All of us desire to be treated with dignity and respect. Yet, despite ongoing efforts to instil a respect for diversity, to fight against fear and prejudice and to educate and raise awareness about rights and obligations all of us have towards each other, discrimination persists. Sometimes in structural and systemic ways that require institutional responses, other times at the interpersonal level, where instilling values and adopting the right attitudes are key to bringing about change.
According to the latest Eurobarometer survey on discrimination in the EU (EBS 493 of 2019), two out of every three citizens in the EU have friends or know people who are of a different religion or have different beliefs, or who have a disability or are from a different ethnic origin and almost half have friends or know people who are gay, lesbian or bisexual.
Yet there is also a recognition that discrimination continues to persist with some minority groups, such as those with a different skin colour or ethnic origin, those who are trans or those who have different religious beliefs being perceived to be at higher risk. The killing last year of Lassana Cisse or the most recent stabbing of Chantelle Chetcuti remind us of the heavy price that discrimination continues to exact on individuals, their families and friends and society as a whole.
This is one of the reasons why in 2014, we launched a widespread public consultation on the status of equality legislation in Malta which in June 2019 led to the tabling of two important Bills – The Equality Act (Bill 96 of 2019) and the Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (Bill 97 of 2019).
The Equality bill is necessary because, despite considerable progress along the years, many individuals still lack adequate legal protection from discrimination and the patchwork nature of our current laws on equality has resulted in different levels of protection, for different grounds of discrimination, in different spheres of life.
The main aim of the Equality bill is to gather all Maltese equality and non-discrimination provisions into one single piece of legislation providing a strong legal framework to protect the rights of every individual.
It ensures protection for all and the strengthening of a fair society, exceeding the minimal requirements established by EU and other International Treaties. Bill 96 of 2019 will make it unlawful to discriminate against anyone on the grounds of age, belief, creed or religion, colour, ethnic or national origin or race, disability, family responsibilities or pregnancy, family or civil status, gender expression or gender identity, genetic features, health status, language, nationality, political opinion, property, sex or sex characteristics, sexual orientation, and social origin.
The Human Rights and Equality Commission Act on the other hand establishes, for the first time in Malta, an independent national human rights institution, answerable only to Parliament and enjoying security of tenure. This will build on the good work conducted by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE), our current equality commission, which however lacks the necessary resources and legal strength to adequately carry out the role of a central institution in the field.
The new Human Rights and Equality Commission will act as a national watchdog in the fields of human rights
The new Human Rights and Equality Commission will act as a national watchdog in the fields of human rights, equality and non-discrimination. It will lead to the establishment of an Equality Board, with the mandate to investigate individual cases of an alleged breach of the right to equal treatment and non-discrimination, providing an effective and efficient remedy which is accessible to all.
I believe that the fight against discrimination will not end when these laws are adopted. They are only the beginning. This is why the Equality Act will also commit the public administration to draw up and adopt an Equality Action Plan which will include effective, measurable, comprehensive and co-ordinated policies, encompassing all relevant measures to promote equality and the protection of human rights and to allocate appropriate financial and human resources for the adequate implementation of this Action Plan, including those actions carried out by non-governmental organisations, agencies and civil society.
We all share in the responsibility to ensure that we live in an equal and fair society. Likewise, all of us benefit when we are able to develop as human beings, in all our diversity, in ways which are meaningful to us.
I reaffirm my commitment towards equality for all, with zero tolerance to any form of discrimination.
Edward Zammit Lewis is Minister of Justice, Equality and Governance.