DRC puts carrots before sticks - The new EC Directive on equal treatment (in areas other than race and sex) outlaws discrimination on the grounds of disability, age, religion or belief and sexual orientation, with varying deadlines by which member states must implement appropriate legislation in each of these areas. In our features in this issue, we focus on the two more complex aspects of discrimination covered by the Directive - disability and age . For our first feature, we spoke to Bob Niven, chief executive of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), about the achievements of the organisation in its first year of operation, and about its forthcoming plans. The DRC's activities to date include the establishment of a helpline call centre to assist with enquiries about the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which took more than 60,000 calls in its first year.