Welcome
Welcome to the website www.aktiv-gegen-diskriminierung.de of the project "Non-Discrimination: Competencies for Associations"!
The project
The project "Non-Discrimination: Competencies for Associations" aims to strengthen the fight against discrimination in Germany and to promote a culture of non-discrimination and human rights through civil society organisations. The project's main goal is to encourage civil society organisations to take legal actions against discrimination, e. g. by strategic litigation. Associations can play an important role in enforcing an effective legal protection in this field. The project also supports civil society organisations to implement managing diversity tools and to raise the awareness for human rights and non-discrimination.
The project's approach is horizontal, which means that it includes the protection against racial discrimination as well as the protection against discrimination on the grounds of gender, sexual identity or orientation, age, religion or belief, and disability.
The project was established for three years at the German Institute for Human Rights in 2009. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Project-Coordinators are Dr. Nina Althoff and Sera Choi.
Background
People with names that do not sound German often face disadvantages in their search for housing or employment. People with disabilities face barriers when visiting a restaurant. Elderly people are often refused insurances or loans. And mobbing is still part of the everyday life for many lesbians, gays, transgenders and intersexuals.
In Germany people are discriminated on different grounds. To protect them from discrimination is one of the central tasks of the state and the society. Civil associations can play an important role in informing affected persons about their rights, accompany or represent them to/ at court or in filing an associational claim (i. e. legal action instituted by an association "Verbandsklage").
Until now only few organisations use trial and appeal procedures for the promotion and enforcement of non-discrimination. At large, the awareness of the sociopolitical task in the protection against discrimination is relatively new for German civil associations.
The project offers
The project provides consulting and training about various aspects of non-discrimination, particularly about the special legal instruments of civil associations and the implementation of non-discrimination tools.
The project coordinators do not only provide information about the rights and participation possibilities of the associations. In addition, they work out solutions in cooperation with the individual organisations and in accordance with the organisation's inner-structure.
The nation-wide trainings, workshops and advisory services can take place in-house or in public seminars.
These seminars seek to impart practice-orientated knowledge, concrete guidelines and implementation strategies.
Follow-up seminars foster the exchange of experience, networking and cooperation between the different associations. This year, we will present an online guide as well as an extension of the website.
Depending on the target group and work focus the advisory services and trainings can deal with the inner-organisational promotion of a human-rights based culture of non-discrimination or with the following topics:
- Proceedings according to the General Equal Treatment Act ("Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz"): The General Equal Treatment Act allows associations to give legal advice to affected persons and to assist them in an oral trial against discrimination. In addition, associations can work towards preliminary ruling procedures before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. They can also file a consumer protection suit.
- Proceedings according to the Law on Equal Treatment of Persons with Disabilities ("Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz") and the Social Code IX ("Sozialgesetzbuch IC"): According to the Law on Equal Treatment of Persons with Disabilities, associations can litigate instead of the person concerned. They can also file a suit for accessibility with an associational claim ("Verbandsklage").
- International proceedings, the human rights protection systems of the United Nations and the European Council: civil associations can participate in international human rights proceedings before the UN-Treaty bodies or the European Court of Human Rights. They can support or represent individuals, write parallel reports in the state reporting procedures as well as being an actor in other monitoring mechanism of the United Nations. There is also the opportunity to initiate an investigation procedure through an UN-Treaty body.
Further information can be found at the menu item Rights and Opportunities for Participation. Further information in German can be found at the menu item Grundlagen.
As a member of a civil association you can also register for a members-only area of the website (German only!). Here you can create your own member profile, search other members and network. Members also have the opportunity to get additional information on relevant topics as well as actively debate in forums with other members.
Target groups
The project is intended for
- counselling and anti-discriminiation associations,
- migrant-, disability-, religious-, gender-, sexual identity-, youth- and seniors- self-organisations,
- welfare and social associations,
- consumer protection and tenant associations,
- trade unions as well as
- employers' federations and business associations.
Dates
The dates of our public trainings, workshops and events can be found at the menu item Veranstaltungen on the website of the German Institute for Human Rights (German only).
Contact
For further information please contact the Projects Coordinators Sera Choi or Nina Althoff:
Dr. Nina Althoff
Project Coordinator
Phone: +49 (0)30 25 93 59 - 40
e-mail: althoff@institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de
Sera Choi, M.A.
Project Coordinator
Phone: +49 (0)30 25 93 59 – 413
e-mail: choi@institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de
Flyer of the Project "Non-Discrimination: Competencies for Associations" (pdf, 444 KB, in German)
Note/ important information
The project has no mandate to deal with discrimination cases on an individual level. When we are contacted by individuals, we try our best to refer to specific lines and special services.
About the German Institute for Human Rights
The German Institute for Human Rights (Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte) was established based on an unanimous decision of the German Federal Parliament in 2001. The Institute is the accredited National Human Rights Institution of the Federal Republic of Germany, (A-status) based on the principles of the Paris Declaration of the United Nations from 1993.
The Institute carries out applied research, policy advice, expert discussions, conferences, and human rights education in order to protect and promote human rights. The institute's human rights library is open to the public and offers up to date research literature and journals on the topic of human rights.
Contact
(Kopie 1)
Dr. Nina Althoff
Phone: +49 30 25 93 59 - 40
e-mail: althoff@institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de
(Kopie 2)
Sera Choi
Phone: +49 30 25 93 59 - 413
e-mail: choi@institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de
© 2012 German Institute for Human Rights