“All
human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” states
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet discrimination is
a major problem in Europe.
A major human rights struggle
There are cases of children with disabilities who are not given
a real chance to ordinary schooling; of immigrants who are not employed
because of their foreign names; of women who receive lower salaries
because of their gender; of homosexuals who are harassed because
of their sexual orientation; of Roma who are not given protection
against mob violence and of Muslims who do not get a permit to build
a mosque. The struggle for human rights is largely about preventing
discrimination.
The European Convention on Human Rights states that all its
provisions shall be secured “without discrimination on any ground
such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, association with a national
minority, property, birth or other status” (article 14). This is
important, but the protection against discrimination is limited
to those rights covered by the Convention. Therefore Protocol No.
12 has been adopted to secure the equal enjoyment of any right in
the law and to prohibit discrimination by any public authority.
All countries should ratify this Protocol to achieve same standards
of equal treatment across Europe.
Establishing anti-discrimination legislation, however, is not
enough. Governments should also take positive promotional measures
to alter existing negative stereotypes. The current European Year
of Equal Opportunities for All urges countries to attain equal treatment
while recognising the diversity of their citizens. The Commissioner
also supports the European Youth Campaign
“All different – All
equal” and the Dosta campaign
to fight prejudices towards Roma.
During country visits, the Commissioner evaluates the effectiveness
of national non-discrimination norms. Non-governmental organisations
representing groups of people who are discriminated against are
important contact points for assessing the extent of discrimination.
In addition to courts, victims of discrimination can often turn
to ombudspersons and low-threshold complaints bodies to be heard.
Eliminating all forms of discrimination is a constant task for realising
equality for everybody.
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