Equinet

Equinet is the European Network of Equality Bodies. It serves as a professional platform for cooperation, capacity building and peer support amongst equality bodies around the legal interpretation and implementation in practice of the EU equal treatment Directives and around the promotion of equality and the elimination of discrimination.[1]

Equinet - the European Network of Equality Bodies

Founded	2007
Type	Not-for-profit
Focus	Anti-discrimination, equality
Location	Brussels, Belgium,
Area served	Europe
Method	Coordinating, Informing policy, Training
Members	49 (2019)
Key people	Anne Gaspard, Executive Director; Tena Šimonović Einwalter, Deputy Ombudswoman, Office of the Ombudswoman, Croatia
Website	www.equineteurope.org

Members of Equinet have been established on the basis of the EU equal treatment Directives and they are empowered to counteract discrimination across the range of grounds including age, disability, gender, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, and sexual orientation.[2]

History

Equinet builds upon the two-year project "Strengthening the co-operation between specialised bodies for the implementation of equal treatment legislation" (2002-2004).[3] The initiative to create a network of equality bodies was taken by the Migration Policy Group,[4] who also acted as Equinet's Secretariat until 2007.[5] Equinet was established as an independent structure in 2007 with the creation of the Equinet Secretariat in Brussels and its registration as a not-for-profit international association (AISBL) under Belgian law.[6]

On 10 October 2017, Equinet held a conference[7] on collaborating together for an equal Europe to mark its 10th anniversary. This was followed by a celebratory gathering in the evening to give us the opportunity to dance to the tune of equality together. A keynote speech was given by Frans Timmermans, First Vice President of the European Commission, and many other dignatories from the field participated.

Mission and Objectives

Equinet promotes equality in Europe by supporting equality bodies to be independent and effective catalysts for more equal societies.[8] Equinet works to:

1. strengthen and support equality bodies to achieve equality for all
2. act as the expert voice of equality bodies to advance equality in Europe
3. sustain a resilient, engaged and innovative network

Approach

Support - Equinet provides capacity-building activities with and for equality body staff, as well as offering support to equality bodies in need of solidarity, including because of undue challenges to their independence or effectiveness.

Networking - Equinet encourages and facilitates knowledge exchange, sharing of good practices and peer-to-peer support among equality bodies, as well as with equality stakeholders at European and international level.

Research & Knowledge Hub - Equinet carries out legal and policy research to inform European policy and legislative developments, and provide relevant knowledge to those interested in equality and non-discrimination in Europe.

Expert Advice - Equinet contributes to the European equality agenda by offering expert advice on equality and non-discrimination policy and legislation, based on the experience of equality bodies.

Promotion – Equinet promotes equality as a European value and seek to advance diversity and solidarity in Europe.

Equinet is an umbrella organisation for European equality bodies and has no mandate to provide any kind of legal assistance to individual victims of discrimination. The organisation however provides contact details (see next section) for equality bodies based in all EU members states and beyond.[9] EU anti-discrimination legislation provides that each Member State shall have (at least) one such equality body with the power to, among other, give independent assistance to victims of discrimination. The equality bodies are specialised authorities whose staff are trained and experienced to handle cases of discrimination.[10]

Standards for Equality Bodies[11]

2018 saw remarkable developments on standards for equality bodies, both at European Commission and Council of Europe level. These standards acknowledge and respond to the full diversity and complexity of equality bodies, with diverse types of mandates, sets of functions and competences and range of grounds covered being addressed.

European Commission: Recommendation on Standards for Equality Bodies

The European Commission adopted a Recommendation on standards for equality bodies[12] in June 2018, in order to ensure the independence and effectiveness of national equality bodies. The Recommendation, a legal act of the Commission, sets minimum standards concerning the mandate of equality bodies; their independence; their effectiveness, including sufficient resources and appropriate powers; and the national institutional architecture for equality.

ECRI: Revised General Policy Recommendation No.2 on Equality bodies to combat racism and intolerance at national level

The Revised GPR No.2, General Policy Recommendation on Equality bodies to combat racism and intolerance at national level, was adopted at ECRI’s 74th plenary meeting in December 2017. It addresses the establishment of equality bodies, the institutional architecture of equality bodies, their functions and competences and their independence, effectiveness and accessibility.

This standard will be implemented as part of the country monitoring by ECRI and the constructive dialogue between ECRI and the Council of Europe member states.

Members

Most Equinet members belong to the European Union, while nine equality bodies come from outside the European Union (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway and Serbia).

• This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

List of Equinet members[2]

Country	Name of the Equality Body	Homepage
Albania	Commissioner for the Protection from Discrimination	www.kmd.al
Austria	Disability Ombudsman	www.behindertenanwalt.gv.at
	Ombud for Equal Treatment	www.gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft.at
Belgium	Unia (Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities)	www.unia.be
	Institute for the Equality of Women and Men	igvm-iefh.belgium.be
Bosnia and Herzegovina	The Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina	www.ombudsmen.gov.ba
Bulgaria	Commission for Protection Against Discrimination	www.kzd-nondiscrimination.com
Croatia	Office of the Ombudsman	www.ombudsman.hr
	Ombudsperson for Gender Equality	www.prs.hr
	Ombudswoman for Persons with Disabilities	www.posi.hr
Cyprus	Office of the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights (Ombudsman)	www.ombudsman.gov.cy
Czech Republic	Public Defender of Rights	www.ochrance.cz
Denmark	Board of Equal Treatment	www.ligebehandlingsnaevnet.dk
	Danish Institute for Human Rights	www.humanrights.dk
Estonia	Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner	www.svv.ee
Finland	Ombudsman for Equality	www.tasa-arvo.fi
	Non-Discrimination Ombudsman	www.syrjinta.fi
France	Defender of Rights	www.defenseurdesdroits.fr
Georgia	Public Defender (Ombudsman)	www.ombudsman.ge
Germany	Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency	www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de
Greece	Greek Ombudsman	www.synigoros.gr
Hungary	Equal Treatment Authority	www.egyenlobanasmod.hu
	Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights	www.ajbh.hu
Ireland	Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission	www.ihrec.ie
Italy	National Office against Racial Discrimination - UNAR	www.unar.it
Kosovo*	Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo	www.oik-rks.org
Latvia	Office of the Ombudsman	www.tiesibsargs.lv
Lithuania	Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson	www.lygybe.lt
Luxembourg	Centre for Equal Treatment	www.cet.lu
Macedonia	Commission for Protection against Discrimination	www.kzd.mk
Malta	National Commission for the Promotion of Equality	www.equality.gov.mt
	Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	www.crpd.org.mt
Moldova	Council on Preventing and Eliminating Discrimination and Ensuring Equality	www.egalitate.md
Montenegro	Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms (Ombudsman)	www.ombudsman.co.me
Netherlands	Netherlands Institute for Human Rights	www.mensenrechten.nl
Norway	Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud	www.ldo.no
Poland	Commissioner for Human Rights	www.rpo.gov.pl
Portugal	High Commission for Migration	www.acm.gov.pt
	Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality – CIG	www.cig.gov.pt
	Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment - CITE	www.cite.gov.pt
Romania	National Council for Combating Discrimination	www.cncd.org.ro
Serbia	Commissioner for the Protection of Equality	www.ravnopravnost.gov.rs
Slovakia	National Centre for Human Rights	www.snslp.sk
Slovenia	Advocate of the Principle of Equality	www.zagovornik.net
Spain	Council for the Elimination of Ethnic or Racial Discrimination	www.igualdadynodiscriminacion.msssi.es
	Institute of Women and for Equal Opportunities	www.inmujer.es
Sweden	Equality Ombudsman	www.do.se
UK (Great Britain)	Equality and Human Rights Commission	www.equalityhumanrights.com
UK (Northern Ireland)	Equality Commission for Northern Ireland	www.equalityni.org

Organizational Structure

Governance

General Assembly of Members

The main decisions concerning the general direction of Equinet are taken by the General Assembly of Members. This assembly is made up of all the members of the network and is convened at least once a year for an annual general meeting (AGM). The General Assembly has the power to approve new members and, following a nomination process by members, to vote for representatives on the Executive Board etc.[13]

Executive Board

Management and administration of the network is delegated to the Executive Board. The Board is also responsible for the preparation and implementation of the AGM’s decisions. Executive Board Members, the advisor to the Board and the treasurer receive no salary for their input.[14]

Working Groups

Working groups are composed of staff from member organisations and led by a moderator. Working groups are the main medium for the sharing of expertise between different equality bodies. There were five Equinet Working Groups in 2019:[15]

• Equality Law in Practice – supporting equality bodies in their legal work
• Gender Equality – supporting the effective promotion of gender equality and the combat against gender discrimination by equality bodies
• Communication Strategies and Practices – supporting equality bodies in their communication work
• Policy Formation – supporting a dialogue on the learning from the work of equality bodies
• Research and Data Collection - supporting the use and collection of data on complaints

The Secretariat

The Secretariat reports to the Executive Board and implements the annual work plan of the organisation. It is responsible for the daily activities of the network and assists individual members with their requests. It assists and coordinates the work of the Working Groups. There are 6 employees working at the Equinet secretariat.[16]

Financing

Equinet has two key sources of income:[17]

• Grant of the European Commission under Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union[18]
• Membership fees

References

1. Equinet. "Strategic Plan 2015-2018" (PDF). Retrieved 21 October 2015.
2. "European Directory of Equality Bodies". Retrieved 3 January 2019.
3. Gunda Werner Institute. "Institutions Of The EU Commission And Parliament". Retrieved 8 November 2012.
4. Migration Policy Group. "Migration Policy Group". Retrieved 25 March 2015.
5. Migration Policy Group. "Project: Equality bodies". Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
6. European Commission. "EU action against discrimination Activity report 2007-08" (PDF). Retrieved 8 November 2012.
7. "Conference: Together for an Equal Europe". www.equineteurope.org. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
8. Equinet. "Strategic Plan 2019-2022". Retrieved 3 January 2019.
9. AGE. "Factsheet on Equinet" (PDF). Retrieved 8 November 2012.
10. ENAR - European Network Against Racism. "What you can do if you are a victim of racial/ethnic discrimination". Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
11. "Standards for Equality Bodies". www.equineteurope.org. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
12. "Network of experts in the field of anti-discrimination". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
13. Equinet Annual Report 2013. 2014, p. 16."Annual Report 2013" (PDF). Retrieved 25 March 2015.
14. Equinet Annual Report 2013, p. 16
15. Equinet Working Groups."Equinet Working Groups". Retrieved 3 January 2019.
16. Equinet Secretariat. "Equinet Secretariat". Retrieved 25 March 2015.
17. Equinet Webpage
18. European Commission. "Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union". Retrieved 25 March 2015.