Equality bodies from Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans regions meet in Strasbourg on counter-hate speech
As part of capacity building activities on combating hate speech within the framework of the European Union and the Council of Europe Horizontal facility II and Partnership for Good Governance II Programs, representatives of the network of equality bodies joined Council of Europe staff and experts, as well as civil society activists, to discuss good examples and challenges in dealing with gender issues. cases of hate speech and ensure the protection of victims.
The key role of equality bodies in this area has been recognized, in the form of preventive initiatives (eg public statements) and dealing with individual cases of hate speech targeting victims of vulnerable groups. Experts and activists in the field had the opportunity to discuss good practices and the difficulties of each institution in the fight against hate speech and hate crimes. Monitoring of hate speech cases was highlighted as one of the most relevant, but underdeveloped, areas in which Council of Europe assistance is deemed necessary.
The Council of Europe, in its joint efforts with European Union in the Eastern and South-Eastern Europe regions, designed a capacity building programme To to bring tools and exchanges between peers to better develop responses to hate speech, using European standards and practices as a reference, in particular the ECRI General policy recommendation no. 15 on combating hate speech. Online training sessions took place in the first half of 2021, while this session collected 40 participants from equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership region in person in Strasbourg.
The event was also an opportunity to network between the two regions and to exchange common challenges.
Capacity building activity develops within the joint programs of the European Union and the Council of Europe, the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022 (HFII) and the Partnership for good governance (PGG) and in particular the action “Promotion of diversity and equality in the Western Balkans“(HFII) and the project”Strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Eastern Partnership“(PGGIII).