PART TWO: CONTENT OF COMPREHENSIVE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW independent equality bodies.715 In December 2017, the Council of Europe issued guidance to its member States on the creation of such bodies, their form and functions,716 while the European Union has also issued a recommendation on standards for equality bodies.717 Between these documents and the recommendations of the treaty bodies, some essential requirements can be identified for the proper functioning of equality bodies. These can be divided into two categories: (a) institutional requirements; and (b) mandates, functions and powers. PART TWO – IV B. Institutional requirements for equality bodies Between them, treaty bodies have identified certain institutional requirements that must be met to ensure that equality bodies can carry out their functions effectively. In particular, such bodies must be: (a) independent; (b) adequately resourced; (c) inclusive, participatory and representative of diversity in society; and (d) accessible. The guidance of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and the European Commission, alongside the 2016 report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, build on these requirements, providing further detail on the measures necessary to ensure that equality bodies can effectively discharge their mandates. 1. Independence Equality bodies should be independent and insulated from the risk of interference by political and other actors. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Human Rights Committee have noted States’ obligations to ensure that equality bodies are genuinely independent.718 To ensure their functional independence, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has noted that equality bodies should be separated “from the executive branch of the State party” and “have members appointed in a public, democratic, transparent and participatory manner”.719 In a similar regard, in its guidance, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance stresses the need for equality bodies to possess “both de jure and de facto independence” and to “be separate legal entities placed outside the executive and legislature”.720 To ensure their independence, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance recommends that equality bodies are established by constitutional provision or legislation, and this legal basis should both affirm their independence and “establish the conditions to ensure this independence”.721 In practice, the transparency and integrity of the process for appointing and removing members of equality bodies, together with the experience, qualifications and independence of those appointed, have proved to be essential in ensuring the effectiveness and independence of such bodies.722 Essential elements of the appointments process include an open and public process, with sufficient time, information and opportunity for public and media discussion of the candidates and their qualifications. Article 33 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and general recommendation No. 17 (1993) of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination both call on States to take into account the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the 715 See, for instance, Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, art. 13 (1). 716 Council of Europe, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, “ECRI general policy recommendation No. 2: equality bodies to combat racism and intolerance at national level” (Strasbourg, 2018). 717 Commission Recommendation (EU) 2018/951 of 22 June 2018 on standards for equality bodies. 718 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 17 (1993), para. 1; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 28 (2010), para. 28; Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 6 (2018), para. 73 (m); Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 20 (2009), para. 40; and CCPR/C/GEO/CO/4, para. 6. 719 Guidelines on independent monitoring frameworks and their participation in the work of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, annexed to the Committee’s rules of procedure (CRPD/C/1/Rev.1, annex), para. 15. 720 Council of Europe, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, “ECRI general policy recommendation No. 2”, para. 2. 721 Ibid. 722 See, for example, Niall Crowley (for the European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination), Equality Bodies Making a Difference (Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2018), pp. 89–101. 103