Governments' Commitments to Ensuring the Human Right to Freedom from Discrimination
What commitments have governments made to ensuring the realization of the Human Right to Freedom from Discrimination?
Includes commitments made at:
the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, the World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, and excerpts from the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities.
"Respect for human rights ... without distinction of any kind is a fundamental rule of international human rights law. The speedy and comprehensive elimination of all forms of racism and racial discrimination ... and related intolerance is a priority task for the international community.... The full and equal participation of women in political, civil, economic, social and cultural life ... and the eradication of all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex are priority objectives of the international community.... The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the obligation of States to ensure that persons belonging to minorities may exercise fully and effectively all human rights ... without any discrimination.... The persons belonging to minorities have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion and to use their own language ... freely and without ... any form of discrimination.... Special attention needs to be paid to ensuring non-discrimination, and the equal enjoyment of all human rights ... by disabled persons, including their active participation in all aspects of society...." --Vienna Declaration, Part I, paras. 15, 18, 19, and 22
"We commit ourselves to promoting social integration by fostering societies that are stable, safe and just and that are based on ... non-discrimination, tolerance, respect for diversity, equality of opportunity, ... and participation of all people.... To this end ... we will ... Formulate or strengthen policies and strategies geared to the elimination of discrimination in all its forms and the achievement of social integration based on equality and respect for human dignity.... Promote access for all to education, information, technology ... as essential means for enhancing ... participation in civil, political, economic, social and cultural life.... Recognize and respect cultural, ethnic and religious diversity, promote and protect the rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, and take measures to facilitate their full participation in all aspects ... of their societies.... We commit ourselves to promoting full respect for human dignity and to achieving equality and equity between women and men.... We will...ensure gender balance in decision-making.... Promote...equal access of women to ... education and training, and remove all obstacles to their access to credit and other productive resources...; Ensure ... universal access to the widest range of health-care services.... Remove the remaining restrictions on women's right to own land, inherit property ... and ensure women's equal right to work...." --Copenhagen Declaration, Commitments 4 and 5
"Eliminating discrimination and promoting tolerance and mutual respect for ... diversity ... requires ... Enacting and implementing appropriate laws ... to combat racism, racial discrimination, religious intolerance in all its various forms, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination in all walks of life in societies.... Taking specific measures ... to remove long-standing legal and social barriers to employment, education, productive resources and public services; assist women in becoming aware of and realizing their rights; and ensure the elimination of intra-family discrimination for the girl child, especially in regard to health, nutrition and education.... Governments should promote equality and social justice by: Ensuring that all people are equal before the law; Carrying out a regular review of public policy, including health and education policies, and public spending from a social and gender equality and equity perspective...; Expanding and improving access to basic services with the aim of ensuring universal coverage...; Promoting full access to preventive and curative health care to improve the quality of life, especially by the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, in particular women and children...." --Copenhagen Programme of Action, paras. 73 and 74
"We are determined to ... take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and the girl-child and remove all obstacles to gender equality and the advancement and empowerment of women.... We are determined to ... intensify efforts to ensure equal enjoyment of all human rights ... for all ... girls who face multiple barriers to their empowerment and advancement because of such factors as their race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, or disability, or because they are indigenous people...." --Beijing Declaration, paras. 24 and 32
"Actions to be taken: ... Restructure ... public expenditures to promote women's economic opportunities and ... basic social, educational and health needs of women....; Undertake ... reforms to give women ... equal access to economic resources, including ... inheritance and ... ownership of land .., credit.... Enact ... legislation to guarantee ... rights of women and men to equal pay for equal work.... Give priority to promoting and protecting the full and equal enjoyment by women and men of all human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origins, property, birth or other status." --Beijing Platform for Action, paras. 58, 61, 165, and 232
"As human beings are at the centre of our concern for sustainable development, they are the basis for our actions in implementing the Habitat Agenda.... We shall intensify our efforts to eradicate ... discrimination, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all...." --Istanbul Declaration, para. 7
"Equitable human settlements are those in which all people, without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, have equal access to housing, infrastructure, health services, adequate food and water, education.... We ... commit ourselves to ... Eradicating and ensuring legal protection from discrimination in access to shelter and basic services, without distinction of any kind...." --Habitat Agenda, paras. 27 and 40
"States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories.... Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities ... have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language ... freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.... Persons belonging to minorities may exercise their rights ... individually as well as in community with other members of their group, without any discrimination.... States shall ... ensure that persons belonging to minorities may exercise fully and effectively all their human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination and in full equality before the law...." --Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities,Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4
"No one shall be subject to discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons, or person on the grounds of religion or other belief.... All States shall take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights ... in all fields of civil, economic, political, social and cultural life...." --Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Articles 2 and 4
For more information, please contact PDHRE
The People's Movement for Human Rights Education (PDHRE) / NY Office Shulamith Koenig / Executive Director 526 West 111th Street, New York, NY 10025 tel: 212.749-3156; fax: 212.666-6325; e-mail: