MINELREL-L Archive (11282000-19:04:32-19903)

Fwd: ERRC/MPG/IR Project to Implement European Anti-Discrimination Law


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Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 19:04:31 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Fwd: ERRC/MPG/IR Project to Implement European Anti-Discrimination Law


From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Greek Helsinki Monitor <[email protected]>

Fwd: ERRC/MPG/IR Project to Implement European
Anti-Discrimination Law


Project to Implement European Anti-Discrimination Law
 
A Joint Initiative of the European Roma Rights Center, Interights and
the Migration Policy Group
 
In June 2000, the Council of the European Union adopted Directive
2000/43/EC, "implementing the principle of equal treatment between
persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin" (the "Race Directive"
or "Directive"). The product of a ten-year campaign by Starting Line
Group, a broad network of non-governmental organisations coordinated
by the Migration Policy Group, the Race Directive presents Europe with
an historic opportunity to make a lasting contribution to the struggle
for racial equality.
 
Within three years, all EU member states must conform their
legislation to implement the Directive's principles. Moreover, the
Directive forms part of the "acquis communautaire," the body of law
which all states wishing to join the Union must adopt. Hence, each of
the EU candidate countries will have to enact legislation and educate
their judges, prosecutors and other public officials about the new
legal standards.
 
The role of the NGO community remains crucial also after the adoption
of the Directive. Civil society actors must now ensure its effective
implementation, both in the EU and the candidate countries. Their role
is important in highlighting the significance of the Directive, and
the nature of the legal and institutional changes required; as well as
in capacitating lawyers, other advocates and government officials to
make use of this new legal tool in their anti-discrimination work.
 
Moreover, independent legal and advocacy expertise from the NGO sector
will be needed to ensure that ambiguous and potentially broad-ranging
provisions are applied in a manner most favourable and accessible to
discrimination's victims. Questions are sure to arise concerning,
inter alia, the effectiveness of the sanctions required, the
independence and functions of the government enforcement bodies to be
established, and the scope of "disadvantage" needed to constitute a
prima facie case of discrimination. Absent sustained NGO input, the
Directive's potential to transform anti-discrimination law in Europe
may not be fully realised.
 
In another significant development in the field of
anti-discrimination, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of
Europe on 4 November 2000 opened for signature Protocol No. 12 to the
European Convention on Human Rights ("Protocol No. 12" or "the
Protocol"). It broadens the scope of the Convention's Article 14 on
non-discrimination, which presently prohibits discrimination only in
the enjoyment of the rights already enshrined in the Convention.
Unlike the Race Directive, however, this Protocol will enter into
force only after ten states have ratified it. A major task ahead lies
in convincing Council of Europe member states to make this important
instrument a reality.
 
Given that non-discrimination has become a top priority in the work of
the European Union and the Council of Europe, and in view of the
European preparations for the upcoming United Nations World Conference
against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance (to be held in South Africa in August-September 2001), the
Project to Implement European Anti-Discrimination Law seeks to ensure
the effective implementation of the new regional anti-discrimination
norms at national level.
 
The Project to Implement European Anti-Discrimination Law is a
three-year initiative which starts in January 2001. It covers the 15
EU member states and 11 candidate countries (Turkey and 10 in Central
and Eastern Europe). In close cooperation with local NGOs and
individuals, the Project will focus on three main areas of activities,
each designed to promote the Directive's effective application and the
Protocol's timely entry into force:
 
- Training/capacitation of judges, lawyers, NGO anti-discrimination
advocates, government officials, members of parliament and
representatives of specialised bodies to ensure that key actors
throughout the continent are sufficiently informed about the legal
obligations flowing from the Directive and the Protocol and know how
to creatively make use of it;
 
- Legislative advocacy before individual governments and relevant EU
institutions to ensure that the requirements of the Directive - in a
nut-shell, the adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination
legislation and the establishment of effective enforcement bodies -
are swiftly and adequately complied with, and that Protocol No. 12 to
the ECHR is speedily ratified by at least the minimum ten states
required for its entry into force;
 
- Test litigation before selected constitutional and Supreme Courts,
the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice,
to ensure the adoption in their case-law of the various elements of
the Directive and the Protocol.
 
All three Project components are predicated on high-quality research
to identify the principal legal and institutional needs in each
country. To this end, a detailed analysis of existing legal provisions
and relevant jurisprudence pertaining to racial and other forms of
discrimination in the 26 countries covered by the Project will be
undertaken as a matter of priority in the early stages of the Project.
 
The Project to Implement European Anti-Discrimination Law is a joint
initiative of three partner organisations - the European Roma Rights
Center, Migration Policy Group and Interights. Contact persons for the
Project within each organisation are as follows:
 
- Isabelle Chopin, Programme Director, Migration Policy Group, 
tel.: (32-2) 230 85 12; fax: (32-2) 280 09 25; 
e-mail: [email protected]; 
homepage: http://www.migpolgroup.com
 
- Borislav Petranov, Legal Officer for Central and Eastern Europe, 
Interights, 
tel.: (44-20) 7278 3230; fax: (44-20) 7278 4334; 
e-mail: [email protected]; 
homepage: http://www.interights.org
 
- Veronika Leila Szente, Advocacy Director, European Roma Rights
Center,
tel.: (36-1) 413 2234 or 413 2200; fax: (36-1) 413 2201; 
e-mail: [email protected]; 
homepage: http://www.errc.org
 
The Project received substantial financial support from the Open
Society Institute, enabling activities to start in January 2001.
Additional funds are being sought from other donors, including
national Open Society Foundations in the Central and Eastern European
countries covered by the Project.
 

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