Youth-Partnership - Combatting Discrimination

The principles of equality and non- discrimination belong to the founding principles of today’s Europe. Through the years the right of individuals not to be discriminated against has been enshrined in a relevant set of policies and pieces of legislation both in the Council of Europe and in the European Union.

Concerning the Council of Europe, its commitment in combating discrimination is foremost expressed in art. 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome in 1950 and strengthened by Protocol No. 12. This provision is completed by many other documents such as the revised European Social Charter, whose art. 20 fosters “the right to equal opportunities and equal treatment in matters of employment and occupation without discrimination on the grounds of sex” and by the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, signed in 1995. Within the Council of Europe, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) promotes the anti-discrimination principle through a number of Recommendations, such as the General policy Recommendation N°7 on national legislation to combat racism and racial discrimination, adopted on 13 December 2002, which encourages Member States to “enact legislation against racism and racial discrimination if such legislation does not exist already or is incomplete”. After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, ECRI has reinforced the action to tackle discrimination against minorities with the General Policy Recommendation N°8 on combating racism while fighting terrorism, considered that the fight against terrorism engaged by the member States of the Council of Europe lead, in many cases, to the adoption of directly or indirectly discriminatory legislations and practices on grounds of nationality, national or ethnic origin and religion and, more often, in discriminatory practices by public authorities. This Recommendation has a particular impact on Youth as well, because many practices (as racial profiling) concern Muslim young men.

With a specific focus on Youth, the Council of Europe has defined four priorities in the youth sector for 2009: Human rights education and intercultural dialogue; Youth participation and democratic citizenship; Youth policy development; Social cohesion and inclusion of young people. Regarding this last one, among the results expected is the access of young people to working life and to social rights.

Within the European Union, for many years the main focus has been the prevention of discrimination on the basis of nationality and gender. Later on, new powers for combating discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age or sexual orientation were conferred under the substantive amendments to the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, together with the reinforcement of those regarding discrimination based on gender. As result of this process, the EU institutions worked out a new set of anti-discrimination Directives, the so called Equality Directives, providing everyone in the EU (citizens and Third Country nationals) with a common minimum level of legal protection against discrimination. As consequence of the implementation of the European Community's Racial Equality Directive of 2000 in particular, each Member State is required to designate National Equality Bodies for the promotion of equal treatment.

The legislation is supplemented by the Community Action Programme to combat discrimination (2001-2006), in whose framework the European Commission has run a five-year pan-European information campaign on combating discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation, under the slogan "For Diversity. Against Discrimination". In order to rise awareness on the need to enhance the principle of non-discrimination in practice, the European institutions launched 2007 as the Year of “Equal Opportunities for All”.

Moreover, on the 1st of March the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) was enforced as a body of the European Union built on the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). Its aim is to provide the Institutions and authorities of the Community and its Member States “with assistance and expertise relating to fundamental rights in order to support them when they take measures or formulate courses of action within their respective spheres of competence to fully respect fundamental rights”. (Article 2 of the Regulation establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights).

In the Youth Sector the European Commission launched the White Paper on Youth Policy in 2001, in which the fight against racism and xenophobia plays a prominent role together with the “mainstreaming of youth” in the policies, predominantly, concerning the fight against racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination as well as health and well-being.

The European Commission gave a new impetus to youth education, employment and inclusion policies with the Communication “ Promoting young people's full participation in education, employment and society”, adopted by in September 2007, setting as key issue the achievement of social inclusion and equal opportunities of minorities’ young people.

The Council of the European Union adopted a number of declarations highlighting the need to implement concrete measures for ensuring young people equal opportunities and full exercise of their rights without any discrimination. Recently the “Declaration of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council on Racism and Intolerance in relation to Young People” was made in by the European Council, in which “the importance of the role of young people in combating racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism as well as related intolerance and all forms of discrimination, and in promoting cultural diversity, mutual respect, tolerance and solidarity” is confirmed. Youth issues have been stressed also in the context of the EU-wide awareness-raising campaign on diversity and anti-discrimination entitled “For Diversity – Against Discrimination” in 2005. Finally the European Council adopted the Youth Pact in 2005, as part of the revised Lisbon Strategy, aiming at promoting participation of all young people in education, employment and society.

Also the Youth in Action Programme for the period 2007 to 2013, has among its objectives the promotion of the fundamental values of the EU among young people, in particular respect for human dignity, equality, respect for human rights, tolerance and non discrimination.

In the framework of the Partnership in the youth field set up by the European Commission and the Council of Europe, the focus around the themes anti-discrimination, social cohesion, inclusion and diversity has increased since 2005 and has been reflected in the organisation of thematic research seminars on social inclusion (2005) and on diversity, human rights and participation (2006). According to the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All a seminar with the same title was held in Budapest. Both institutions reinforce the impact of their own commitment by building on and extending the existing co-operation.

Nearby the European Union and the Council of Europe launched several joined Campaigns to promote the principles of Equality and of Non Discrimination.

With a specific focus on the youth field, from June 2006 to September 2007 the Council of Europe, in partnership with the European Commission and the European Youth Forum, ran the Campaign for Diversity, Human Rights and Participation, entitled “All Different – All Equal”, in order to strengthen the fight against racism, anti-Semitism, Xenophobia and Intolerance. The title of the Campaign was inspired by the namesake one ran in 1995 by the Member States of the Council of Europe.