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Library
EU Equal Opportunities: Gender Equality and Anti-discrimination
EU Gender Equality
Anti-Discrimination
Organisation active in the field of monitoring and research
Funding Programmes
General data and trends
Useful links
EU Gender Equality
The EU has a long-standing commitment to promoting gender equality, enshrined in the Treaty since 1957. The Community legal framework ensures that women and men are equal before the law. The promotion of gender equality is an important element of the European Union’s external relations and of its development cooperation policies and, in particular, the promotion and protection of women's rights is an integral part of the EU’s human rights policies in third countries. Moreover, equal treatment legislation is a firmly established integral part of the acquis communautaire that countries applying for EU membership have to respect.
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Key documents:
Annual Work Programmes on Gender Equality
The Gender Mainstreaming Method
Gender Equality Legislation and Case Law
Gender Equality framework:
Future Community work towards gender equality will take the form of a comprehensive strategy, which will embrace all Community policies in its efforts to promote gender equality, either by adjusting their policies (pro-active intervention: gender mainstreaming ) and/or by implementing concrete actions designed to improve the situation of women in society (reactive intervention: specific actions).
This integrated approach marks an important change from the previous Community action on equal opportunities for women and men, mainly based on compartmental activities and programmes funded under different specific budget headings. The Framework Strategy on Gender Equality aims at coordinating all the different initiatives and programmes under a single umbrella built around clear assessment criteria, monitoring tools, the setting of benchmarks, gender proofing and evaluation.
For more information go to: Framework Strategy on Gender Equality (2001-2005)
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Anti-Discrimination
In 2000, the European Union introduced a package of measures designed to enforce the right of people everywhere to be treated equally and to strengthen respect for human rights throughout the EU.
The package consisted of two Directives, or EU laws:
• the Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/EC), prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of a person's racial or ethnic origin;
• the Employment Equality Directive (2000/78/EC), prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of a person's religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
These Directives are supported by an action programme, (established by aCouncil Decision — 2000/750/EC). This promotes practical measures to combat the discrimination prohibited by the Directives, for example by making people aware of their rights and obligations and by trying to change attitudes and behaviour. The package supplements related legislation to combat sex discrimination.
Read annual report on Equality and Non-discrimination 2004
In June 2004 the European Commission published a Green Paper on Equality and non-discrimination in an enlarged European Union. This Green Paper takes stock of what the EU has done during the last five years to combat discrimination and to promote equal treatment. It looks at how these initiatives relate to other policy developments at European and international levels. It examines new challenges that have emerged in recent years, including those linked to the enlargement of the EU. It assesses the implications of this changing context for policy development in the field of non-discrimination and equal treatment. Go to Green Paper
Reports and key documents:
Survey on anti-discrimination
The European Year for Equal Opportunities for All has launched a new website and published the results of an EU survey on anti-discrimination. The survey - carried out in preparation for the European Year - reveals that over half of Europeans (51%) think that not enough is being done to fight discrimination in their country and a large majority of respondents also feel that discrimination is widespread (64%). Read full report>>, read summary report>>
European Monitoring Center On Racism and Xenophobia: Annual Report 2006
This report looks at racial discrimination and data on racist violence and crime including also an overview of positive initiatives. Its main findings are that migrants and ethnic minorities remain discriminated against across the EU in employment, education and housing. It highlights that most Member States lack the necessary data to monitor potential socio-economic inequalities between different ethnic/national groups. As a result, some groups may experience discrimination without adequate response from the state. Read more>>
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Organisation active in the field of monitoring and research:
European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia
The European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) was established in June 1997 and is based in Vienna, Austria.The primary task of EUMC is to provide the Community and its Member States with objective, reliable and comparable information and data on racism, xenophobia, islamophobia and anti-Semitism at the European level in order to help the EU and its Member States to establish measures or formulate courses actions against racism and xenophobia.
Go to EUMC website and/or see annual report 2006>
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
ECRI is a mechanism which was established by the first Summit of Heads of State and Government of the member States of the Council of Europe. The decision to establish ECRI is contained in the Vienna Declaration adopted by the first Summit on 9 October 1993. The European Conference against Racism, held in Strasbourg in October 2000, called for the strengthening of ECRI’s action. On 13 June 2002, the Committee of Ministers adopted a new Statute for ECRI, consolidating its role as an independent human rights monitoring body on issues related to racism and racial discrimination.
ECRI's task is to combat racism, xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance at the level of greater Europe and from the perspective of the protection of human rights. ECRI's action covers all necessary measures to combat violence, discrimination and prejudice faced by persons or groups of persons, notably on grounds of 'race', colour, language, religion, nationality and national or ethnic origin.
Go to ECRI website
European Network Against Racism
ENAR, a network of European NGOs working to combat racism in all the EU member states, is a major outcome of the 1997 European Year Against Racism. The establishment of ENAR endorses the recognition by NGOs of the European dimension to the fight against racism. Anti-racist NGOs feel that they have a lot to gain from a network as a forum to share information, and influence policies across the European Union through campaigns.
Go to ENAR website
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Funding programmes
Community Action Programme to combat discrimination 2001-2006
The Action Programme supports activities combating discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Its priorities are: analysis and evaluation, developing the capacity to combat and prevent discrimination, and raising awareness. The Action Programme has three main objectives:
To achieve these objectives, the programme is supporting three strands of activities: 1) Analysis and Evaluation 2) Capacity building and 3) Awareness raising. Read more>>>>
Community Action Programme: work programme 2006
The new work programme for the Community Action Programme to combat discrimination is now available.
Most initiatives are a continuation of those launched in previous years, but there will be several new measures: the new framework strategy on non-discrimination and equal opportunities, and the declaration of 2007 as the European Year of Equal Opportunities for all.
One of the new measures proposed is to extend the training for NGOs and social partners to all 25 EU Member States plus Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. The call for tenders is expected to be published in February 2006. An annual budget of up to EUR 18.77 million is foreseen to fund activities across the EU25. Read programme>>
Community Programme on Gender Equality (2001-2005)
The Programme promotes gender equality, in particular by providing assistance and support for the Community framework strategy. The Programme co-ordinates, supports and finances the implementation of horizontal transnational activities under the fields of intervention of the Community framework strategy on gender equality.
The objectives of the programme are as follows:
- Promote and disseminate the values and practices underlying gender equality
- Improve the understanding of issues related to gender equality, including direct and indirect gender discrimination and multiple discrimination against women, by evaluating the effectiveness of policies and practice through prior analysis, monitoring their implementation and assessing their effects
- Develop the capacity of players to promote gender equality effectively, in particular through support for the exchange of information and good practice and networking at Community level
To see latest calls for proposals click here
Daphne II EU programme to combat violence against children, young people and women
The Daphne II programme runs from 2004 until 2008 with a budget of EUR 50 million. It aims at supporting organisations that develop measures and actions to prevent or to combat all types of violence against children, young people and women and to protect the victims and groups at-risk. Two new calls for proposals have been launched in the framework of Daphne II, for specific projects on the one hand (deadline 18 February 2005) and for projects aiming at the dissemination and the use of existing results on the other (deadline 15 March 2005). The documents related to the calls, as well as the guidelines, will be gradually available in 20 languages by the end of 2004.
For more information click here.
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General data and trends:
Eurostat has carried out a series of European surveys and studies on Gender issues. For more information click here>>
The Ministry for Family, the Eldery, Women and Youth of the Federal Republic of Germany has created a European data bank of women in decision-makaing positions. For more information click here>>
Useful links
EU's website on anti discrimination
This website serves as a source of information on the EU-wide campaign "For Diversity. Against Discrimination." At the same time you will find background information about the measures that have been initiated by the European Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities to combat discrimination. Finally, the website provides an update on current anti-discrimination issues and activities in all of the 25 EU Member States. http://www.stop-discrimination.info/99.0.html
European NGOs fighting discrimination
European Network Against Racism (ENAR) www.enar-eu.org
European Disability Forum (EDF) www.edf-feph.org
International Gay & Lesbian Association – Europe (ILGA-Europe) www.ilga-europe.org
AGE, the Older People’s Platform www.age-platform.org
Social Platform of NGOs www.socialplatform.org
European Blind Union www.euroblind.org
European Union of the Deaf www.eudnet.org
Inclusion Europe www.inclusion-europe.org
Autism Europe www.autismeurope.org
European Roma Information Office www.erionet.org
International organisations
Council of Europe – European Commission against Racism & Intolerance
European Court of Human Rights
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNHCHR – Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
World Conference Against Racism
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
OSCE - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
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© 2004 - European Regeneration Areas Network - Quartiers en Crise
