PART SIX: PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND EQUALITY: OBLIGATIONS TO ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES OF DISCRIMINATION and gender stereotypes in perpetuating discrimination against women,1239 as have other treaty bodies. The role of homophobia and transphobia in driving prejudice, discrimination and discriminatory violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons has received increasingly urgent attention, including through the creation of a dedicated independent expert.1240 More recently, concepts such as ableism and structural ageism (see text boxes in the present section) are increasingly gaining traction. While each of these phenomena is different, with particular causes and manifestations, they each describe social norms that cause, fuel or exacerbate discrimination and thus addressing each of them falls within the scope of the obligation to eliminate discrimination. STRUCTURAL AGEISM According to the Global Report on Ageism, ageism refers to the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) directed towards people on the basis of their age.1241 Studies have found that ageism is widespread in institutions, laws and policies around the world.1242 The authors of the Global Report on Ageism found that one in two people are ageist against older persons, while in Europe one in three people reported having been a target of ageism. Despite its scale, ageism remains largely unknown and is often considered more acceptable than other forms of prejudice.1243 In a recent study, OHCHR demonstrates that, although ageism is a driver for many human rights violations, “thus far the international human rights system has failed to provide an explicit binding prohibition of this form of conduct or to provide an effective remedy for it”.1244 OHCHR also argues that “understanding how ageism structures and leads to disadvantage is central to responding to human rights violations against older persons” and recommends the elaboration of explicit obligations in a new United Nations convention.1245 Ageism can intersect and interact with other forms of stereotypes and prejudice, such as ableism, sexism and racism. The Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, for example, has noted that discrimination in older age is not “the mere result of ableist biases” and that ageism was “a distinct form of oppression that affects older persons, including older persons with disabilities”.1246 1239 See, for example, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 36 (2017). 1240 The web page of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is available at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SexualOrientationGender/Pages/Index.aspx. 1241 World Health Organization, Global Report on Ageism (Geneva, 2021). Available at www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/ demographic-change-and-healthy-ageing/combatting-ageism/global-report-on-ageism. 1242 Ibid., p. vii. See also Israel Doron and Nena Georgantzi, eds., Ageing, Ageism and the Law: European Perspectives on the Rights of Older Persons (Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2018). 1243 OHCHR, “Update to the 2012 analytical outcome study on the normative standards in international human rights law in relation to older persons: working paper prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights” (2021). Available at https://social.un.org/ ageing-working-group/documents/eleventh/OHCHR%20HROP%20working%20paper%2022%20Mar%202021.pdf. 1244 Ibid., para. 47. 1245 Ibid., para. 41. 1246 A/74/186, para. 7. See also Mariska van der Horst and Sarah Vickerstaff, “Is part of ageism actually ableism?”, Ageing and Society (2021). PART SIX Thus, States have clear, immediate and substantive positive legal obligations to address prejudice, stereotypes, stigma and other drivers of discrimination and to advance positive values of understanding, tolerance, friendship and respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity. Addressing prejudice, stereotypes and stigma requires the adoption of a comprehensive range of measures, spanning multiple areas of life, and entailing obligations on both public and private actors. While States possess a degree of discretion in the design of these measures, treaty bodies have identified some specific actions, including public education, awareness-raising and training, which should form a fundamental part of any programme of action. That said, the focus should be on effectiveness and outcome, rather than on the nature of the measures adopted. 195