PART SIX: PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND EQUALITY: OBLIGATIONS TO ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES OF DISCRIMINATION The purpose of the present guide is to provide legislators and advocates with clear, accessible guidance on the development of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation. Its aim is to consolidate and synthesize international legal standards as they relate to the nature, scope and content of such legislation. As demonstrated throughout, the adoption of such laws is essential if States are to comply with their international law obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to non-discrimination. However, while absolutely necessary, the enactment and enforcement of comprehensive anti-discrimination laws is not – in itself – sufficient to fulfil these obligations. Ultimately, the obligation to enact laws is one of means, whereas States’ non-discrimination obligations under international law are fundamentally about outcomes: States have committed not merely to prohibit discrimination, but to eliminate it. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, States commit to “ensure” or “guarantee” the enjoyment of rights without any discrimination, while parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities commit to “eliminate” discrimination. These are obligations of outcome that can only be achieved through a comprehensive programme of action that, in addition to the elimination of discriminatory laws, policies and practices and the enactment and enforcement of laws prohibiting discrimination, requires the adoption and implementation of positive, proactive measures to tackle the root causes of discrimination. Said differently, the adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination law, while essential and obligatory, is one central element of a larger programme of actions that States must take to give effect to the rights to equality and non-discrimination. International human rights law defines positive obligations to combat prejudice, stigma and stereotypes and to modify social and cultural norms that cause or perpetuate discrimination. These obligations are explicitly set out in a number of the international human rights treaties, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and have also been elaborated by the treaty bodies. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, for example, has noted that eliminating discrimination in practice requires States to adopt “the necessary measures to prevent, diminish and eliminate the conditions and attitudes which cause or perpetuate … discrimination”.1225 PART SIX These positive obligations sit in a complex relationship with the duty to enact and implement comprehensive anti-discrimination law. On the one hand, the forms of discrimination prohibited under anti-discrimination laws fall outside the world of attitude, ideology and social norms. As noted in section I.A.2(a) of part two of the present guide, discrimination can be both intentional and unintentional. Thus, while evidence of prejudice, stigma or other bias motive on the part of the discriminating party can be compelling evidence of discrimination, such evidence is not necessary for a finding of discrimination. Even in situations in which it can be demonstrated that discrimination is motivated by prejudice or other feelings of hostility, the law addresses the real-world manifestations of these feelings, focusing on sanctioning and remedying the acts, rather than changing opinions or beliefs. This approach both ensures that the law is appropriately focused on identifying and addressing the harm experienced by victims of discrimination and that it is consistent with the absolute right to freedom of opinion, guaranteed by article 19 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. On the other hand, evidence from various jurisdictions demonstrates that the adoption and effective implementation of comprehensive anti-discrimination law itself contributes positively to challenging prejudice and stereotypes. Done correctly, such laws support and advance these goals, among other things by putting law into the hands of victims, enabling them to take action to pursue justice, and thus to expose discrimination and its causes. The enactment of such laws sends important signals to society at large about the value and importance of non-discrimination and the State’s readiness to address inequality. In establishing the rights that enable victims to challenge discrimination against them, these laws also establish duties that drive changes in behaviour by public and private institutions. Properly implemented and enforced, anti-discrimination laws lead to changes in policies and practices that remove barriers and enable equal participation, thus increasing representation and so challenging prejudices and stereotypes based on ignorance and exclusion. 1225 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 20 (2009), para. 8 (b). 191