July 27, 2020
Initially hailed as the 'great equalizer,' the COVID-19 pandemic has, in reality, exposed the depth of institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination and inequality in our societies. The question for Europe now is not if discrimination and exclusion exist but rather how intersectionality serves as a tool to create a fairer, socially just, and more inclusive Europe for everyone.
June 16, 2020
In April 2020, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) published a policy brief, in which it shed light on the crucial issue that can no longer be ignored – the COVID-19 pandemic is reinforcing existing inequalities in our society and the long-term impacts of the health crisis will disproportionately affect women and girls.
June 12, 2020
Society has changed enormously in recent months. The world is under the spell of a pandemic. New manners and customs are appearing, such as no physical contact with others, new ways of greeting each other, social distancing and wearing face masks or alternatives is becoming the norm in public spaces. When it comes to this issue, the WHO is clear: wearing a medical mask can limit the spread of certain respiratory viral diseases, including COVID-19. From a human rights perspective, the latter trend is particularly interesting, especially if we take into account the fact that in some European countries wearing full-face veils in public spaces is prohibited by law and can lead to sanctions (i.e. fines, prison, administrative fines).
June 8, 2020
The events of the last few days, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and following the death of George Floyd, have prompted an amplification of the racial justice movement in the United States that is resonating everywhere in the world, including in Europe. This blogpost aims to give some insight into this movement from a systemic racism point of view, highlighting how this is far from an isolated incident, but a part of a whole system of oppression that needs dismantling.
May 25, 2020
I, as the communications coordinator for the European Disability Forum, have been following the COVID-19 impact since beginning of March. It has not been encouraging. Seeing how governments systematically forgot about persons with disabilities, how little support was given and how much pain and problems that created left me very discouraged. Persons with disabilities have been discriminated, isolated, forgotten and subject to multiple and severe human rights violations since the beginning of this crisis.
May 20, 2020
Equinet’s new interactive tool gives some insight into how National Equality Bodies (NEBs) are responding to the crisis, as well as the current trends which are appearing in its impact on equality across the region.
May 4, 2020
All of this is hard. We are living unprecedented times, but global response to the crisis should address its potential impact on marginalised groups, including LGBTI people, and their access to healthcare and safety at home, as well as to watch out for discriminatory practices and measures.
April 22, 2020
Week after week, COVID-19 reveals uncomfortable realities about the unequal societies we live in. All over the world, we have been urged to stay home, by authorities and through the #stayathome campaign. But one of the most blatant truths that we must face is that, for many women and children, home is the most dangerous place to stay.
April 10, 2020
As the COVID-19 situation develops, it is vital that the core values of equality and non-discrimination continue to be protected and promoted for all. In this blog post, a brief snapshot will be given of some of the main trends of discrimination and inequality related to the COVID-19 crisis that NEBs are seeing in their national work and some of the ways that they are addressing these issues.
May 26, 2021
Ex Officio Statement Considering the forthcoming Parliamentary Elections on 30 May 2021, the Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Ombudsman), in the framework […]
May 14, 2021
Strong and independent Equality Bodies, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI), Ombudsman Institutions and are necessary features of any democratic State, underpinning human rights, good governance and […]
April 29, 2021
Green Paper on Ageing On 27 January 2021, the European Commission released the Green Paper on Ageing, thus launching a public debate on demographic changes in Europe. The paper addresses the […]
April 27, 2021
The Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo* has published its annual report for the year 2020 as the fulfillment of the constitutional liability of submitting an Annual Report […]
April 16, 2021
The Albanian Commissioner for the Protection from Discrimination is glad to share the Law No. 10 221 dated 4.2.2010 “On Protection from Discrimination”, as amended by the Law […]
April 9, 2021
Warning: this blog article mentions instances of sexual violence which could be triggering or disturbing for some readers. The Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, the […]
February 26, 2021
New research published by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has found that the Government has persistently blurred the boundary between legal requirements and public […]
February 25, 2021
On December 3, 2019, International Day for Persons with Disabilities, Unia launched a survey to let people with disabilities have their say on ten major themes. […]
February 24, 2021
The corona crisis that is gripping our country has fuelled mutual distrust among citizens. “We notice that there is a strong tendency to look for culprits […]