Events
Letters
Press releases / Statements
Articles
Opinions
Events
EU Anti-Racism and Diversity Week
(23/09/2019-26/09/2019) Agenda #ARW19 Reception: Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup Launch Recommendations for EU Anti-racism and discrimination law and policy Panel discussion: #towardsrepresentation – Moving forward on diversity and political participation in EU politics Panel discussion: Ensuring safety and justice for minorities…
Anti-racism and the EU mandate 2019-2024 Days
(18/03/2019-21/03/2019 Agenda Building a narrative Community organising and non-party political mobilising campaigning Workshop 2 continued: Community organising and non-party political mobilising campaigning Combatting racism/discrimination: Evaluating 2014-2019 and recommendations for 2019-2024 Meeting with institution representatives Anti-racism/discrimination strategies ahead of the EU…
EU Roma Week 2019
(18/03/2019-21/03/2019 Agenda Let’s Make Roma Voice Heard RomnoPower: Opening and Concert Reality Check: Evaluating the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies European Civil Rights Prize of Sinti and Roma Roma Award (Western Balkan and Turkey) Breakfast between MEPs and…
Being Black in the EU
(28/11/2018) Opening remarks Cécile Kyenge MEP Malin Björk MEP What it means to be Black in the EU – FRA survey findings Michael O’Flaherty, Director, EU Agency for Fundamental Rights Ways forward – views from experts and plenary debate Christie…
Counter-Narratives to Islamophobia Toolkit
(26/09/2018) Introductory remarks Jean Lambert MEP Prof. Ian Law, Professor of Racism and Ethnicity Studies, Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds Country Presentations: UK, France, Belgium Germany Arzu Merali, Islamic Human…
Promoting Peace, Fighting Youth Radicalization, Fostering a Welcoming Europe
(21/06/2018) Introductory remarks Sajjad Karim MEP Alfiaz Vaiya Keynote speech Sir Julian King Discussion Figen Murray Dr Ajmal Hussain Dr Shelley Piasecka Professor Simon Piasecki
EU People of African Descent Week
(14/05/2018-17/05/2018) PAD Week agenda (Public) Agenda Hearing: People of African Descent in Europe: Recognition and Rights Reception: People of African Descent Week (PAD) Launch Roundtable: Black Lives Europe Roundtable: Educating Europe – Modernizing Europe’s Race Consciousness Reception/Forum: Inclusive Digital Policy…
Letters
Letter to President Von der Leyen about European Commission Task Force for Equality and workforce diversity
(27/11/2019) Dear European Commission President desginate Von der Leyen, We are writing in our capacity as Co-Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup to express our concern at the lack of diversity on the European Commission…
Letter to UEFA about racism and discrimination in football
(20/11/2019) Dear Mr Ceferin, We are writing to you as Members of the European Parliament to urge UEFA to take urgent action against racism and discrimination in football after more chants and incidents last week in international matches and in…
Letter to President Sassoli on commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020
(27/09/2019) Dear President Sassoli, We are writing to you as Members of the European Parliament and bureau members of the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity to ask for your support in commemorating the victims of the Roma Holocaust within the…
Letter to President Von der Leyen about diversity and inclusion
(17/07/2019) Dear European Commission President appointee Von der Leyen, We are writing in our capacity as MEPs and Co-Presidents and Vice-Presidents of our respective Intergroups to congratulate you on your appointment as President of the European Commission. As representatives of…
Letter to The Guardian about defamation charges against Cecile Kyenge
(09/10/2018) As black elected representatives and community leaders from across Europe, we are deeply troubled that a court in Piacenza, Italy, has allowed the Italian League party to open a case of defamation against Cécile Kashetu Kyenge, the former Italian…
Letter to President Tajani about MEP Marcel De Graaff hate speech against Muslims in European Parliament plenary session
(14/03/2018) Dear President Tajani, I am writing to you as a fellow Member of the European Parliament and as Co-President of the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) to call for dispensary measures against Marcel de Graaff MEP for…
Letter to President Tusk about Prime Minister Orban’s speech in Miskolc
(12/03/2018) Dear President Tusk and the Bulgarian Presidency of the European Union, We would like to bring to your attention a speech made by Viktor Orbán in Miskolc, Hungary on March 1st that targeted Roma people and migrants and asylum…
Letter to President Juncker about International Holocaust Remembrance Day
(30/01/2018) Dear President Juncker, I am approaching you again relating to your message[1] delivered on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. I must admit that your message this year has been a bit more inclusive than your messages before. However, I…
Letter to Presidents about diversity and inclusion strategy
(04/09/2017) Dear Presidents and Commissioner Oettinger, We are writing to you as Members of the European Parliament and as members of the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) to express our concern regarding the European Commission’s Diversity and Inclusion…
Letter to Presidents about commemoration of the Roma Holocaust on 27th January 2018
(26/06/2017) Dear Presidents, We are writing to you as Members of the European Parliament and civil society organisations that organise Roma Week, which is hosted by the European Parliament and European Commission, to ask you to formally commemorate the Roma…
Press releases / Statements
Over 140 Members of European Parliament (MEPs) call on UEFA to combat racism/discrimination in football
(20/11/2019) Over 140 Members of European Parliament (MEPs) call on UEFA to combat racism/discrimination in football European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup, Co-President Member of European Parliament Samira Rafaela (RENEW EUROPE) and over 140 MEPs sent a letter to the…
European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup bureau and priorities established for 2019-2024 mandate
(26/06/2019) European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup bureau and priorities established for 2019-2024 mandate The European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) has appointed a new bureau to lead its work in the European Parliament on combatting racism and promoting…
European Parliament recognizes discrimination and past injustices through adoption of inaugural resolution on the Fundamental Rights of People of African Descent
(26/03/2019) European Parliament recognizes discrimination and past injustices through adoption of inaugural resolution on the Fundamental Rights of People of African Descent The European Parliament today adopted for the first time a resolution on the Fundamental Rights of People of…
Salvini’s comments on cataloguing Roma people a reminder of darkest days of European history
(20/06/2018) Salvini’s comments on cataloguing Roma people a reminder of darkest days of European history S&D MEPs have strongly criticised comments from Italian Interior minister Matteo Salvini following his proposal for ethnic registration of Roma people in Italy. S&D Group…
First ever EU People of African Descent Week honours contributions of Europe’s Black populations
(14/05/2018) First ever EU People of African Descent Week honours contributions of Europe’s Black populations At a time when Black people in Europe experience hate crime, violence and deaths in police custody, use of racial profile, discrimination in education and…
One-Third of EU Countries Have National or Local Bans on Muslim Women’s Dress
(25/04/2018) One-Third of EU Countries Have National or Local Bans on Muslim Women’s Dress Nearly one-third of all the member states of the European Union have placed legal restrictions on religious dress at either local or national level, according to…
Why do we need an EU Roma Week?
(08/04/2018) Why do we need an EU Roma Week? The third EU Roma Week will take place in Brussels starting on 8th of April (International Roma Day) and continue until Thursday 12th April. The week will consist of a series…
MEP Marcel De Graaff engages in hate speech against Muslims in European Parliament plenary session
(14/03/2018) MEP Marcel De Graaff engages in hate speech against Muslims in European Parliament plenary session In the European Parliament plenary sitting today 14th March 2018, Marcel De Graaff MEP on behalf of the ENF Group, claimed that the inclusion…
Lack of birth certificates leaves Roma children in Europe at risk of statelessness and without healthcare or education
(29/11/2017) Lack of birth certificates leaves Roma children in Europe at risk of statelessness and without healthcare or education A life without birth certificates and a nationality has a profound impact on thousands of Roma living in Europe, including children….
Far right political party “United Patriots” worrying role in Bulgaria’s EU Council presidency
(13/10/2017) Far right political party “United Patriots” worrying role in Bulgaria’s EU Council presidency According to many watchdog organisations and activists racism is on the rise in Bulgaria, and the presence of far right parties in government could create a…
Articles
Feature: Magid Magid: Taking the EU by storm
(10/07/2019) Feature: Magid Magid: Taking the EU by storm Parliament Magazine Magid Magid, one of Parliament’s newly-elected deputies, is brash, confident, black and proud, particularly of his immigrant background. Born in Somaliland, an autonomous region of Somalia, the 30-year-old aquatic…
MEPs pass ‘watershed’ resolution calling for action against racism
(26/03/2019) The Guardian MEPs pass ‘watershed’ resolution calling for action against racism The European parliament has called for action to tackle the “structural racism” facing millions of Europeans of African descent in an unprecedented resolution that was overwhelmingly approved by…
MEPs vote to combat racist discrimination against Afro-Europeans
(26/03/2019) Politico MEPs vote to combat racist discrimination against Afro-Europeans The European Parliament voted Tuesday to tackle structural racism faced by Europeans of African descent. MEPs adopted a resolution calling on the EU and its member countries to address racist…
The EU is too white – and Brexit likely to make it worse, MEPs and staff say
(29/08/2018) The Guardian The EU is too white – and Brexit likely to make it worse, MEPs and staff say It was just another meeting in the European parliament, says Ida Scott*. “There were five people in the room and…
Italy’s League: Roma census will ‘help’ community
(20/06/2018) Politico Italy’s League: Roma census will ‘help’ community The Italian government’s plan to carry out a census of Roma in the country is intended to “help” not harm the Roma community, Italy’s Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Guglielmo Picchi said Wednesday….
When will the EU put Black Europeans on the political agenda?
(26/06/2018) Equal Times When will the EU put Black Europeans on the political agenda? As someone who is intimately familiar with racism, Swedish MP Momodou Malcolm Jallow didn’t hesitate to respond to the senior European Union official who casually informed…
EU owes a strategy for inclusion to black people in Europe
(14/05/2018) EurActiv EU owes a strategy for inclusion to black people in Europe Black people continue to experience some of the highest rates of discrimination in Europe, and the refugee crisis has made things even worse, writes Karen Taylor. Karen…
Italy’s first black minister fears far-right party’s government influence
(14/05/2018) The Guardian Italy’s first black minister fears far-right party’s government influence Italy’s first black cabinet minister has expressed deep concerns about the entry into Italy’s government of the League, as the far-right party and the populist Five Star Movement…
Cécile Kyenge’s call for greater diversity
(16/04/2018) Politico Cécile Kyenge’s call for greater diversity “It’s important for me to say to people working in Parliament that I feel honored to work here, representing the hidden face of Europe,” said Cécile Kyenge, an Italian who is one…
Feature: Cécile Kashetu Kyenge: We need to think about immigration in extremely rational terms
(11/11/2017) Parliament Magazine Feature: Cécile Kashetu Kyenge: We need to think about immigration in extremely rational terms In the US and in Europe, we have seen a rise in racialisation in politics. Political movements based on populism and nationalism have…
Opinions
MEP’s unite for Human Rights at 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights
(10/12/2018) MEP’s unite for Human Rights at 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. On 10 December 1948, Members of the United Nations General Assembly came…
As Italy’s first black minister, I suffered vile racist abuse. But this poison damages us all
(30/11/2018) As Italy’s first black minister, I suffered vile racist abuse. But this poison damages us all Racial discrimination is now “commonplace” across 12 European countries, and one in three people of African descent has experienced harassment in the past…
Holocaust remembrance – we cannot stay silent again
(27/01/2018) Holocaust remembrance – we cannot stay silent again It has been seven decades since the Holocaust and we are still witnessing hate crime against minorities in Europe. We still see Neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists openly marching and parading in…
Urgent need to combat rising Afrophobia in the European Union
(13/12/2017) Urgent need to combat rising Afrophobia in the European Union As Co-President of the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) and given my own background, I have taken a specific interest in my parliamentary work on the issue…
Roma statelessness is not an accident
(29/11/2017) Roma statelessness in Europe is not an accident Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights next year, the United Nations Human Rights Office is encouraging everyone to “stand up for human rights”. In Europe,…
Politicians responsibility to combat racism and hate speech
(02/03/2016) Politicians responsibility to combat racism and hate speech Recent crises are fuelling a worrying climate of fear and hatred, as well as total disregard for non-discrimination and equality rights in Europe, warn MEPs from Parliament’s Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup….