The Declaration of Principles on Equality and activities of the Council of Europe

Recommendation 1986 (2011)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 25 November 2011 (see Doc. 12778, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr Cilevičs; and Doc. 12785, opinion of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, rapporteur: Mrs Err).

Thesaurus

1. Referring to its Resolution 1844 (2011) on the Declaration of Principles on Equality and activities of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

1.1 enhance efforts aimed at speeding up the ratification of Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 177) by the member states which have not yet done so;

1.2 disseminate information on good practice in the implementation of policies aimed at combating discrimination and inequalities;

1.3 ensure that the declaration is taken into account in the work of the different Council of Europe bodies and groups of experts dealing with the issues of equality and non-discrimination;

1.4 promote the declaration in its dealings with external actors, and in particular with policy makers from the Council of Europe member states.

2. Moreover, recalling the necessity of harmonising the interpretation and implementation of the rights to equality and to non-discrimination, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

2.1 step up its co-operation with the European Union on the consolidation of standards in combating discrimination and promoting equality;

2.2 pursue its co-operation with other international organisations, in particular the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations and its Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), UN Women and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), with a view to achieving coherent interpretations of the principles of equality and non-discrimination and the implementation of common policies in the field of combating discrimination and inequalities.