Setting up an Equality Body: Empowerment and Independence

1
Setting up an Equality Body Empowerment and
Independence

• Zagreb 12/6/2007
• Miltos Pavlou
• HLHR-KEMO Director
• RAXEN NFP Greece

2
The Race and Equality Directive (RED)

• The Directive obliges the Member States to create
  a body for the promotion of equal treatment of
  all persons without discrimination on the grounds
  of racial or ethnic origin.
• The RED requires, as a minimum, that the body be
  able to
• Receive individual complaints for discrimination
• Analyse problems and study possible solutions
• Provide independent assistance to victims of
  discrimination,
• conduct independent surveys concerning
  discrimination,
• publish independent reports and
• make recommendations on discrimination issues.

3
Setting up an Equality Body

• A new body or extending the mandate of existing
  ones?
• One or more EBs sharing the mandate?
• One or more EBs sharing the jurisdiction
  (local/regional/national)?
• An EB covering all grounds of discrimination
  (including DIR78/2000 etc.)

4
A new body or extending the mandate of existing
ones?

• Art.43.1 of RED
• 1. Member States shall designate a body or bodies
  for thepromotion of equal treatment of all
  persons without discriminationon the grounds of
  racial or ethnic origin. These bodiesmay form
  part of agencies charged at national level with
  thedefence of human rights or the safeguard of
  individuals' rights.
• Although a number of Member States already had
  bodies for the promotion of equal treatment, most
  of them either created a new body or increased
  the powers of the existing one.
• The RED provides new grounds and legal arsenal
  for intervention, as well as a wider spectrum
  approach of discrimination cases, while offers
  new means for wider impact pro-active, awareness
  and strategic planning intervention and policies.

5
The EB new mandate - Wider and Higher

• In order to promote equal treatment, the Equality
  Bodies may broaden and escalate case
  investigation and mediation either on
• a wider range of social realities and activities
  especially in the relation between the citizen
  and the state or
• to a higher degree of intervention (higher level
  of mediation addressing to high officials of the
  state higher intensity of mediation and
  promotion of equal treatment principle through
  specific case(s) addressing the large public and
  through the media etc.).

6
The EB mandate A new type of action

• In some cases these are new types of action for
  many equality bodies
• The Equality Bodies may actively participate in
  various strategic activities (such as
  sensitization of specific audiences and operator,
  state authorities, law reforms and planning etc.)
• It is questionable if existing HR institutions
  dispose of the capacity, the means and the
  profile to develop their intervention wider and
  higher. Similar question for the Ombudsman for
  Children Rights.

7
One or more EBs sharing the mandate and/or the
jurisdiction?

• Member States which have federal and regional
  governmental structures. If the equality body
  only exists at one of these levels, it may be
  powerless to act on matters falling within the
  other spheres of competence.
• The equality bodies in the Member States include
• Ombudsmen,
• Labour Inspectorates and
• Commissions,
• which sometimes share the tasks set out in the
  Directive.
• For example, in Greece the Labour Inspectorate is
  responsible for the promotion of equal treatment
  in the employment field, while the Ombudsman
  deals with non-employment matters, drafts reports
  and makes recommendations.

8
An EB covering all grounds of discrimination
(including DIR78/2000 etc.)?

• Some Member States (Belgium, Cyprus, Sweden,
  Ireland and the Netherlands) have gone beyond the
  requirements of Directive 2000/43/EC in setting
  up equality bodies that deal with all the grounds
  of discrimination covered by EU
  anti-discrimination law and/or more general human
  rights instruments.
• In some cases civil society and social partners
  (i.e. Nat.Commissions for HR) have indicated that
  applying the RED under more general human rights
  conventions (i.e. ICCPR, or ILO conv.) may lead
  to conflicts with the RED or to controversial
  interpretations of its provisions
  (i.e.citizenship exemption of at.3.2. of the RED).

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Empowerment and Indepence -The Paris Principles
(UN General Assembly 48/134, 1993)

• A national institution with competence to promote
  and protect human rights.
• Provided in a constitutional or legislative text
• Authorized to receive individual complaints and
  petitions.
• Ex-officio power of investigation.
• Submitting to the competent authorities opinions,
  recommendations, proposals and reports, and
  proposing amendments or reforms of the laws,
  regulations and administrative practices.

10

• Composition through a procedure which affords all
  necessary guarantees to ensure the pluralist
  representation of the social forces (of civilian
  society) involved in the protection and promotion
  of human rights.
• In the case of equality bodies, such as an
  Ombudsman institution, pluralism and impartiality
  is guaranteed by appointment through increased
  majority election, usually by the parliament.
• Independence through infrastructure funding
• own staff and premises
• independent of the Government and not be subject
  to financial control
• Appointment of members effected by an official act

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Independence and empowerment through election -
appointment

• Appointment through increased parliamentary
  majority guaranteeing impartiality,
  representation, consensus and accountability.
• Furthermore, the election through such a
  qualified majority (sometimes unanimous)
  guarantees lack of political interference and
  contributes decisively to the empowerment of the
  EB and its effectiveness (in addressing the
  administration or the parties and assure
  compliance with the law and solutions of the
  problems).
• Personal guarantees Irrevocability during the
  mandate, Immunity of persons appointed as head of
  EBs (unless of serious crimes provided by law)

12
Independence and empowerment through composition

• The EB maybe the pluralist representation of the
  social forces (a Commission)
• In others it is headed by one person
• Where the EB is a result of a mandate extension
  of an existing single-headed institution the
  relevant tasks may be trickled-down within the
  general HR body (i.e. assigned to deputies or
  investigators).
• An EB composed by social partners and civil
  society representatives (Commission model) may be
  closer to the parties but lacking in
  effectiveness and coordination, which maybe the
  advantage of a single body headed by an elected
  few-member leadership.

13
Independence and empowerment through staff

• Sufficient number, skills, interdisciplinarity.
• Organizational structure and culture (internal
  communication, standards of operation and conduct
  code), motivation and institutional identity
  building.
• Extrovert in-house training of the staff through
  international networking for sharing of
  experiences, expertise and know-how. (the Eunomia
  case)

14
Independence and empowerment through
infrastructure

• High level of IT and office infrastructure,
  web-internet
• Accessibility of premises, target-group friendly,
  anti-discrimination best practice.
• Financial and human resources allocated to
  equality bodies vary hugely across the Member
  States.
• Advantages/disadvantages of a new single body or
  within an established one.

15
Independence and empowerment through operation
and budget

• Independent operation
• Not subject to control by the government/administr
  ation
• Autonomous not mediated recruitment of staff.
• Staff entirely subject to audit and disciplinary
  control only by the EB leadership (of course
  under the general provisions for public
  officials).
• Issues of procedures for funding (own budget line
  within state budget, no yearly negotiable,
• Who manages the budget and pays the salaries?

16
Independence and empowerment through logistics

• Management and Administration capacity
• Territorial presence and on-site control
  capacity.
• Control of the agencys expenditure effected only
  by the Council of State (for public expenditure).

17
Empowerment and sanctions

• Article 15 of RED
• Sanctions
• Member States shall lay down the rules on
  sanctions applicable to infringements of the
  national provisions adopted pursuant to this
  Directive and shall take all measures necessary
  to ensure that they are applied. The sanctions,
  which may comprise the payment of compensation to
  the victim, must be effective, proportionate and
  dissuasive.
• No sanctions Italy, Netherlands, Greece, Cyprus,
  Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland
• Not severe or frequent sanctions Austria,
  Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia
• Severe or frequent sanctions UK, Sweden,
  Hungary, Romania
• Pro and against sanctions (advantages/disadvantage
  s)

18
Empowerment and independence are the formal
requirements for efficiency

• The success and consolidation of an EB is
  obtained through effectiveness
• - solution of problems (specific complaints,
  cases)
• - improvement of the effective situation of
  persons who may be to discrimination (promotion
  of equal treatment principle)
• An efficient EB socially empowers (through
  defense and through proactive intervention) the
  effective and the potential discrimination
  victims.

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The EBs public role

• Activities which add to raise the EBs public
  profile, therefore empower it in intervening in
  the public sphere and articulate an authoritative
  pro-victim, anti-discrimination effective
  discourse and role.
• Public campaigns
• Hotlines
• Web portals blogs - newsletters
• Training (of employers, employees, public
  officers, social groups vulnerable to
  discrimination)
• Public advocacy and visibility
• forecasting strategic actions and
  institutionalized social dialogue
• The Equality Bodies may actively participate in
  various strategic activities (such as law reforms
  and planning etc.)

20
Substantial empowerment and independence through
effectiveness.

• Closer to the people and to the social partners
  means more efficient problem solving and
  combating discrimination.
• A successful and consolidated EB enjoys further
  substantial empowerment and independence.
• Questions about the EB profile (NGO, independent
  authority, political actor?)

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Thank you for your attention!

• Miltos Pavlou
• HLHR-KEMO Director
• RAXEN NFP Greece