This declaration guarantees the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The prohibition of discrimination includes not only that by the state but also by any "institution, group of persons, or person." states are bound to take measures "to prevent and eliminate discrimination [...] in all fields of civil, economic, political, social and cultural life." It was adopted by the General Assembly resolution 36/55 of 25 November 1981.

This declaration requires states to protect the existence and identities of minorities. It also calls upon states to encourage the promotion of national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identities. Under Article 2(1) of this declaration, minorities shall have the right to practice their religion, enjoy their culture and use their own language in both public and private settings without any kind of discrimination.

Article 2 of the EC Treaty provides that promotion of equality between men and women is a task of the European Community. Under Article 3(2), the Community should aim to eliminate inequalities and promote equality between men and women.

This protocol provides for a collective complaint mechanism under which certain kinds of organizations specified in Article 1 or national organizations specified in Article 2 of this additional protocol can file complaints against state parties to the protocol for non-compliance with the provisions of the Charter. It may be noted that unlike the European Court of Human Rights, individuals cannot file complaints. The Committee of Independent Experts, who is responsible for examining each complaint and deciding on its merits, considers the complaints.

The European Social Charter of 1961 guarantees several social and economic rights and was intended to complement the European Convention on Human Rights.

Protocol 12 extends the guarantee of non-discrimination in Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights (which is limited to the rights provided for in the Convention) to "any right set forth by law."

The Optional Protocol sets up a mechanism by which individuals can file complaints with the Human Rights Committee against states (which have ratified the optional protocol) for non-compliance with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Notably, the mechanism is available to all "individuals subject to the jurisdiction" of the State party rather than only citizens. It was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966.

This declaration guarantees that disabled persons are entitled to respect for their dignity and that they have civil and political rights as well as rights to economic and social security. Discriminating against disabled people on grounds or situations that apply to them or their families is prohibited. It was adopted by General Assembly resolution 3447 (XXX) of 9 December 1975.

Article 1 of this Convention defines discrimination in education to include acts or omissions that have the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing equality of treatment in education, in particular, (a) the effect of depriving any person or group of persons of access to education of any type or at any level; (b) of limiting any person or group of persons to education of an inferior standard; (c) subject to the provisions of article 2 of this Convention, of establishing or maintaining separate educational systems or institutions for persons or groups of persons; or (d) of inflicting on

This is the PILI case summary of the United Nations Human Rights Committe decision Arenz v. Germany (Communication No. 1138/2002: Germany. 29/04/2004. CCPR/C/80/D/1138/2002).