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19 | Equality and freedom from discrimination
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)
- All persons are equal before the law and have the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.
- Everyone has a right not to be treated in an unfairly discriminatory manner on such grounds as their race, colour, tribe, custom, place of birth, ethnic or social origin, language, class, religious belief, creed, political or other opinion, culture, sex, gender, marital status, age, disability or natural difference or condition or political, economic, social or other status.
- A person is treated in a discriminatory manner for the purposes of subsection (1) if he or she is prejudiced—
- by being subjected to a condition, restriction or disability to which other people are not subjected; or
- through other people being accorded a privilege or advantage, which he or she is not accorded.
- Discrimination on one or more of the grounds listed in subsection (1) is unfair unless it is established that the discrimination is fair, reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.
- To promote the achievement of equality, reasonable legislative and other measures may be taken by way of affirmative action to protect or advance people or classes of people who have been disadvantaged by unfair discrimination, and no such measure is to be regarded as unfair for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section.
