United Nations

Under Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, each State Party “undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”.

Article 26 adds that “the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”.

State Parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination pledged to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and promote understanding among all races. Racial discrimination is defined as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life”. The State Parties shall avoid any act or practice of racial discrimination, ensure that public authorities also withhold from such acts and review, amend or nullify any laws or regulations that create or perpetuate racial discrimination.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted in 1979, condemns discrimination against women in all its forms, agrees to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women. The Convention identifies discrimination against women as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field”.

Council of Europe

The European Convention on Human Rights establishes that “the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention 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). Protocol No. 12 to the Convention went further by declaring that “the enjoyment of any right set forth by law 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”.

The European Social Charter (Revised) guarantees fundamental social and economic rights of individuals in their daily lives without discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national extraction or social origin, health, association with a national minority, birth or other status.

The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, whose aim is to protect the existence of national minorities, sets out principles relating to people belonging to national minorities in the sphere of public life, such as freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and access to the media, as well as in the sphere of freedoms relating to language, education, transfrontier co-operation, and so on.

The Council of Europe also works on awareness-raising and campaigning through different initiatives, often led by young people and by children and youth organisations. The All Different – All Equal youth campaign against racism, antisemitism, xenophobia and intolerance was the first Europe-wide campaign to sensitise and take action against racism and discrimination. Similarly, the No Hate Speech Movement youth campaign mobilised young people against hate speech and for human rights online. ‘Dosta’, a Romany word meaning ‘enough’, is the name of an ongoing campaign dealing with discrimination against the Roma and aims at bringing non-Roma closer to Roma citizens. A child-friendly version was developed with the participation of children.

European Union

According to Article 21.1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, “any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation, shall be prohibited”.

The EU has several anti-discrimination Directives, most notably:

• The Racial Equality Directive ensures equal treatment between people, irrespective of racial or ethnic origin.
• The Employment Equality Framework Directive prohibits discrimination in the workplace on grounds of disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and age.
• The equality of men and women are provided for in two Directives, one in matters of employment and occupation, the other in the access to and supply of goods and services.

The EU legislation also requires that each member state has a designated national equality body which can be contacted for advice and support.

Education against racism – France
“You have to explain to children that we are not born racist. We become racist, because racism is a cultural thing. I mean that throughout history we have always been shut into hierarchies linked to the colour of our skin, and so hierarchies are there in all of us and we have to question them in order to overcome them.” Lilian Thuram
The Thuram Foundation was set up by the football player Lilian Thuram. The activities of the Foundation include workshops in primary and secondary schools as well as in universities in France and abroad. Every year, the Foundation organises a national competition (Nous autres) where groups of children are invited to submit artistic creations – e.g. films, drawings, songs, poems – deconstructing racism and discrimination.