Назад 73 participants from Eastern Partnership countries to take the HELP course on Fight Against Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia and Transphobia

73 participants from Eastern Partnership countries to take the HELP course on Fight Against Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia and Transphobia

Over 70 participants from equality bodies, Ombudsperson institutions, NGOs and public agencies from the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine) are engaging in a regional HELP course on fighting racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia. The online course will develop their capacities to effectively combat discrimination, using existent redress mechanisms and international standards.

The public launch event will be organised on Monday, 18 May, from 10.00 to 12.30 CET, in a live online session during which Council of Europe representatives and EU representatives will intervene. The session will feature Gilberto Felici, judge at the European Court of Human Rights for a session on the approach of the Court to discrimination. An introduction to relevant country monitoring findings of the ECRI – European Commission against Racism and Intolerance - will also be included.

Download the agenda of the online launch in English 

Download the agenda of the online launch in Russian

Join the online launch event on Monday 18 May at 10.00 CET: https://live.kudoway.com/br/110116883615

Course objective

  • Develop participants’ knowledge of the concepts and manifestations of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia and approaches to fight against them
  • Develop participants’ understanding of redress to discrimination, existing standards at European level and mechanisms present at national level
  • Improve participants’ skills to offer support to victims of discrimination
  • Develop an informal regional network for cooperation and exchange of practices on the fight against racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia among the Eastern Partnership countries.

The national partners of the course are the Human Rights Defender’s Office of the Republic of Armenia, the Commissioner for Human Rights of Azerbaijan, the National centre of legislation and legal research of the Republic of Belarus, the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia, the Council for Preventing and Eliminating Discrimination and Ensuring Equality and the People’s Advocate/Ombudsman of the Republic of Moldova, and the Commissioner for Human Rights, Ukraine.

The online course is implemented in the framework of the PGG II regional project “Strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Eastern Partnership countries”.

Strasbourg, France 15 May 2020
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Strasbourg, France Strasbourg, 1-2 July 2024
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Addressing hate speech and hate crime: regional gathering of the network of Equality Bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership Region

A two-day workshop on addressing hate speech and hate crime took place at the premises of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, involving Equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership regions.  The event supported by the EU and Council of Europe, gathered 50 representatives from both regions who discussed and exchanged on the best practices, measures and common challenges when addressing hate speech and hate crime. Through monitoring and reporting, policy advocacy, raising awareness and supporting victims equality bodies play a fundamental role in protecting human rights and ensuring that all individuals are treated equally.

In her opening remarks, Angela Longo, Head of Anti-discrimination Co-operation Unit, Council of Europe, underlined the significant progress in engaging with Equality Bodies through this network, regularly exchanging best practices and addressing the challenges of hatred and intolerance in societies. She highlighted that this new chapter of discussion delves into the grey area between hate speech and hate crime, addressing issues of incitement and biases,

Representatives from Equality Bodies had the opportunity to discuss and enhance their knowledge on the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers Recommendation to member States on combating hate crime, adopted on 7th May 2024, as well as gain a clearer understanding of EU standards in the field of hate crime. Moreover, participants engaged in exchanges with peers from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), who shared insights on addressing hate speech in the public discourse. The National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) in Italy provided practical examples for developing counter-narratives and raising awareness initiatives.

They also explored opportunities to advocate for legislative reform, foster multisectoral co-operation, enhance data collection, and overall improve national mechanisms to counter hate crimes.

This seminar was organised within the action “Promoting equality and combating racism and intolerance in the Western Balkans” and the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination: towards more resilient and inclusive societies” – co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe  under the joint Programmes “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and “Partnership for Good Governance”.

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