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Headway made in combating discrimination in 2013-2014
Training of key agents:
In March 2014 the Service organised several training ini-
tiatives to promote specialised training in equal treat-
ment and non-discrimination for several different pro-
fessional groups in different Autonomous Communities.
Specifically, we ran five regional training conferences
on equal treatment and assistance for victims of racial
or ethnic discrimination targeting jurists and social and
public service professionals in Valencia, Madrid, Seville,
Toledo and Santiago de Compostela, and an aware-
ness-raising and results presentation conference in Sal-
amanca.
Over
300 professionals
from different walks of life
took part in these conferences, all working in one way
or another to assist potential victims of racial or ethnic
discrimination or to promote and defend equal treat-
ment.
To supplement the technical training of all of the pro-
fessionals rendering these services, we continued with
our training and capacity building efforts. The third edi-
tion of the Nationwide Training Session for Workers of
the Assistance Service for Victims of Racial or Ethnic
Discrimination was held on 10 July 2014. Thirty profes-
sionals from the different social organisations compris-
ing the Service took part in the training conference.
In 2015 it is very important for the Committee’s service
to consolidate its work and continue its forceful de-
fence of the Right to Equal Treatment and no racial or
ethnic Discrimination.
Assistance service website:
www.asistenciavictimas-discriminacion.org
II.
Council of Victims of Hate and
Discrimination Crime. Victims of racism,
xenophobia, anti-gypsyism, homophobia,
anti-Semitism, islamophobia and other
forms of intolerance.
1.
The Council of Victims of Hate and Discrimination
Crime, presented on 24 April 2014, is a pioneer ini-
tiative in Europe arising from the decision to orga-
nise victims and solicit the support of experts and
specialised organisations in this area. This initiative
was launched following the approval of the Euro-
pean Directive on the rights of victims 2012/29
whose initial tasks were to address the Victims
Statute currently being debated in the Spanish
Parliament and promote a Law on the Protection
of Hate Crime Victims conceived to guarantee
legal assistance, humanitarian aid and protection,
information and comprehensive recovery mea-
sures, adaptation of legislation and other measures
to provide effective support to victims of rac-
ism and intolerance. The Law should also guaran-
tee specific training and coordination of all of the
agents involved in the process (police and securi-
ty forces, prosecutors, forensic experts, psychol-
ogists, judges, associations, etc.) to ensure that
the needs of victims of hate crime are met at all
times by specialists and their rights guaranteed.
2.
The Council has based its efforts on the vast body
of work carried out by the Movement against Intol-
erance for over 20 years serving nearly 1,400 peo-
ple, most of whom were immigrants but also other
groups such as Roma, LGBT and other minorities.
Victim support services include filing of complaints,
accompaniment in legal proceedings, identification
of witnesses, initial self-protection measures, le-
gal advice and private prosecution, or in court by
means of public prosecution and humanitarian sup-
port have been offered in the framework of these
efforts. This work has been supported by different
public institutions, especially the Secretariat-Gener-
al for Migrations in the framework of the Compre-
hensive Strategy against racism, xenophobia, racial
discrimination and other related forms of intolerance
approved by the Cabinet in 2011. This government
is executing many of its measures, such as:
“...The
role of NGOs working with governments to improve
legislation, monitor and report incidents of racism
and xenophobia, act as spokespersons for victims
of hate crimes...”
3.
The Council of Victims groups together and is the
direct voice of the victims, with the support of a
network of organisations committed to this cause
and experts and professionals contributing their
experience and know-how in defence of the rights
of victims of hate and discrimination crimes. Two
groups of organisations accompany victims: the
Support Network is composed of a number of en-
tities organising their efforts throughout the terri-
tory and the Advisory Commissions are formed by
experts and professionals who implement social ini-
tiatives, studies and research in support of victims.
These organisations are based on the principle that
victims are a priority from the international perspec-
tive of Human Rights making it vital to act and ad-
here to the resolutions of the United Nations, the
European Union, the European Commission against
Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Council of Europe
and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation
in Europe (OSCE), that define hate crime as “Any