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.
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.

History

Equinet builds upon the two-year project "Strengthening the co-operation between specialised bodies for the implementation of equal treatment legislation". The initiative to create a network of equality bodies was taken by the Migration Policy Group, who also acted as Equinet's Secretariat until 2007. 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 under Belgian law.
On 10 October 2017, Equinet held a 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. 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 for equality bodies based in all EU members states and beyond. EU anti-discrimination legislation provides that each Member State shall have 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.

Standards for Equality Bodies

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 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">European Commission against Racism and Intolerance">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.
CountryName of the Equality BodyHomepage
AlbaniaCommissioner for the Protection from Discrimination
AustriaDisability Ombudsman
AustriaOmbud for Equal Treatment
BelgiumUnia
BelgiumInstitute for the Equality of Women and Men
Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina
BulgariaCommission for Protection Against Discrimination
CroatiaOffice of the Ombudsman
CroatiaOmbudsperson for Gender Equality
CroatiaOmbudswoman for Persons with Disabilities
CyprusOffice of the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights
Czech RepublicPublic Defender of Rights
DenmarkBoard of Equal Treatment
DenmarkDanish Institute for Human Rights
EstoniaGender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner
FinlandOmbudsman for Equality
FinlandNon-Discrimination Ombudsman
FranceDefender of Rights
GeorgiaPublic Defender
GermanyFederal Anti-Discrimination Agency
GreeceGreek Ombudsman
HungaryEqual Treatment Authority
HungaryOffice of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights
IrelandIrish Human Rights and Equality Commission
ItalyNational Office against Racial Discrimination - UNAR
Kosovo*Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo
LatviaOffice of the Ombudsman
LithuaniaOffice of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson
LuxembourgCentre for Equal Treatment
MacedoniaCommission for Protection against Discrimination
MaltaNational Commission for the Promotion of Equality
MaltaCommission for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
MoldovaCouncil on Preventing and Eliminating Discrimination and Ensuring Equality
MontenegroProtector of Human Rights and Freedoms
NetherlandsNetherlands Institute for Human Rights
NorwayEquality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud
PolandCommissioner for Human Rights
PortugalHigh Commission for Migration
PortugalCommission for Citizenship and Gender Equality – CIG
PortugalCommission for Equality in Labour and Employment - CITE
RomaniaNational Council for Combating Discrimination
SerbiaCommissioner for the Protection of Equality
SlovakiaNational Centre for Human Rights
SloveniaAdvocate of the Principle of Equality
SpainCouncil for the Elimination of Ethnic or Racial Discrimination
SpainInstitute of Women and for Equal Opportunities
SwedenEquality Ombudsman
UK Equality and Human Rights Commission
UK Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

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. 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.

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.

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:
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.

Financing

Equinet has two key sources of income: