By Martin Banks - 3rd December 2009
Ehnic minorities continue to face discrimination and exclusion
Mohammed Aziz
A conference has been told that ethnic and religious minorities in Europe "continue to suffer from discrimination, prejudice and disadvantage on a daily basis."
The claim is made in the annual report of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), presented at a news conference in Brussels on Thursday.
It says that racism is rife "in most if not all walks of life, from employment to education, from housing to policing."
The report describes the current situation as "worrying."
It contains data collected by anti-racist civil society across which, it claims, point to racism in a "broad range" of areas, including employment, housing, education, health, policing, access to goods and services, and the media.
It also identifies Roma, migrants and religious minorities as particularly vulnerable to discrimination.
It says, "Ethnic minorities remain disproportionately affected by unemployment and employment under precarious conditions.
"Even when employed, they tend to face a glass ceiling effect with regard to career progression and occupy jobs that do not reflect their qualifications."
It says that in the Netherlands, for instance, non-Western migrants “feel that they have to work harder than their indigenous counterparts to achieve the same labour market position."
It says they also "constantly have to demonstrate that they do not fit the - unfavourable - stereotypical image of their group."
"Racial discrimination in education manifests itself, amongst others, in the allocation of places in schools." It adds, "the continuing increase in incidents of racially motivated crimes against minorities is another alarming finding."
The report shows some areas of improvement, such as the positive impact of EU anti-discrimination legislation in EU member states in terms of ensuring that racial discrimination is outlawed.
However, it says the effectiveness of legislation varies from one member state to the other.
"In addition, the increasing popularity of anti-immigrant parties in many countries, restrictive migration policies, a negative political and public discourse on migration, and a security focused agenda have had a detrimental impact on the integration of migrants and ethnic minorities in Europe," it says.
Mohammed Aziz, ENAR president, said, "Unfortunately, anti-discrimination often remains a right on paper and ethnic minorities continue to face discrimination and exclusion.
"In the field of migration, the lack of political will and an essentially negative approach has meant migrants are often treated as second class persons.
"The report highlights the urgent need for a concerted effort across the EU to overcome barriers and challenges that hinder effective equality for all."
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