENS) - a network of non-governmental organisations, academic initiatives, and individual experts committed to address statelessness in Europe. The Network officially launched on Friday, 8 June 2012, and is open to non-governmental organisations, research centres, academics and other individuals. ERT’s Head of Statelessness and Nationality Projects, Amal de Chickera, is a steering committee member and focal point for law and policy activities of the ENS.

New Legislation Provides for Full Recognition of Self-defined Gender Identity
London, 24 May 2012 
 
On 9 May 2012, the Argentine Senate unanimously passed the Gender Identity Act. The new law has been hailed as the most progressive and liberal in the world. Recognising that a person's subjectively felt and self-defined gender may or may not correspond with the gender assigned at birth, the Law establishes the right to change one's registered gender and name on demand, without requiring any form of medical procedure or hormone therapy as a pre-condition. 
  
ERT Urges Moldova to Re-instate Sexual Orientation and Other Grounds in Draft Equality Law

London, 21 May 2012

The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has urged the government of the Republic of Moldova to call a halt to the process of adopting a draft Law on Equal Opportunities (the Draft Law). In a letter to Moldovan Prime Minister, Vlad Filat, of 17 May, ERT recommended critical amendments to the Draft Law in order to ensure that it is consistent with Moldova’s obligations under international law.

Brazil's Supreme Court Upholds the Use of Affirmative Action in Higher Education

London, 18 May 2012

In two separate recent judgments, Brazil's Supreme Court has ruled on the constitutionality of two higher education affirmative action programmes. The first case (Racial Quotas Case) concerned the use of racial quotas for black, mixed-race and indigenous students in university admissions. The second case (Pro Uni Case) concerned the provision of scholarships to disadvantaged students in private universities. Although Afro-Brazilians make up over 60% of students in primary and secondary education, they are under-represented in higher education, where they make up less than 40% of the student population.

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