July 28, 2020
Equality Bodies accord high priority in their work to seeking improvement in the situation and experience of Roma and Travellers. They share a particular concern at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Roma and Travellers and how inequality and disadvantage have left these communities ill-equipped to protect themselves from the pandemic.
July 27, 2020
Initially hailed as the 'great equalizer,' the COVID-19 pandemic has, in reality, exposed the depth of institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination and inequality in our societies. The question for Europe now is not if discrimination and exclusion exist but rather how intersectionality serves as a tool to create a fairer, socially just, and more inclusive Europe for everyone.
June 16, 2020
In April 2020, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) published a policy brief, in which it shed light on the crucial issue that can no longer be ignored – the COVID-19 pandemic is reinforcing existing inequalities in our society and the long-term impacts of the health crisis will disproportionately affect women and girls.
June 12, 2020
Society has changed enormously in recent months. The world is under the spell of a pandemic. New manners and customs are appearing, such as no physical contact with others, new ways of greeting each other, social distancing and wearing face masks or alternatives is becoming the norm in public spaces. When it comes to this issue, the WHO is clear: wearing a medical mask can limit the spread of certain respiratory viral diseases, including COVID-19. From a human rights perspective, the latter trend is particularly interesting, especially if we take into account the fact that in some European countries wearing full-face veils in public spaces is prohibited by law and can lead to sanctions (i.e. fines, prison, administrative fines).
June 8, 2020
The events of the last few days, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and following the death of George Floyd, have prompted an amplification of the racial justice movement in the United States that is resonating everywhere in the world, including in Europe. This blogpost aims to give some insight into this movement from a systemic racism point of view, highlighting how this is far from an isolated incident, but a part of a whole system of oppression that needs dismantling.
May 25, 2020
I, as the communications coordinator for the European Disability Forum, have been following the COVID-19 impact since beginning of March. It has not been encouraging. Seeing how governments systematically forgot about persons with disabilities, how little support was given and how much pain and problems that created left me very discouraged. Persons with disabilities have been discriminated, isolated, forgotten and subject to multiple and severe human rights violations since the beginning of this crisis.
May 20, 2020
Equinet’s new interactive tool gives some insight into how National Equality Bodies (NEBs) are responding to the crisis, as well as the current trends which are appearing in its impact on equality across the region.
May 4, 2020
All of this is hard. We are living unprecedented times, but global response to the crisis should address its potential impact on marginalised groups, including LGBTI people, and their access to healthcare and safety at home, as well as to watch out for discriminatory practices and measures.
April 22, 2020
Week after week, COVID-19 reveals uncomfortable realities about the unequal societies we live in. All over the world, we have been urged to stay home, by authorities and through the #stayathome campaign. But one of the most blatant truths that we must face is that, for many women and children, home is the most dangerous place to stay.
January 12, 2021
The Advocate of the Principle of Equality (Equality Body) of the Republic of Slovenia found that considering the absences of an employee when calculating the value […]
September 16, 2020
The living facilities, as well as the sheltered workshops that were co-funded by the EU, perpetuate the segregation and social exclusion of persons with disabilities in Austria. This is in breach not only of the above mentioned Council Directive 2000/78/EC, but also the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Social Pillar and, last but not least, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was ratified by both the European Union and Austria. Read this blog post to find out more.
September 10, 2020
In order to identify how equality bodies could best contribute to developing European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) jurisprudence, the Equinet Equality Law Working Group monitored Article 14 cases to identify those that are directly relevant to equality and non-discrimination and the work of equality bodies. Read their findings in our Compendium
July 29, 2020
Equinet has submitted its first third-party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Franc TOPLAK v. Slovenia and Iztok MRAK v. Slovenia. This is the first time that the Court will decide on the merits of a case regarding the structural problem of physical accessibility to polling stations regarding persons with disabilities, and the positive duties States have to ensure effective accessibility.
May 25, 2020
I, as the communications coordinator for the European Disability Forum, have been following the COVID-19 impact since beginning of March. It has not been encouraging. Seeing how governments systematically forgot about persons with disabilities, how little support was given and how much pain and problems that created left me very discouraged. Persons with disabilities have been discriminated, isolated, forgotten and subject to multiple and severe human rights violations since the beginning of this crisis.
September 27, 2019
The Advocate of the Principle of Equality for the Republic of Slovenia published its annual report for the year 2018. After its second fully operational year as an independent national equality body, the report looks back at the process of establishing the body in accordance with the Slovenian Protection Against Discrimination Act (PADA) and the activities undertaken to address discrimination in the country.
August 7, 2019
On 1 January 2018, the Public Defender of Rights became a monitoring body under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This report summarises the first year of activities in this capacity. The report informs about the topics they dealt with, first findings and also the awareness-raising activities inextricably associated with the role of monitoring bodies.
July 26, 2019
It's summer time and you want to cool down with a trip to the beach. Sounds like an every day occurance in Cyprus, but until recently, it wasn't all that easy for persons with disabilities to do so. The work of the equality body helped to resolve this issue and make the beach more accessible for everyone!
July 9, 2019
Equality
and non-discrimination are deeply embedded in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).