In the name of justice

People with physical disabilities, members of Roma communities, faithful from different religious traditions, children, women… A large number of European citizens are the victims of abuse, violence and discrimination carried out in different environments and circumstances. To this regard, the EU has activated multiple public-awareness initiatives. The Fundamental Rights Agency set up in March 2007 is one of these.“Citizens are not aware of their own rights”. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is based in Vienna and is being built on the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. Its three major tasks, reflected in its Charter, are: “information and data collection on fundamental rights”, “providing advice to the EU and its member states”, “promoting dialogue with civil society to raise awareness on fundamental rights”. FRA publishes an annual report on fundamental rights in the EU and thematic reports based on its research and surveys, also highlighting examples of good practice regarding fundamental right issues”. The latest report, issued at the end of June provides data and information on racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance. The Agency’s research shows that “alarmingly few people are aware of their rights and where to report incidents of discrimination”. FRA highlights poor data-collection in EU-27, whilst “gaps in legal protection ensure that discrimination continues to thrive in certain areas”. Real justice, not just on paper. The Agency’s director Morten Kjaerum, explained, “There is an urgent need for better information. Most victims of discrimination are not aware that what is being done to them is illegal. At the same time, many do not know how or where to file a complaint.” As a consequence, the dark figure of discrimination is extremely high . “ Governments have an obligation to inform everyone of their rights, and ensure access to justice in practice, not just on paper”. Anastasia Crickley, Chairperson of the FRA Management Board stated: “There are still many gaps in legal protection against discrimination. Why should it be possible to sue a landlord for discriminating against someone on the basis of ethnicity or gender but not because of discrimination due to religion, age, disability or sexual orientation? Why are disabled people protected from discrimination in employment but not to the same degree in education?” Discrimination against Muslims. The FRA report on Islamophobia issued at the end of May raised major interest. It stated, “on average, one every three Muslims we interviewed said they had been the object of discrimination over the past 12 months”. The highest discrimination rates were registered in the job environment. According to the survey, “many episodes of racism are not filed to the police”. Reportedly, Muslim citizens said the main cause of discrimination is not religion, but ethnic diversity. Child trafficking. Data contained in the FRA report on child trafficking released at the beginning of July is extremely worrying. Indeed, rather than focusing on data and statistics, the Agency highlights a severe lack of awareness of this phenomenon and of related measures on the part of authorities and legal bodies. FRA Director Morten Kjaerum declared, ” According to official figures, the disappearance of children from shelters in the EU Member States is widespread, with their destinations largely unknown.” In all likeliness, according to FRA, the minors fall victim of child traffickers. “This problem remains widely ignored, due to a severe lack of monitoring by Member State authorities”. By paradox, in some Member States, victims of child trafficking “face detention for border offences and other illegal acts such as prostitution”. The FRA report proposes that EU legislation “ensure minimum standards for a policy of non-punishment of victims of child trafficking”, along with good practices in prevention and intervention areas.