4. EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION Article 2 (2) The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. 4.1 Understanding the Right to Equality and Non-Discrimination 4.1.1 Concept & Content Under international human rights law, the concept of equality is implemented through the prohibition of certain types of discrimination. Discrimination is defined, according to the CESCR, as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference or other differential treatment that is directly or indirectly based on the prohibited grounds of discrimination [discussed below] and which has the intention or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of Covenant rights.”71 As the CESCR has emphasised “[d]iscrimination undermines the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights for a significant proportion of the world’s population.”72 Two approaches to prohibiting discrimination are possible, either through the principle of equality, or through the right of non-discrimination. On one hand, the principle of equality characterizes all fundamental rights, and flows from their universal character: everyone should enjoy equally the same “universal” rights. Hence, the first recital common to the two international covenants recognizes “the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.”73 On the other hand, the right to non-discrimination can be understood as an autonomous right belonging to the members of certain protected categories. Equality and the right to non-discrimination not only demand that a State respect and ensure the rights of everyone, but also that it does this with the same level of care. In other words, no one should, without a legitimate justification, enjoy a lesser degree of protection than others on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination, even if the protection enjoyed by this person does indeed reach the threshold of the minimum obligations of a state.74 Types of discrimination Discrimination can be either formal or substantive, and States must work towards the elimination of both. The elimination of formal discrimination requires “ensuring that a State’s constitution, laws and policy documents do not discriminate on prohibited grounds.”75 The elimination of substantive discrimination, on the other hand, requires “paying sufficient attention to groups of individuals which suffer historical or persistent prejudice instead of merely comparing the formal treatment of individuals in similar situations.”76 To this end, State Parties must 27