Dr Wolfram Bechtel was a judge prosecutor in Germany, he is now Secretary of the Steering Committee on anti-discrimination, diversity, and inclusion (CDADI).
The CDADI was set up by the Committee of ministers in 2019, it is composed of the members of the 46 Council of Europe member states, participants, and observers.
This Committee steers intergovernmental work to promote equality for all and to build more inclusive societies that offer effective protection from discrimination, hate, and ensure equal participation in political and public life for all, without discrimination on any ground, where diversity is respected. To achieve this goal, the CDADI has two main focal points : everything tied to ethnic origins and « race » and everything tied to sexual orientation, gender expression, and identity. All of this work is founded on the basis of article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights prohibiting discrimination.
This steering committee is composed of three expert committees (ADI-ROM on Roma and Travellers, ADI-INT on Intercultural inclusion, ADI-SOGIESC on LGBTI+) and of working groups). It produces standards in the form of Committee of ministers declarations.
The main areas of work of the CDADI are :
- General work on promoting equality and fighting racism and intolerance: new Committee of ministers recommendations, new Committee of ministers guidelines
- Intercultural inclusion policies, positive approach to promote interaction, equality, political participation of everybody: New Committee of ministers recommendation, multi-level policy framework, guidance document on strategies for inclusion in the fields under the responsibility of CDADI
- Work on national minorities and the use of regional or minority languages: Committee of ministers recommendation on the active political participation of national minority youth
- Work on Roma and Travellers as they are the biggest national minority in Europe while simultaneously being one of the most excluded communities.
- Work on the equality of rights of LGBTI+ persons: thematic implementation reviews on Committee of ministers/Rec (2010)5 on legal gender recognition, LGBTI-phobic hate crime and access to health.
The CDADI mandate for 2024-2027 has four standards and three strategic documents :
Recommendation on equality and AI systems.
Study and recommendation on intersectional discrimination.
Study and recommendation on desegregation, inclusion policies and practices in the field of education including Roma and Traveller children.
Recommendation on the equality of rights of intersex persons.
Guidance documents on strategies for inclusion in the fields under the responsibility of CDADI and peer learning bench marking tool (ADI-INT).
Council of Europe strategy for Roma and Traveller inclusion 2026-2030
Council of Europe strategy for equality of rights of LGBTI persons 2027-2032
« Once a standard is developed, we need to avoid it just being written, it needs to be implemented. »
