Implementing anti-racism priority recommendations in four European countries

The European Commission against racism and intolerance (ECRI), a Council of Europe independent expert body, has published today its conclusions on the implementation by Iceland, Luxembourg, North Macedonia and Poland of its recommendations provided in 2023, for which priority follow-up was requested.

Iceland

In its conclusions on Iceland, while taking positive note of the training organised for police officers and prosecutors on the correct identification and recording of hate crimes as well as of ongoing discussions on improving data collection in this area, ECRI notes that so far little progress has been achieved to implement the priority recommendation on setting up a comprehensive data collection system offering an integrated and consistent view of cases of racist and LGBTI-phobic hate speech and hate crime. ECRI considers that a full overview of the situation regarding investigations, prosecutions and court sentences in this area should be put in place, and that the data on possible hate crimes recorded by the police should be accessible to the public.

Concerning the second priority recommendation, which ECRI considers to be implemented, several actions have been taken by the Icelandic authorities to raise awareness of the existence and the content of the anti-discrimination legislation, including remedies available to victims of discrimination. At the same time, it notes that the awareness raising campaigns and materials would benefit from having a broader scope of dissemination in order to reach out to more groups of persons at risk of discrimination.

Luxembourg

In its conclusions on Luxembourg, ECRI recommended strengthening the Centre for equal treatment, particularly by giving it a clear legal status, jurisdiction to deal with all grounds concerning equal treatment, including "citizenship", the necessary powers to conduct proper investigations, the possibility to have complaints referred to it and the right to take part in court proceedings. ECRI held that no tangible measures have been taken to strengthen the legal framework, the mandate or the powers of the centre, and that as a result its recommendation has not been implemented.

The second priority recommendation was to adequately protect the right of intersex children to physical integrity and bodily autonomy by prohibiting in law the so-called "normalising" genital surgery and other medically unnecessary treatments until the child is able to participate in the decision on the basis of the right to self-determination and the principle of free and informed consent. This recommendation included the development of guidelines and training for professionals in contact with intersex children, as well as the establishment of easily accessible counselling and support services for intersex people and their families. In its conclusions, ECRI notes that no legislative steps have been taken. In addition, training and awareness-raising activities remain ad hoc, no guidelines have been published, and no effective co-ordination between existing structures for supporting intersex people and health professionals has been put in place. ECRI therefore concludes that this recommendation has not yet been implemented.

North Macedonia

In its report on North Macedonia published in 2023, ECRI recommended that the authorities grant the Commission on prevention and protection against discrimination and the Ombudsman's office financial autonomy to utilise their budgets without having to seek approval from the Ministry of Finance. ECRI has not received any information about changes to the procedure. The absence of financial autonomy of both institutions persists. In the case of the Ombudsman's office, this is of particular concern to ECRI as the budget of the institution is insufficient, and only 85 out of 183 staff positions are filled. ECRI concludes that the recommendation has not been implemented.

The second recommendation for priority follow-up by the authorities was to resolve the long-standing problems concerning identity documents and personal identification numbers for the previously identified Roma who did not have sufficient proof of identity following the independence of North Macedonia. As a result of legislative changes and parliamentary activity, according to the information received by ECRI, out of the approximately 700 previously identified Roma who found themselves in this situation, a large majority have had their status regularised - principally by having been granted citizenship of North Macedonia. Thus, they are no longer excluded from accessing education, employment, public health insurance and social welfare payments. However, as the regularisation procedure is still ongoing for some 160 persons, ECRI considers that the recommendation has been partially implemented.

Poland

For Poland, ECRI recommended adding sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics as explicitly prohibited grounds to the Criminal Code. ECRI notes the efforts of the Government to prepare and present relevant amendments concerning one of the three grounds, namely sexual orientation, to the Parliament, and regrets that the Criminal Code was not eventually amended. ECRI concludes that its recommendation has only been partially implemented.

The second recommendation concerned the development and adoption of a national migration policy, not only to integrate displaced people who took refuge in Poland as a result of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, but also other migrants. ECRI notes that Poland has adopted a national migration strategy for 2025-2030 aimed at improving coordination of state services and better managing migration. The policy includes positive components, notably language training for foreigners and efforts to integrate refugee children into the national education system. Plans to establish foreigners' integration centres and the intention to develop programmes tailored to the needs of large migrant communities, particularly Ukrainians, also signal recognition of the importance of long-term integration and inclusion. At the same time, the policy places disproportionate emphasis on immigration control and security rather than on integration. Responsibilities for integration fall largely on migrants themselves, while concrete inclusion measures remain limited. Political debates have also led some regions to withdraw from planned integration initiatives. As a result, ECRI considers that its recommendation has only been partially met.

Read the report in full in respect of Iceland

Read the report in full in respect of Luxembourg

Read the report in full in respect of North Macedonia

Read the report in full in respect of Poland