European leaders should confront systemic racism to build a Europe that stands for and defends diversity, inclusion, and racial justice, 47 civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch, said today. The following is their statement.
Re-Imagining Racial Justice in Euro
A Chance to Build an Alternative, Hopeful Future for All
At Anti-Racism and Diversity Week, 47 civil society organisations stand united in our hope for a better future, but also in our demand for action. We call on EU leaders to stand with us and confront systemic racism to build a Europe with a legacy of diversity and justice.
Despite strong legislation against racial discrimination and the adoption of the first EU Anti-Racism Action Plan in 2020, systemic racism remains pervasive throughout Europe. This is evident in the rising influence of political parties that openly justify the denial of rights for the most marginalised, especially racialised people at the intersections of various forms of discrimination. Recent data from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and from a number of CSOs make it clear: racialised communities, including Roma, Sinti and Travellers, People of African, Arab, Asian and Latin descent, Black people, Muslims and Jews (or those perceived as such), indigenous people, including migrants amongst them, continue to face significant barriers. From police violence and discriminatory migration policies to workplace exclusion and shrinking civic space, the European project is failing those it has long marginalised.
European leaders cannot afford silence. By allowing racialised communities to be scapegoated and pushed to the margins, they are complicit in paving the way for authoritarian, exclusionary voices. These forces endanger the lives and freedoms of all Europeans, dragging the continent further away from a future of justice and equality.
This moment demands a radical shift. We believe our leaders can rise to the challenge, confronting the tide of authoritarianism and racial injustice to create a Europe grounded in human dignity and democracy. During the Anti-Racism and Diversity Week, civil society gathers in the European Parliament not only as an act of resistance but also a powerful demonstration of our belief in a better future. We know that another world is possible - one that embraces care, justice, and safety for all, especially those at the margins. It is a world fit to address both past and present social and climate injustices. In the face of global developments that push us further from equality, the EU has the power to become the beacon of hope that the world desperately needs.
In response to fragmented policies and an overfocus on criminalisation and securitisation, we call for a shift from punitive policies to those that prevent harm and repair the damage already done. The goal must be to break down the systems that keep racial inequality in place, as outlined in the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan. Europe also needs to invest in community-driven solutions for justice, equity, and safety. Only by embracing an intersectional and restorative approach, guided by the lived experience of those most affected, can we uproot the systems of racism - anything less is empty rhetoric.
The upcoming equality strategies, and specifically the anti-racism strategy, present a critical moment to confront the dangerous trends sweeping through Europe. The following priorities must be central to this strategy:
- A renewed intersectional anti-discrimination framework that also safeguards the rights of people on the move.
- A legal ban on racial discrimination in law enforcement and migration control.
- A focus on equality and fundamental rights within the Rule of Law framework, with a sharp focus on racial discrimination, asylum rights, and the rights to protest and free expression.
- A redirection of funding towards social provision and community services, with strict non-discrimination conditions attached to the allocation of funds.
- Strong, inclusive participatory models for designing anti-racism policies, ensuring the voices of marginalised communities lead the way.
- Ensuring that all equality strategies, anti-poverty strategy and the European Pillar of Social Rights address the needs and protection of racialised groups, including migrants.
The anti-racism movement stands united and ready to mobilise collectively to build a Europe that is just, inclusive, and committed to a future where everyone - regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity, disability, age, or socio-economic background - can thrive.
SIGNED BY:
European Network Against Racism (ENAR)
Human Rights Watch
Amnesty International
Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF)
Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice
European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN)
European Disability Forum (EDF)
European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network
European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)
European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance (ESWA)
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) Youth & Student Organisation (IGLYO)
Advancing Together
Africa Solidarity Centre Ireland
Afro Danish Collective
ANTIGONE - Information and Documentation Centre on Racism, Ecology, Peace and Non-Violence
Apna Haq
ASOCIACION NACIONAL PRESENCIA GITANA
Association "Center for Integrative Inclusion of Roma Men and Women"
Association Por Ti Mujer
CADO-Advocacy and Human Rights Center
CCIE
CIIB
Changemakers Lab
Collectif for Inclusion and against Islamophobia in Belgium
Community Rights in Greece
De-Colonizer
Etudiants Musulmans de France (Muslim Students of France)
European Alternatives
FEMYSO
Fundacja Inicjatywa Dom Otwarty
G.F.C. Generation for Change CY
Greek Forum of Migrants
International Community Dynamics CLG
Intersect Madrid
Irish Network Against Racism (INAR)
JOVESOLIDES SPAIN
Migrant Tales
New Women Connectors
Northern Ireland Council for Racial Equality
Queerstion Media
Roma Active Albania
Siempre
SOS Racism Denmark
Swiss Minorities Sports Culture & Integration (Swiss Minors)
United African Women of Greece
United African Women Organization
Untold Asian Stories
