About Equality Bodies

Equality Bodies are specialised national bodies for the promotion of equal treatment. They have a critical role in assuring the effective implementation of anti-discrimination law by providing assistance to victims and monitoring and reporting on discrimination issues.

Equality Bodies are charged with promoting equal treatment on one or more of the following grounds: religion and belief, racial or ethnic origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, social origin, nationality and others.

For discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, the existence of an Equality Body is required by EU law: under Article 13 of Council Directive 2000/43/EC, Member States are legally obliged to designate a body or bodies for the promotion of equal treatment of all persons without discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin.