Participants in the study visit included members of the Commission for the Protection against Discrimination, from Bulgaria; the Greek Ombudsoffice and the Greek National Comission for Human Rights; the National Bar Council from Italy; and the National Comission for Combatting Discrimination from Romania.
The Study Visit was divided in four main sessions:
- Hate Speech and Discrimination;
- Anti-discrimination and Access to Justice for Vulnerable Groups: the European Court of Human Rights’ Perspective;
- A Gender Perspective;
- Synergies and Future Co-operation.
Sessions included presentations on several topics made by relevant departments of the Council of Europe and will use participatory methods to ensure as wide a perspective as possible, such as the European Court of Human Rights, Gender Equality, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, GRETA and the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights.
The purpose of the Study Visit was fourth-fold:
- Deepen the knowledge on CoE standards on non-discrimination, access to justice and Roma women’s issues;
- Build on the existing capacity of the Equality Bodies and NHRIs to deal with cases brought to them by Roma women;
- Provide a platform for exchanges among Equality Bodies and NHRIs of the JUSTROM2 countries;
- Identify challenges and discuss potential future co-operation with the JUSTROM Joint Programme