http://www.edf.org.uk/news/ECDirectivePresidentBarroso240408.doc

24 April 2008

Dear President Barroso,

Commission proposal for new equal treatment directive

I am writing on behalf of the UK Equality and Diversity Forum to express our strong support for the Commission’s Proposal for a combined Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment outside employment in relation to age, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

The Equality and Diversity Forum is the network of UK national organisations committed to progress on age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and broader equality and human rights issues. [i] Since its foundation in 2002 it has promoted dialogue and understanding across the separate equality ‘grounds’ and ensured that the policy debate on proposals for discrimination legislation recognises and takes account of the cross-cutting nature of equality issues. It has played a key role in building consensus and co-operation between equality organisations, many of whom had not previously worked together.

The Equality and Diversity Forum is writing to give strong support for the European Commission’s proposal to introduce ‘new initiatives designed to prevent and combat discrimination outside the labour market – based on gender, religion, belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.’ Our members are both aware of and concerned by the inequality in the levels of protection currently provided by the EC equality directives. So they support the proposal to extend the provisions of the equality directives to the areas of discrimination beyond the labour market where there is currently no protection.

The right to equality is both a universal right and a fundamental principle of Community law. It is proclaimed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Since the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997 the EU has been committed under Article 13 of the Treaty to combating discrimination on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation in all areas within its competence.

The Equality and Diversity Forum considers that effective protection against discrimination outside the field of employment is important to ensure the development of pluralist, democratic and tolerant societies which allow for the full participation and integration of all persons into economic and social life. The continuing inequality and discrimination in the EU causes harm to individuals and to our society generally.

Current EU legislation is incapable of providing an effective response. While all grounds referred to in Article 13 are protected against discrimination in employment and occupation, EU law currently provides no protection against discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation in areas outside employment.

Our members are also concerned about the often hidden problems of multiple, or intersectional, discrimination. EU anti-discrimination law fails to recognise and provide protection for multiple discrimination outside the employment field, except in relation to race and gender.

The Equality and Diversity Forum note the clear Treaty commitment to combat discrimination on six specified grounds. In the light of that commitment there can be no justification for the EU to maintain a system of legislation that maintains disparities in protection between those

grounds. There is no rationale for lesser protection against discrimination and more limited guarantee of equal treatment on certain grounds. Further, we believe that without any binding obligations to meet an EU common standard there is no real incentive for Member States to enact laws providing consistent rights for all grounds.

The present hierarchy and inconsistent system of rights to equal treatment operates against the achievement of the aims of the EU. It has the potential to impede freedom of movement of workers, and of goods; workers may be reluctant to move to countries with fewer enforceable rights, and providers of goods or services may be adversely affected by inconsistent requirements to meet different equality standards in different countries. It works against social cohesion and will limit levels of participation in civil society.

So we consider that there is now a need for a new EC directive prohibiting discrimination outside the field of employment on grounds of disability, age, religion and belief and sexual orientation. To ensure coherence and consistency in EU and national law, this should be a single directive implementing the principle of equal treatment on all of these grounds that applies to all of the areas within the scope of the Race Equality Directive. There are many issues in relation to the directive on which we would welcome engagement, including the importance of limiting exceptions in relation to religion or belief.

The Equality and Diversity Forum considers that a single directive offers major advantages: it would provide maximum clarity for businesses and other providers of goods and services, encouraging early compliance; it would most effectively encompass protection against multiple discrimination; and it would support and strengthen social cohesion.

It would be universally seen as a failure of political will if all the hard work of 2007 as the Year of Equal Opportunities for All did not translate into legislation. The Equality and Diversity Forum, on the basis of the experience of its 36 member organisations, considers that a combined directive is the best solution and that provisions to protect against disability discrimination are an essential element of such a directive. In our view, none of this undermines the importance of protection against disability discrimination, so should for any reason it not be possible to enact a combined directive we would not want to lose the opportunity for making progress on disability discrimination. However, our strong view is that a separate directive does not provide the optimal way forward.

Yours sincerely,
Sarah Spencer, CBE,

Chair, Equality and Diversity Forum

[i] EDF members that are signatories to this letter are: Advice UK; Age Concern England; Board of Deputies of British Jews; British Humanist Association; British Institute of Human Rights; Children’s Rights Alliance for England; Citizens Advice; Discrimination Law Association; End Violence Against Women; Equality Challenge Unit; Fawcett Society; Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism; Help the Aged; Institute for Public Policy Research; JUSTICE; Liberty; Mind; Muslim Council of Britain; National AIDS Trust; Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity; Race On The Agenda; RADAR; Refugee Council; RNID; Runnymede Trust; Scope; Stonewall; The Age and Employment Network; Trades Union Congress; UNISON; Unite the Union (Amicus section); Women's Budget Group; Women's National Commission; Women's Resource Centre.

EDF observer organisations that are signatories to this letter are: Carers UK; Employers’ Forum on Disability; the Equality and Human Rights Commission; Equality South West; and Friends, Families and Travellers.