ECRI annual report 2020: Covid-19 deepened inequalities, racism, growing religious intolerance, and backlash against LGBTI people

The Council of Europe’s Commission against racism and intolerance (ECRI), at the occasion of the International Day against Racial Discrimination on 21 March, has published its 2020 annual report on the main trends in the fields of racism and intolerance in Europe and ECRI’s activities on this regard.

The report identifies four key challenges Europe was facing last year. These are: mitigating the disproportional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable groups, tackling deep-rooted racism in public life, combating anti-Muslim racism and antisemitism in the face of terrorism, and addressing the backlash against the protection of human rights of LGBTI people.

According to the report, the COVID-19 crisis has brought about overall regression in human rights in Europe. Among all the groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic, the situation of Roma deteriorated the most. The other groups most badly affected by the pandemic are migrants and asylum seekers, the Jewish and the LGBTI.

The full report is consultable at the link below.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) is an independent human rights monitoring body of the Council of Europes specialised in questions relating to racism, discrimination, xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance in Europe; it prepares reports and issues recommendations to member States.