News

Croatia violates Article 14 ECHR by Withholding Privileges from Some Religious Communities

London, 14 December 2010

On 9 December 2010, the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Savez crkava Rijec zivota and Others v Croatia (application no. 7798/08) found a violation of Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) in conjunction with Article 9 (freedom of religion) in circumstances where the Government of Croatia failed to provide an objective and reasonable justification for its less favourable treatment of some religious communities within Croatia. Importantly, the Court did not find a violation of Article 9 alone, thus underscoring the separate value of Article 14 to human rights protection under the ECHR.  

ERT Recognises Human Rights Defenders Who Combat Discrimination

London, Friday, 10 December 2010

Today is International Human Rights Day. The rights to equality and non-discrimination are central to the human rights system, and their protection has a positive impact on all other human rights. Consequently, today’s appeal by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to everyone to stand by human rights defenders who act to end discrimination is most welcome.

Strasbourg Court Says Russia's Banning of Gay Marches Violates Article 14

London, 25 November 2010

On 21 October 2010, the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Alekseyev v Russia (application nos. 4916/07, 25924/08 and 14599/09) found that freedom of peaceful assembly should be guaranteed without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, irrespective of the moral and religious beliefs of the majority of society. The Court held that the banning of gay pride marches due to the anticipated violent reactions and threat to public order could not be justified as necessary in a democratic society and was therefore a violation of both Articles 11 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.  

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.

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