The statement was issued ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Sunday 21 March. The statement focused particularly on manifestations of racism and xenophobia on the Internet. The organisations pointed to the danger of the Internet as a platform for the spreading of racist and xenophobic views, as well as highlighting the potential for the Internet to be used as a tool to challenge such attitudes.
One in three of the ethnic minority and immigrant respondents to the Fundamental Rights Agency's EU MIDIS survey stated to have felt personally discriminated against in the past 12 months. In the same period, 12% of respondents felt they were a victim of a racially motivated crime.
