Назад Ombudsman staff and civil society organisation representatives enhance their skills to provide support on anti-discrimination work in Azerbaijan

Ombudsman staff and civil society organisation representatives enhance their skills to provide support on anti-discrimination work in Azerbaijan

Office staff of the Ombudsman and representatives of civil society organisations successfully completed the Training of Trainers on combating discrimination held from November 2021 to June 2022.

Through these trainings, participants enhanced their knowledge and practical competences on key concepts, international, European and domestic standards relating to anti-discrimination, hate speech and hate crime. Further, it strengthened trainees’ skills to offer support to victims of discrimination and develop their competences but also to act as trainers during the future activities on promoting equality and antidiscrimination in Azerbaijan. The Council of Europe educational resources and tools, such online courses on antidiscrimination, hate speech and hate crime and various relevant recommendations translated into local language, that are not only setting standards in this field but also providing guidelines to member states and other relevant actors for their implementation were presented during the training.

Participants had the opportunity to exchange with Sabina Aliyeva, Human Rights Commissioner of Azerbaijan, regarding the work in the field of equality and antidiscrimination her institution is doing, while a certificate award ceremony was held for newly trained trainers, encouraging their work in the field.

This event was organised in co-operation with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the framework of the project “Strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Eastern Partnership countries,” funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II 2019-2022.

Azerbaijan 21 June 2022
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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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