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Combating discrimination on the grounds of disability in Armenia

UNISON NGO Armenia is implementing a national project on combating discrimination affecting disabled persons in Armenia, under all its forms, with the support of the European Union/Council of Europe joint programme Partnership for Good Governance, and its regional project “Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Eastern Partnership”.

Persons with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable communities in Armenia. They face either direct or indirect discrimination in all major fields of life: education, employment, sports, recreation, culture etc. The vast majority of state facilities, cultural venues and other public spaces are physically inaccessible to people with reduced mobility. There is no accessible public transportation for such people. Especially vulnerable are girls and women with disabilities who are subject to double discrimination - both as disabled and as females. One of the major reasons for discrimination on the grounds of disability is a lack of awareness of existing legal mechanisms to protect themselves from discrimination, as well as low awareness of what discrimination is.

In order to respond to this, the project of UNISON NGO will include the following key activities and events of the project are: survey among people with disabilities, study of the best international practices/guidelines on anti-discrimination, three workshops on different types of discrimination, a TV program, publication of a booklet, production of 3 video messages featuring people with disabilities and a press conference. It is expected that the project implementation will contribute to the formation of the "zero tolerance to discrimination on the grounds of disability" in Armenia and will hopefully bring to the substantive debates on the relevant legislation and procedures. Unison NGO will implement this project in close cooperation with the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia.

This project is one of the five civil society projects supported by the European Union/Council of Europe regional anti-discrimination project, in Armenia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine aimed at combating discrimination, favouring inclusion of groups at risk of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes, and raising awareness among vulnerable communities and the general public about redress to discrimination.

This activity is implemented in the framework of the regional project “Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership”, financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance phase II.

 

 

 Visit the website of our project "Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech"

Armenia 22 February 2021
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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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