Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel (predominantly Bosniak), the Croatian Defence Council (predominantly Croat) and the Army of the Republika Srpska (predominantly Serb). According to legislation, these regiments have no operational or administrative authority, and units from these regiments are organized into multi-ethnic brigades. International Human Rights Standards The right to equal treatment is recognized by international human rights law, including the UDHR, the ICCPR and the ECHR, although there are some differences between these texts (see Box 10.5). Additionally, the ILO Convention C111 protects against discrimination in employment or occupation. These instruments prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, national origin, religion or other status. Article 27 of the ICCPR specifically extends protection to include discrimination against ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities. Fundamental to the terminology is the declaration in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Box 10.5: Equality and non-discrimination provisions in selected human rights documents Article 2 UDHR: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Article 26 ICCPR: All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.373 Article 27 ICCPR: In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion or to use their own language. Article 14 ECHR: The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status. 373 164 In paragraph 44 of the Case of Thlimmenos v Greece, Application No. 34369/97, Grand Chamber Judgement of 6 April, 2000, the European Court of Human Rights adds a new facet to the understanding of this article: “The Court has so far considered that the right under Article 14 not to be discriminated against in the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed under the Convention is violated when States treat differently persons in analogous situations without providing an objective and reasonable justification (….). However, the Court considers that this is not the only facet of the prohibition of discrimination in Article 14. The right not to be discriminated against in the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed under the Convention is also violated when States without an objective and reasonable justification fail to treat differently persons whose situations are significantly different.”