Federal measures against racism

The State Secretary for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity Marie-Colline Leroy, presented on Wednesday the 81 federal measures of the future national action plan against racism. These measures, which have been approved by the government in July 2022, cover a number of federal areas of competence: employment, health, economy, justice, police, public enterprises, asylum and migration. ..... These federal measures will be included in the future National Action Plan against Racism, alongside the plans of the member states of Belgium.  State Secretary Marie-Colline Leroy: "The federal government has accepted its responsibility. We are waiting for Flanders to chair the special inter-ministerial conference to restart the discussions so that a joint national plan can be adopted. I have reminded my Flemish colleague of our willingness to work together on this. Efforts to create a more inclusive Belgium, offering equal opportunities to all citizens of the country, must continue. At the Durban Conference in 2001, Belgium committed itself to drawing up this national action plan against racism. It is high time that we live up to our commitment". 

In 2022, 1,647 cases, or one in five, were opened at Unia for discrimination in access to goods and services, work and employment and life in society. Never before have so many cases been opened at Unia for discrimination based on so-called racial criteria (national or ethnic origin, colour, nationality, descent and perceived race). These figures are just the tip of the iceberg: racism and discrimination are very present in our society. Faced with these facts, Belgium and its federal states need a structural and coordinated strategy. 

The 81 federal measures cover a wide range of areas. They include :

- The procedure for initiating discrimination tests at employers has been simplified to make it more user-friendly; 

- Federal authorities will voluntarily undergo discrimination testing to assess the level of impartiality of their services;

- the introduction of diversity and inclusion policies in public enterprises;

- The issue of racism will be included in the training of police and staff working in the field of asylum and migration; 

- Various measures have been or will be taken at police level to avoid arbitrary stops, to deal with complaints and to respond appropriately internally to discriminatory behaviour; 

- The protection scheme for victims of racism will be extended to witnesses who provide assistance to protect them from retaliation by their employer; 

- If a complaint is made, it will be possible to register the ground of discrimination as a hate crime to improve statistical screening; 

- Studies will be carried out on discrimination in health care and access to mortgages;

- Support for initiatives by associations against cyber hate; 

- Calls for projects from the State Secretariat "Fight against Racism" (2022) and "Our Story" (2023) with proposals to promote the representation of people of African descent and the cultural contributions of people of African descent in Belgium in the public sphere. The projects selected for this last call will be announced shortly. 

The Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities also wishes to express her appreciation for all the work done by civil society, which has been involved in the drafting of the federal measures. It is by working together in the broadest possible coalition that we aim to reduce racism and discrimination.