PART TWO: CONTENT OF COMPREHENSIVE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW
(b) Discrimination based on association and perception
SUMMARY
• Anti-discrimination legislation should prohibit discrimination on the basis of perception and
association, defined as follows:
PART TWO – I
– Discrimination based on perception occurs when persons are disadvantaged on the basis of a
perception – whether accurate or not – that they possess a protected characteristic.
– Discrimination based on association occurs when persons are disadvantaged on the basis of their
association with another person or persons possessing a protected characteristic.
Discrimination does not only occur against individuals who possess a particular characteristic, status or
identity. Individuals may also experience discrimination due to a perception that they belong to a group
sharing a protected characteristic or because of their association with a person or group possessing such a
characteristic. Discrimination based on perception occurs when persons are disadvantaged on the basis of a
perception – whether accurate or not – that they possess a protected characteristic. Discrimination based on
association occurs when persons are disadvantaged on the basis of their association with another person or
persons possessing a protected characteristic.
KOSOVO:172 LAW ON PROTECTION FROM DISCRIMINATION, 2015
Article 4
1.7. Discrimination based on association – is deemed discrimination on the grounds set out in Article
1 of this Law, targeting people who do not belong to a particular group but are third parties that are
associated with those groups;
…
1.9. Discrimination based on perception – is considered discrimination on the grounds set out in Article
1 of this law, targeting people who do not belong to a particular group but are third parties that are
perceived to belong to those groups.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has noted that membership of a protected group
includes “association with a group characterized by one of the prohibited grounds” and “perception by others
that an individual is part of such a group”.173 Similarly, in its interpretation of the relevant convention, the
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has noted that the prohibition of discrimination extends
to those “who are presumed to have a disability, as well as those who are associated with a person with a
disability”.174 Other treaty bodies have also addressed discrimination based on perception in their concluding
observations.175
Cases handled by courts at the regional level have required these bodies to engage with the problems of
discrimination on the basis of perception and discrimination by association, allowing them to elaborate on the
nature of the protection. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has held that the American Convention
172
References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
173
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 20 (2009), para. 16.
174
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 6 (2018), para. 20. Through its general comments, the
Committee has addressed the treatment of persons with disabilities based on their “actual or perceived impairment” in many areas of life,
including in respect of equal legal capacity, deprivations of liberty and inclusive education. See Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, general comment No. 1 (2014), para. 13; general comment No. 3 (2016), para. 52; and general comment No. 4 (2016), para. 6.
175
See, for example, in respect of sexual orientation: CCPR/C/ZAF/CO/1, paras. 20–21; CCPR/C/SEN/CO/5, para. 15 (c);
CCPR/C/MAR/CO/6, para. 12; CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, para. 31; and CAT/C/SEN/CO/4, para. 36 (b). See also in respect of health status:
CMW/C/LKA/CO/2, para. 27 (c).
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