PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS – A Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation C. United Nations human rights instruments and their interpretation Over the last two decades, an international consensus has developed that, in order to discharge their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to non-discrimination, States must adopt specific, comprehensive antidiscrimination legislation. This is reflected in the authoritative interpretation of human rights instruments by mechanisms both within and beyond the United Nations system. Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights creates an explicit requirement for States to legislate to prohibit discrimination. In its general comment No. 18 (1989) on non-discrimination, the Human Rights Committee provided important clarifications on the interpretation of the right, although it did not fully elaborate the nature or scope of States’ obligations. In the time since, the Committee has repeatedly held that the adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation is necessary to give effect to the right to non-discrimination: since 2010, the Committee has made 47 explicit recommendations for the adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination law to 45 States across all regions of the globe. This includes 15 recommendations to States in Africa,40 7 recommendations to States in the Americas,41 18 recommendations to States in Asia,42 6 recommendations to European States;43 and 1 recommendation to Australia.44 In 2009, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights published its general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, in which the Committee emphasized that: “Adoption of legislation to address discrimination is indispensable in complying with article 2, paragraph 2 [prohibition of discrimination].”45 In the same general comment, the Committee elaborated the comprehensive nature of the right to non-discrimination, setting out, inter alia, that compliance with article 2 (2) requires States to provide protection from direct and indirect discrimination and harassment on the basis of an extensive and open-ended list of characteristics.46 The Committee has since made a range of relevant recommendations to States for the adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination law, in line with their non-discrimination obligations arising under article 2 (2) of the Covenant.47 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 each contain explicit provisions requiring States to adopt legislation prohibiting discrimination on the grounds that are the subject of those instruments.48 In recent years, each of the relevant treaty bodies 4 40 CCPR/C/DZA/CO/4, paras. 19–20; CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2, para. 14; CCPR/C/CPV/CO/1/Add.1, paras. 9–10; CCPR/C/CMR/CO/5, para. 14; CCPR/C/CAF/CO/3, paras. 11–12; CCPR/C/COD/CO/4, paras. 13–14; CCPR/C/GNQ/CO/1, para. 25; CCPR/C/GMB/CO/2, paras. 11–12; CCPR/C/LBR/CO/1, paras. 16–17; CCPR/C/MDG/CO/4, paras. 15–16; CCPR/C/NER/CO/2, para. 19; CCPR/C/NGA/CO/2, paras. 16–17; CCPR/C/SEN/CO/5, para. 11; CCPR/C/SDN/CO/4, para. 11; and CCPR/C/SDN/CO/5, paras. 14–16. 41 CCPR/C/BLZ/CO/1/Add.1, paras. 11–13; CCPR/C/DMA/COAR/1, paras. 15–17 and 48; CCPR/C/SLV/CO/7, paras. 9–10; CCPR/C/JAM/CO/4, paras. 15–16; CCPR/C/PRY/CO/3, para. 9; CCPR/C/PRY/CO/4, paras. 14–15; and CCPR/C/VEN/CO/4, para. 8. 42 CCPR/C/BHR/CO/1, paras. 15–16; CCPR/C/BGD/CO/1, para. 12; CCPR/C/CHN-HKG/CO/3, para. 19; CCPR/C/IRQ/CO/5, paras. 11–12; CCPR/C/JPN/CO/6, para. 11; CCPR/C/JOR/CO/5, paras. 8–9; CCPR/C/KGZ/CO/2, para. 8; CCPR/C/LAO/CO/1, paras. 15–16; CCPR/C/LBN/CO/3, paras. 11–12; CCPR/C/MNG/CO/6, paras. 9–10; CCPR/C/PAK/CO/1, para. 12; CCPR/C/PHL/CO/4, para. 10; CCPR/C/KOR/CO/4, paras. 12–13; CCPR/C/TJK/CO/3, paras. 13–14; CCPR/C/TUR/CO/1, para. 8; CCPR/C/TKM/CO/2, paras. 6–7; CCPR/C/UZB/CO/5, paras. 8–9; and CCPR/C/VNM/CO/3, para. 14. 43 CCPR/C/BLR/CO/5, paras. 15–16; CCPR/C/CZE/CO/4, para. 10; CCPR/C/ISL/CO/5, para. 6; CCPR/C/ITA/CO/6, paras. 8–9; CCPR/C/SMR/CO/3, paras. 8–9; and CCPR/C/CHE/CO/4, paras. 16–17. 44 CCPR/C/AUS/CO/6, paras. 17–18. 45 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 20 (2009), para. 37. 46 Ibid., paras. 7, 10, and 18–35. 47 For recent examples, see E/C.12/GIN/CO/1, para. 19 (a); E/C.12/DNK/CO/6, para. 22; E/C.12/ISR/CO/4, para. 19; and E/C.12/KAZ/CO/2, para. 11 (a). 48 Article 2 (d) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination requires each State party to “prohibit and bring to an end, by all appropriate means, including legislation as required by circumstances, racial discrimination by any persons, group or organization”. Article 2 (a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women calls on States: “To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle”. Article 4 (1) (a) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires States: “To adopt all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention.”