Equinet - European network of equality bodies

This is the third annual report of the Secretary General on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. The report assesses the extent to which the Council of Europe’s 47 member states are able to make the five building blocks of democratic security a reality:

► efficient and independent judiciaries;
► free media and freedom of expression;
► freedom of assembly and a vibrant civil society;
► legitimate democratic institutions;
► inclusive societies.

We will focus here on the fifth block ’inclusive societies’.

In its latest report published today, the Council of Europe’s Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) sees positive developments in a series of measures taken by the authorities in Skopje since its previous report in 2010, including the adoption of a law to prevent and protect against discrimination and the setting up of a working group on hate crime in 2014 by the Ministry of Justice, in cooperation with the OSCE.

In a report just published, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) welcomes progress made in Lithuania to address discrimination and racism, but also calls upon the authorities to take specific measures to improve the living conditions of Roma and address violence against LGBT persons.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has published its fifth report on Italy in which it analyses recent developments and outstanding issues and makes recommendations to the authorities.

In its new report on Cyprus, the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) noted progress since its last report some five years ago.

A comparative analysis of the implementation of EU gender equality law in the EU Member States, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.

A comparative analysis of the implementation of EU non-discrimination law in the EU Member States, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.

Over one million people sought refuge in the EU in 2015, a fivefold increase from the year before. In its Fundamental Rights Report 2016, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) examines the scale and nature of the challenge and proposes measures to ensure fundamental rights are respected across the EU.

The European Youth Forum Report “Social inclusion and young people – excluding youth: a threat to our future” highlights that the European social model is no longer protecting young people, and they are now at higher risk of social exclusion and poverty.

Discrimination against young people in Europe is rife. Not only has austerity disproportionately affected youth – with cuts to education budgets implemented in twenty countries/regions – but welfare reforms as a response to the crisis have been directly targeted at youth. When it comes to finding a place to live, or accessing healthcare, young people also face obstacles.

Muslim women experience the same inequalities as other women in employment and in relation to verbal and physical violence, but they are compounded by additional factors of (perceived) religion and/or ethnicity. However, very little is done to collect comprehensive data and tackle this intersectional form of racism. This is the conclusion of the European Network Against Racism’s new report “Forgotten Women: the impact of Islamophobia on Muslim Women”, covering eight European countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.