Combating discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership




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Project news

Since our last newsletter (June 2020), the regional project “Strengthening access to justice through non judicial redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crime” continued

carrying out several activities, despite the continuation of the health emergency affecting Europe and the upraise of COVID cases in some of the partners. The regional online HELP course on “Fighting racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia” was successfully completed by 47 participants, from the 6 Eastern Partnership countries. In Armenia, the project finalised a comparative study on hate speech to support the Armenian authorities in their legislative development. In Azerbaijan, thanks to the project support the NGO ‘Equality Platform’ took its first steps in a number of online meetings, including to start a channel of dialogue with the Ombudsperson office. In the Republic of Moldova, training activities are being rolled out for members of the Equality Council and the Ombudsoffice on combating hate speech. In Ukraine, information materials on discrimination were prepared for the Ombudsoffice. The regional event on data collection will be organised as a series of three webinars and a core event this autumn.

Call for proposals: Grants for support to civil society organisations for combating discrimination in Armenia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine

Under the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe joint programme Partnership for Good Governance, and its regional project ““Strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Eastern Partnership countries”, the Council of Europe is launching a call for proposals with the aim to co-fund national and local projects in Armenia, 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. The deadline for the submission of application is 30 October 2020 (at 17:00 CET). Read here for more information. We invite everyone to share with interested partners and colleagues!

Data collection on hate crimes: important progress made in Georgia

Since September 2018, the Council of Europe Office in Georgia in the framework of the co-operation project “Fight against discrimination, hate crimes and hate

speech in Georgia” has been assisting the stakeholders to improve the methodology to collect hate crime data. As a result of an inclusive process, recommendations regarding the new data collection methodology, specific guidelines and data collection templates on hate crime, discrimination and hate speech were developed, in line with ECRI recommendations and adjusted to the current needs of the country. In September 2020, the Supreme Court, the Office of the General Prosecutor, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Statistics Office of Georgia (GeoStat) today signed a memorandum on cooperation to create a joint data system for crimes committed on grounds of intolerance. More information can be found here.

No to hate speech in the electoral campaign in the Republic of Moldova

Civil society organisations, the Equality Council and the Press Council of the Republic of Moldova have launched in

September 2020 a public call to electoral candidates and their supporters not to use hate speech during the electoral campaign and to the media institutions to prevent the spreading of hate speech. Learn more about this here.

Data collection reports for Armenia, Ukraine and Moldova now available

Interested in how data should be collected on discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes? The Council of Europe produced

three country reports on this matter. They are now available online, for Armenia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, both in English and, respectively, Armenian, Romanian and Ukrainian.

Interested in expert talks on discrimination?

Discover our online library with expert talks produced as a follow-up to our webinars, on a variety of topics, like combating hate speech, applying

European standards nationally on equality, combating racism affecting Roma, combating LGBTIphobia, and combating disability-based discrimination. Expert talks also include good practices from the Eastern Partnership region. New videos are added from other project activities, so stay tuned!

Participate in the photo competition “My future without discrimination”

As part of the event “Improving the lives of citizens through better governance” organised in the context of the

“Partnership for Good Governance”, we invite you to share your vision for the future of an Eastern Partnership region free from discrimination. Learn more and participate here.

Hate crimes victim support: new report and project by OSCE - ODIHR

In September 2020, OSCE – ODIRH launched its report on understanding the needs of hate crime victims. These are

the need for personal safety and security, practical help, emotional and psychosocial support, confidentiality and trust, information and advice, help in navigating criminal justice; and respectful and dignified treatment. They also launched a new project geared towards improving victim support. Learn more about the E-star project and read the report here.

Committee of Ministers takes note of report on the review of CM REC(2010)05

On 16 September 2020, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe took

note of the a report on the implementation of the Committee of Ministers Recommendation to Member States on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity (+ French version).The Recommendation advocates the full enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. It establishes that discrimination and social exclusion on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity must be overcome by measures targeted both at those who experience such discrimination or exclusion, and the population at large. The Recommendation is the first international instrument dealing specifically with discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Read more about this here.

New project on gender equality in Azerbaijan

A new EU – Council of Europe project aims to raise awareness on the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) and other gender equality

standards in Azerbaijan, in order to strengthen domestic legislation and policies to align them with European standards. The Istanbul Convention is widely recognised as one of the main legal standards and the most comprehensive international treaty to tackle violence against women and domestic violence (VAW/DV), which is a serious violation of the human rights of women. Learn more about the project here.

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The newsletter is part of the regional project “Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech”, financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II.
This newsletter has been produced as part of a project co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of either party.

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