News Item

Celebrating 25 years of ECRI

FRA took part in the high-level conference in Paris from 26 to 27 September to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).

FRA pointed to the need to move from strategies to action plans accompanied by specific road maps, setting out who does what and when.  This would be for the police and judiciary to improve reporting and recording, investigating and prosecuting hate crime; for public authorities at EU, national and local level to improve respect for anti-discrimination law, as well as criminal law provisions on hate crime and illegal hate speech – national and local authorities could consider use of the EU’s example of ‘enabling conditions’ in their budgetary appropriations; for statutory human rights institutions, especially equality bodies, to develop reach-out and victim support activities targeting those belonging to groups most at risk; for media to provide more balanced reporting – understanding better how unconscious bias can affect news reporting; and for civil society to develop cooperation between organisations active on different but related issues, e.g. anti-racism, Roma inclusion, disability, child rights, etc.