News

International Human Rights and Refugee Law Norms Disregarded in Regressive Japanese Judgement

London, 12 November 2010

On 29 October 2010, The Tokyo District Court, 38th Civil Division upheld the decisions of the Japanese Ministry of Justice and the Japanese Immigration Bureau to refuse the granting of refugee status to 18 Rohingya applicants and to issue them with deportation orders to Burma. The Court revoked the decisions of the Japanese Ministry of Justice and the Japanese Immigration Bureau with regard to two other Rohingya applicants. This is the first case the Equal Rights Trust has come across, of a court of law in a democratic country ordering the deportation of Rohingya to Burma.

ERT contributes to OSCE Review Conference on Tolerance and Non-discrimination

Monday 11 October 2010

Dr Petrova presented an overview of issues of hate crime against migrants and intolerant anti-immigration discourses in the OSCE area from the perspective of equality and human rights. 

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:

Leading Experts Discuss ERT's Report"Unravelling Anomaly"
Geneva, 29 September 2010
On Wednesday 29 September, The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) and the International Commission of Jurists co-hosted an expert panel discussion on the human rights of stateless persons, informed by the findings of ERT’s ground-breaking report Unravelling Anomaly: Detention, Discrimination and the Protection Needs of Stateless Persons, which takes an innovative approach to the problem of statelessness combining first-hand field research from across the globe with in-depth legal analysis.
Indian Visa Policy Discriminates on Grounds of Race

London, 14 September 2010

The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has written to the Prime Minister of India and the Indian External Affairs Minister to urge a change to the country’s visa and immigration policy, which discriminates against UK citizens of Pakistani origin.

Deportation of Roma Immigrants by French Authorities is Illegal

London, 9 September 2010

The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) calls on the government of France to adhere to the European Parliament Resolution dated 9 September 2010 and immediately halt the process of “voluntary deportation” of Roma immigrants residing in the country. ERT - also concerned by the news that the Italian authorities too have resumed dismantling Roma camps - calls on the European Commission to adopt a Roma strategy which would ensure equal rights for the Roma in a manner which respects them as European citizens.

New Issue of The Equal Rights Review Published by ERT
Today, The Equal Rights Trust published Volume Five of The Equal Rights Review (ERR), an interdisciplinary biannual journal intended as a forum for the exchange of legal, philosophical, sociological and other ideas and practical insights for those who are promoting equality. This volume also contains a special section on Kenya.
The volume is available in print as well as online.
Proposition 8 Thrown Out by Californian Court

On 4 August 2010, the Californian District Court, in the case of Perry, Stier, Katami and Zarrillo v. Schwarzenegger, Brown, Horton, Scott, O’Connell and Logan, (2010) C09-2292 VRW, held that Proposition 8, an amendment to the California State Constitution providing that marriage is valid only between heterosexual persons, was unconstitutional.

Slovenia Held to Account for Practice of "Erasure" by European Court

ERT Launches "Unravelling Anomaly: Detention, Discrimination and the Protection Needs of Stateless Persons"
Today, The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) launches its report “Unravelling Anomaly: Detention, Discrimination and the Protection Needs of Stateless Persons”. The report, which is the result of two years of research, reflection and debate, is ERT’s contribution to a growing body of expertise on statelessness. 

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