What Equal Rights Trust does

Equal Rights Trust was an independent charitable organization (registered charity number 1113288, company limited by guarantee) founded in 2007 and headquartered at 167-169 Great Portland Street, London, until its orderly closure on 30 September 2025. Its mission was to combat discrimination and promote equality as a fundamental human right through the development of comprehensive equality law frameworks, capacity building among civil society equality defenders, and engagement with international human rights mechanisms. The organization served national human rights institutions, governments and parliaments, civil society equality coalitions, UN treaty bodies, lawyers and legal practitioners, and individual survivors of discrimination across more than 25 countries spanning Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.

The Trust's core products were legal publications and guidance documents rather than software or technology products. Its flagship offering was the UN Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation (launched December 2022 in collaboration with the UN Human Rights Office), described as the definitive UN guidance on comprehensive equality laws, alongside the Declaration of Principles on Equality (2008, endorsed by 128 experts from 40+ countries), country-specific discrimination reports across more than a dozen jurisdictions, thematic comparative research on algorithmic discrimination, ageism, and corruption, the ERT Case Law Summaries, and the Non-discrimination and Equality Standards Compendium. It delivered advocacy programs (including 20-25 annual submissions to UN treaty bodies), strategic litigation support, advisory services to governments and NHRIs, and training to over 2,500 activists and paralegals serving 6,000+ discrimination survivors.

Equal Rights Trust operated as a donation-funded non-profit providing all resources, reports, and advocacy services free of charge. Its business model was grant and donation-based, with distribution via direct website access, the UN Human Rights Office's multilingual translation and dissemination infrastructure, and partner networks across 25+ countries. Notable strategic relationships included flagship co-development partnerships with the UN Human Rights Office, Transparency International, HelpAge International, Solidarity Center, and Equinet, and the Trust's governance framework gave it institutional credibility in standards-setting for global anti-discrimination law.

Name

Equal Rights Trust

Legal name

Equal Rights Trust

Website

https://equalrightstrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Equal Rights Trust was a UK-registered charity (2007-2025) that developed authoritative legal frameworks on equality and non-discrimination, most notably the UN Practical Guide co-produced with the UN Human Rights Office, serving governments, NHRIs, and civil society coalitions across 25+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Advocacy and Equality Law Research

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)

Keywords

• Human rights advocacy
• Equality law research
• Anti-discrimination policy
• Non-discrimination legislation
• Equality legal guidance

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: Equal Rights Trust is a registered charity (number 1113288) in England that relies on donations from supporters to fund its operations. The organization closed in September 2025 following Board of Trustees decision.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Equal Rights Trust is a non-profit human rights organization that produces authoritative legal research, policy guidance, publications, and advocacy services on equality and non-discrimination law. It develops practical guides, country reports, thematic studies, and legal resources, and supports civil society organizations, governments, and national human rights institutions working on equality law reform.

Product overview

Equal Rights Trust operates as a non-profit human rights organization focused on combating discrimination and promoting equality through law, rather than a technology product company. The organization offers a portfolio of publications, legal resources, and services including the UN Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation (developed with the UN Human Rights Office), the Declaration of Principles on Equality, country-specific reports on discrimination and inequality, thematic research on topics such as algorithmic decision-making and corruption, ERT Case Law Summaries documenting significant court decisions worldwide, and the Non-discrimination and Equality Standards Compendium. Additional offerings include advocacy programs, strategic litigation support, advisory services, and specialized guidelines such as the Guidelines to Protect Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention. These products and services are delivered as publications, policy guidance, training, and consulting rather than software products or digital platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UN Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation
• Declaration of Principles on Equality
• Country Reports on Discrimination and Inequality
• Thematic and Comparative Research Studies
• ERT Case Law Summaries
• ERT Non-discrimination and Equality Standards Compendium
• The Equal Rights Review
• Advocacy Programs
• Strategic Litigation Support
• Advisory Services
• Guidelines to Protect Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention
• Principles on Equality by Design in Algorithmic Decision-Making

Quantifiable outcome

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has made adoption of comprehensive equality laws the primary goal of the Non-Discrimination Pillar of the UN Human Rights Office Strategic Plan (2024-2027)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Global Civil Society Equality Law MovementscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership with civil society equality law movements established in Costa Rica, Japan, and Nepal following publication of the Practical Guide. These movements are working to advance comprehensive equality laws at national level.
• Equinet (European Network of Equality Bodies)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024At Equinet's request, Equal Rights Trust produced the first legal analysis of new EU Directives setting standards for equality bodies. Produced Understanding the New EU Directives on Standards for Equality Bodies Legal Digest and Key principles derived from the Legal Digest.
• UN Human Rights OfficeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Three-year collaboration to develop Protecting Minority Rights: A Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation, the UN's definitive guidance on states' obligations in anti-discrimination law. Advisory Committee included four UN Special Rapporteurs, leading academics, members of judiciary, practising lawyers, and representatives of independent equality bodies. Guide launched on Human Rights Day 2022. Third phase initiated in 2025 for global initiative to support national efforts to enact comprehensive equality laws.
• Help Age InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership to develop Advancing Equality for Older Persons, a global study on using the law to counter ageism and promote equality for older people.
• Inter-Parliamentary UnionminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022International partner for public events promoting the Practical Guide and equality law reform.
• Inter-American Court of Human RightsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022International partner for public events promoting the Practical Guide and equality law reform.
• Transparency InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Collaborative partnership to produce Defying Exclusion: Stories and Insights on the Links Between Discrimination and Corruption. Groundbreaking investigation exploring and documenting links between discrimination and corruption with case studies from around the world.
• Solidarity CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Jointly developed A Promise Not Realised: The Right to Non-Discrimination in Work and Employment. Comparative study drawing on evidence from six states to examine how to improve effectiveness of equality laws in employment.
• National Human Rights Institutions (Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHRIs in four countries have initiated equality law reform projects in response to the UN Practical Guide publication. Translations produced by NHRIs in Brazil and Republic of Korea.
• Kenya Partners (including Federation of Women Lawyers - Kenya)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Federation of Women Lawyers - Kenya and 33 Community Based Organisations to provide legal and financial support to women and girls experiencing gender-based violence, limited access to education, and problems inheriting land and property.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Human Rights Watch: International human rights organisation producing in-depth research and advocacy reports that influence UN treaty body review and national law reform. Comparable to ERT in mission, evidence-based publication model, and UN-facing advocacy model.
• Amnesty International: Global human rights NGO conducting research, advocacy, and capacity-building on civil and political rights. Comparable as a similarly structured non-profit producing authoritative reports and engaging UN and state mechanisms, though broader in thematic scope than ERT's equality-law focus.
• International Commission of Jurists: Organisation of jurists dedicated to upholding the rule of law and human rights, producing legal analyses and engaging with international courts and treaty bodies. Highly comparable to ERT's legal-research-and-advocacy model focused on equality and non-discrimination standards.
• Minority Rights Group International: International NGO working on rights of ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities through research, advocacy, and capacity-building. Comparable to ERT in non-discrimination focus, country-report model, and engagement with UN mechanisms.
• Center for Economic and Social Rights: International NGO focused on economic and social rights, producing legal analysis and advocacy on equality and non-discrimination. Comparable to ERT in using legal frameworks and UN mechanisms to advance equality outcomes.
• Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial: Specialised organisation working on anti-discrimination law and strategic litigation across the post-Soviet space. Highly comparable to ERT's country-level work in Eastern Europe and Central Asia on equality law reform and discrimination documentation.

Others

• Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Regional human rights court whose jurisprudence on equality and non-discrimination ERT documents and references. Comparable as a peer institution in the broader ecosystem in which ERT operated, and a co-host of public events with ERT for the Practical Guide launch.
• European Network of Equality Bodies (Equinet): Membership network of European equality bodies working on standards for equality law enforcement. Comparable to ERT through Equinet's commissioning of ERT to produce legal analysis on the new EU Directives on Standards for Equality Bodies.

Emerging players

• ILGA-Europe: European equality body focused on LGBT rights and anti-discrimination law. Comparable to ERT's work in Ukraine and other jurisdictions on adoption of anti-discrimination legislation covering sexual orientation and gender identity grounds.

Broad incumbents

• Open Society Foundations – Human Rights Programme: Large global human rights funder and operator working on equality, anti-discrimination, and rule of law. Comparable as a parallel influencer on national equality legislation and UN-level human rights policy, though much larger in scale and operating as both funder and grantee.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-equal-rights-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Equal Rights Trust