22/06/2020
FSG Igualdad
The proposals aim to strengthen both narratives and anti-racist actions, while addressing manifestations of structural racism in the United States and in Europe, including police brutality.On Wednesday 17 June 2020, the European Parliament held a debate with a resolution entitled "The protests against racism after the death of George Floyd". On June 19 the majority of members of the European Parliament voted in favor and adopted the resolution.
Proposals by presidents and members of the intergroup Against Racism and Diversity (ARDI) aim to strengthen both narratives and anti-racist actions, while addressing manifestations of structural racism in the United States and in Europe, including police brutality.
Among its previous considerations, the Resolution mentions that, according to an FRA survey, the racialized groups most affected by racism and discrimination in Europe due to their ethnic or migratory origin are Roma people and people from North Africa and from Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Resolution recalls the importance of the #BlackLivesMatter campaign, mourns the death of George Floyd, and traces the history of police brutality with racial bias in the United States. It also points to the malpractice of police identifications with an ethnic profile, a practice that especially affects Roma people, and demands concrete actions to eradicate this practice.
The Resolution calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to officially recognize past injustices and crimes against humanity committed against black people, people of color and Roma people; considers slavery a crime against humanity and calls for December 2 to be designated as the European Day of Remembrance for the Abolition of Slavery; encourages Member States to include the history of black peoples, peoples of color and the Roma people in their school programs.
The Resolution takes a detailed look at the various forms of racism, hate crimes and hate speech that are taking place today, and the measures that the EU and the Member States can implement to combat racism and police malpractice. It also requests that all anti-discrimination policies include an intersectional and gender approach in order to combat multiple discrimination.
The danger of far-right political forces, which continue to promote racism and hatred of minorities in many European countries, is also noted.
In the legal field, on the fight against discrimination of all kinds in the EU, the Resolution calls on the Council to immediately unblock and conclude the negotiations on the Horizontal Non-discrimination Directive, which has been blocked since the Commission proposed it in 2008.
The Resolution calls on EU leaders to organize an anti-racist European summit dedicated to the fight against structural discrimination in Europe; urges the Commission to present a comprehensive strategy against racism and discrimination and an EU framework for drawing up national action plans against racism.
From the Fundación Secretariado Gitano we especially value this Resolution, since it represents an important institutional wake-up call to all Member States and the EU itself on the reality and seriousness of racism today, and because it recognizes that efforts must be redoubled and the commitments of the European institutions in the fight against racism in all its forms, including that suffered by the Roma community.
Furthermore, this resolution is closely aligned with the position expressed by various entities dedicated to the fight against bunches in Spain in a statement issued after the death of George Floyd. We understand that in the case of Spain, the first measure that should be adopted to comply with the European resolution is the approval of a comprehensive Law on equal treatment and non-discrimination, which we also asked for in our statement.
The Resolution can be consulted at this link:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0173_EN.pdf
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