Key Treaties and Texts

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

International Conventions and Declarations

E.T.S No. 5, 213 U.N.T.S. 222

The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms or the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) applies to member states of the Council of Europe who have ratified the treaty. The ECHR was adopted by the Council of Europe on November 11 1950 and entered into force September 3 1953. The Convention has been amended on four times in 1970, 1971, 1990 and 1998. The ECHR is the main human rights instrument at the European level and applies equally to men and women. Article 14 sets out the general right to non-discrimination on various grounds, including sex.