Equality provisions appear in international conventions and in the human rights documents of many countries. For example, Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights holds that "all [people] are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law." Article 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides that states must "undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights" contained in the Covenant, whereas Article 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) requires its signatories to guarantee that the rights enumerated in this 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." Article 14 of the European...