Enhancing co-operation between parliaments and equality bodies
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text
adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of
the Assembly, on 22 May 2026 (see Doc. 16400, report of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination,
rapporteur: Ms Tuula Haatainen).
1. Equality
and non-discrimination are cornerstones of democratic societies
and essential elements of the rule of law. Equality is one of the
most sensitive barometers of democracy, and gender equality is a
particularly pertinent indicator. Regressions in women’s rights
may serve as an early warning sign of broader democratic backsliding.
2. National equality bodies, which are established in the vast
majority of Council of Europe member States, are independent institutions
that play a central role in promoting equality and combating discrimination.
They provide assistance and legal support to victims of discrimination
and advise public authorities, including legislators and policy
makers, on the design, implementation and evaluation of equality
policies.
3. The structures, mandates and powers of equality bodies vary
significantly across Council of Europe member States. These bodies
may cover a single ground or multiple grounds of discrimination
and may operate as stand-alone institutions or as part of institutions
that have multiple mandates. Legislation should clearly define the
mandates of equality bodies and create a system that covers all
prohibited grounds of discrimination, including ethnic origin, language,
religion or belief, citizenship, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation
and gender identity or expression, as well as multiple and intersectional
discrimination.
4. The Parliamentary Assembly notes with concern that human rights,
equality and non-discrimination face increasing pressure across
Europe from both domestic and external actors, including foreign
governments and forces opposing equality, such as anti-gender movements.
Public authorities must ensure that national equality bodies are
able to operate independently in this context. The independence
and effectiveness of equality bodies require adequate financial
and human resources, protection from political interference and
a legal framework that guarantees their autonomy.
5. The Assembly strongly believes that co-operation between parliaments
and equality bodies should be strengthened, including by consistently
seeking or accepting the contributions of these bodies in legislative processes
and duly taking their opinions and recommendations into account.
Such co-operation should be clearly defined, structured and based
on transparent and established procedures.
6. Civil society organisations, particularly those active in
equality and non-discrimination, are closely connected to the realities
on the ground and may contribute to the design, implementation and
evaluation of public policies. Public authorities should regularly
engage in dialogue and strengthen co-operation with these organisations.
Ensuring a safe and sustainable environment for their work is essential
to democratic life.
7. Evidence-based policy making depends on access to reliable,
independent and transparent data on equality and non-discrimination.
Council of Europe member States and their national statistical institutes should
step up efforts to ensure that comparable data are collected, processed
and made available at the European level. Co-operation with academic
institutions in this area should also be strengthened.
8. The Assembly is concerned about the risk that digital technologies,
especially artificial intelligence, may be misused, leading to increased
discrimination, hate speech and disinformation. At the same time, technological
advances, when responsibly applied, can support equality, improve
monitoring of discrimination and define policy making.
9. The Assembly welcomes the opening for signature of the Council
of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human
Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225). This landmark convention
establishes common standards to ensure that artificial intelligence
systems are consistent with fundamental rights and democratic principles.
10. In the light of the above, the Assembly calls on member States:
10.1 with regard to equality bodies,
to:
10.1.1 establish, where they do
not yet exist, one or several independent equality bodies with a
clear mandate to promote equality, prevent and combat discrimination
and support diversity and inclusion;
10.1.2 ensure that equality bodies’ mandates cover all relevant
grounds of discrimination, including ethnic origin, language, religion
or belief, citizenship, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation
and gender identity or expression, as well as multiple and intersectional discrimination;
10.1.3 empower equality bodies to assist victims of discrimination,
provide independent advice to public authorities, monitor the implementation
and impact of legislation and policies, and, where appropriate,
facilitate or initiate legal proceedings;
10.1.4 guarantee the independence, autonomy and effectiveness
of equality bodies, including through adequate and sustainable financial
and human resources, as well as protection from political interference;
10.1.5 engage in sustained dialogue with national equality bodies
and take into account their recommendations on legislation, policies,
procedure and programmes;
10.1.6 fully implement General Policy Recommendation No. 2 “Equality
bodies to combat racism and intolerance at national level” of the
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), as revised
in 2017;
10.2 with regard to co-operation with parliaments and public
authorities, to:
10.2.1 strengthen
co-operation between equality bodies and national parliaments, including through
regular exchanges, hearings, reporting mechanisms and systematic
consideration of recommendations of the equality bodies in legislative
and oversight processes;
10.2.2 ensure that governments, parliaments and other public
authorities consult and co-operate with equality bodies, taking
their expertise into account when designing, adopting and evaluating
legislation, policies and programmes;
10.3 with regard to civil society, to:
10.3.1 ensure an enabling environment for civil society organisations
working on equality and non-discrimination, including gender equality
and women’s rights, by safeguarding their freedom of operation and
providing adequate and sustainable support;
10.3.2 promote structured co-operation between public authorities,
equality bodies and civil society organisations in the design, implementation
and evaluation of equality policies;
10.4 with regard to data, monitoring and early warning, to:
10.4.1 ensure the availability of reliable,
comparable and transparent data on equality and non-discrimination,
including by strengthening national statistical institutes and supporting
relevant academic research;
10.4.2 ensure that equality bodies can act as independent “alert
mechanisms” by identifying emerging patterns of discrimination and
communicating risks to public authorities;
10.4.3 consider the establishment of a Europe-wide early warning
mechanism on equality and non-discrimination in order to identify
and respond to risks of backsliding in a timely manner, based on
measurable indicators developed in co-operation with national statistical
institutes and European and international bodies with expertise
in equality and non-discrimination and data collection;
10.5 with regard to artificial intelligence and the digital
environment, to:
10.5.1 sign, ratify
and implement the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence
and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law;
10.5.2 take effective measures to prevent and combat the misuse
of digital technologies and artificial intelligence to spread hate
speech and discrimination;
10.5.3 encourage the responsible development and use of artificial
intelligence as a tool for promoting equality, including in monitoring
discrimination, and for improving access to rights and defining
public policies.
