Înapoi The Council of Europe and the European Union Delegation present the state of implementation of the joint projects in Azerbaijan in 2020 and the PGG activities planned for 2021

The Council of Europe and the European Union Delegation present the state of implementation of the joint projects in Azerbaijan in 2020 and the PGG activities planned for 2021

The European Union and Council of Europe joint programme on Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) 2019-2021 held the second Steering Committee meeting for Azerbaijan on Monday 1 February 2021 in online format. The aim of the meeting was to present the state of implementation and the results of the programme and discuss plans for 2021.

Participants assessed the impact of the COVID-19 on the PGG implementation and discussed mitigation measures undertaken by the project teams to address the most urgent needs of the Azerbaijani authorities with regard to the domestic reforms in the field of judiciary, combating corruption and discrimination.

The programme is implementing three country-specific projects in Azerbaijan for the period 2019-2021, with a total budget of around 2 million euros. These projects assist the country’s authorities to counter money laundering and asset recovery, strengthen the efficiency and quality of the judicial system and to raise awareness of the Istanbul Convention and Gender Equality Standards.

In addition to the country-specific projects, Azerbaijan is also taking part in regional PGG projects aimed at preventing and combating economic crime, facilitating the access of women to justice as well as strengthening the access to justice through non-judiciary redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech, with a total budget of around 3,7 million euros.

The European Union provides 80% of the funding of the projects, whilst the Council of Europe provides 20% of the funding and is in charge of their implementation.

Ambassador Kestutis Jankauskas, Head of the European Union Delegation to Azerbaijan, Verena Taylor, Director, Office of the Directorate General of Programmes, Council of Europe, and Leyla Hasanova, First Secretary, Department of Cooperation with Human Rights Institutions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, PGG National Coordinator opened the meeting.

Online 1 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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