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Failure of the Indian Supreme Court to Protect the Rights of Dalits

Aishwarya Singh and Meenakshi Ramkumar - 30th September 2019

Access to Justice| Equality and Non-Discrimination

The Indian society is characterised by a caste system, which is a hierarchical social stratification based on descent and occupation. Members of the scheduled castes, also referred to as Dalits face discrimination and violence in Indian society due to their position in the caste system. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act […]

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OxHRH

The CERD Committee on Discrimination Against Non-Citizens

Loureen Sayej - 26th September 2019

Equality and Non-Discrimination

In a previous blog post I explained the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination’s (CERD) first three inter-State communications submitted under Article 11 CERD, specifically that of State of Palestine vs. Israel. Recently,  the CERD Committee, in its 99th session, presented its decision on the jurisdiction and admissibility of two out […]

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The Sustainable Development Goals: “Leaving No-One Behind” Means Recognising the Role of Equality Law

Jim Fitzgerald - 24th September 2019

Equality and Non-Discrimination

This week, states are meeting at the UN General Assembly to review progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among other things, they are considering the outcomes of the latest High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development – which took place in July 2019 under the theme Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness […]

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OxHRH

Direct or Indirect Discrimination: Same Difference?

Marie Spinoy - 19th September 2019

Equality and Non-Discrimination

Should a finding of indirect discrimination be sanctioned in the same way as a finding of direct discrimination? A recent case confronted the Belgian Constitutional Court with precisely this question. It was asked to consider whether an anti-discrimination law according the same legal effects to a finding of direct and of indirect discrimination creates unconstitutional […]

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The Fair Housing Act in the Trump Era: A Proposed Agency Rule Will Seriously Dilute Disparate-Impact Liability

Andrea McArdle - 12th September 2019

Equality and Non-Discrimination

Galvanized by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968, the U.S. Congress adopted the Fair Housing Act (FHA) to outlaw discriminatory practices in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. From the outset, lower courts and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the executive-branch regulatory agency charged with implementing the statute, […]

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OxHRH

The Failure of the Right to Freedom of Religion and Belief?: The Case of Southeast Asia

Nancy Williams - 10th September 2019

Equality and Non-Discrimination

The right to freedom of religion or belief (“freedom of religion”) is protected at the international and regional levels in Southeast Asia. Indonesia and Myanmar also protect the freedom of religion at the national level. However, the freedom of religion has failed in Southeast Asia. Looking at the extreme examples of human rights abuses against […]

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OxHRH

LGBT+ Rights in Northern Ireland

Danielle Roberts - 25th August 2019

Equality and Non-Discrimination

It’s the middle of a busy month for the LGBT+ sector in Northern Ireland, with four Pride festivals taking place across the province. Normally the summer is a bit of a lull when it comes to legislative politics. But July 2019 was different. Some very creative politicking saw amendments added to the Northern Ireland (Executive […]

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OxHRH

Workers of the Fireworks Factory of Santo Antônio de Jesus and their family members vs. Brazil and why we need to talk about socioeconomic gender inequality

Natalia Brigagao - 18th July 2019

Business & Human Rights| Equality and Non-Discrimination| Gender Equality

In 1998, there was an explosion at an irregular, high-risk fireworks factory in the city of Santo Antônio de Jesus, Brazil, which led to 64 deaths and left six people severely injured. Survivors and family members were not offered due access to justice, which led them to report the violations to the Inter-American Commission of […]

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OxHRH

Non-abyssal and Ableist Indian Supreme Court: The Abyssal Exclusion of Persons with Disabilities

Sanjay S. Jain and Saranya Mishra - 3rd July 2019

Equality and Non-Discrimination

The famous critical thinker, Santos, has forcefully argued that critical theorists and social scientists have never acknowledged the existence of an abyssal line. The conception of an abyssal line draws a distinction between “forms of metropolitan sociability and forms of colonial sociability” (Santos, 6). The former can be addressed by non-abyssal instruments of regulations and […]

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Fundamental rights at risk in Kazakhstan: a call for action

Adilya Zhilgildina - 1st July 2019

Equality and Non-Discrimination

The past months’ anti-government protests in Kazakhstan following the controversial renaming of the capital and announcement of early snap elections by the interim president are an alarming indication of its weak legal system. Although Kazakhstan has ratified international human rights treaties, its peaceful assembly legislation falls far short of international standards. In April, two democracy […]

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OxHRH

Religious minorities in Austria lose Good Friday as a public holiday

Diana Niksova - 27th June 2019

Equality and Non-Discrimination

For the first time since 1952, this year, Good Friday on the 19thApril was not a public holiday for employees who are members of the Evangelical Churches of the Augsburg or Helvetic Confessions, the Old Catholic Church or the United Methodist Church in Austria. In response to the CJEU’s judgement (C-193/17), the Austrian legislator has […]

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