Equinet - European network of equality bodies

Ahead of European Parliament elections in 2019, as well as continuous elections happening at local, regional and national level around Europe, Equinet has developed a Recommendation to be considered by political parties, candidates and media outlets (including social media) which focuses on the general principle of equality, prohibition of discrimination, tackling hate speech, addressing sensitive topics and promoting equal representation on electoral lists.

Feel free to share it far and wide.

This Factsheet & Compendium of Promising Practices highlight the necessity to end ethnic profiling by law enforcement in Europe and the essential role of equality bodies in combatting this ineffective practice and promoting fair policing.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals it encompasses reflect an important and ambitious global policy framework for human development. This agenda is to be pursued throughout the period up to 2030 by all national jurisdictions.

Equality and non-discrimination are deeply embedded within this policy framework and its pledge to leave no one behind. Its concern for people involves a determination to “ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment”. Its vision is rooted in “a world of universal respect for human rights and human dignity, the rule of law, justice, equality and non-discrimination".

Discrimination on the ground of age is widespread in European societies and it can affect people at all stages of life, in employment as well as in other spheres. This Equinet Discussion Paper looks at age discrimination from a legal point of view, identifying the trends and themes that have arisen linked to discrimination on the ground of age across Europe.

What are equality bodies? Why do we need them? What challenges do they face? This brochure aims to raise awareness about the role of and challenges faced by equality bodies at national and EU level, but also, on the way they can cooperate and bring added value to the work of stakeholders in their daily work.

The work of Equinet, European network of equality bodies is also outlined. The network promotes equality in Europe by supporting and enabling the work of equality bodies to be independent and effective catalysts for more equal societies.

A useful list of Equinet members and the grounds of discrimination covered per country is also available.

Updated: March 2019

Hate speech and hate crime are growing and damaging phenomena across Europe. This is recognised in the work of the European Commission and of the Council of Europe. European standards for equality bodies recommend that their mandate be extended to include hate speech. Few equality bodies have an explicit mandate on hate speech, many have, however, interpreted their mandate to include hate speech. This situation can leave them lacking the competences and resources required to make an impact.

The Equinet Perspective ’Extending the Agenda. Equality Bodies addressing Hate Speech’ was written by Niall Crowley, with the support of Equinet’s Policy Formation Working Group.

Equality bodies assist victims of discrimination in a wide variety of ways. This calendar highlights some of the work that our members do to promote equal treatment in their respective countries.

This Equinet report has been prepared by the Gender Equality Working Group with the aim to help equality bodies and other institutions to better understand the issues of gender-based discrimination in education. With a foreword by European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourová, the report provides ideas and good practices on how to become active in promoting gender equality and fighting gender-based discrimination in schools.

The series of Equinet’s ’In Focus Briefs’ are short thematic papers, which highlight the work of Equinet and its members, as well as European developments on a given topic.

This one focuses on the issue of work life balance, highlighting the work of equality bodies to support work life balance, what challenges they face and good practice examples. EU level developments on work life balance are also outlined.

This Handbook on strategic litigation was produced by Equinet, the European Network of Equality Bodies to serve as a useful resource for equality bodies and their partners considering to engage in strategic litigation.