ECRI recently marked 15 years of work at its 50th plenary meeting in Strasbourg.  Over these years ECRI has conducted country visits to all the member states of the Council of Europe and written hard-hitting country reports, engaged in standard setting with an increasing impact on the work of the European Court of Human Rights, commissioned path-breaking research and had a constructive dialogue with governments, civil society actors and others involved in combating intolerance and promoting equality. This accumulated experience is bolstered by the wide range of expertise of ECRI members (in human rights law, political science, sociology, NGO work, media and other fields) and the support of a committed team of civil servants. All the experience and professionalism of ECRI will be needed to address the many challenges in the field of racism and intolerance in Europe today. 

Persistent and recurring forms of intolerance, such as anti-Gypsyism, antisemitism, and prejudice against other “traditional minorities” have in recent years been compounded by Islamophobia and increasingly negative attitudes, discrimination and violence against immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees. In the years ahead, the challenge of integrating recent arrivals into European societies will become all the more complicated, as attitudes and legislation have hardened, xenophobic political and media discourse has become mainstream in many European countries, and security concerns have often been invoked to justify discriminatory practices. We are only now beginning to come to grips with the impact of the global economic crisis on racism and intolerance. The most vulnerable groups are often minorities and newcomers, and these groups are often targeted by those seeking to peddle fear and locate scapegoats for current difficulties.

Clearly, ECRI has much work to do!  Fortunately, we are well-equipped for the task and we are not alone – we are joined by other international and regional organisations, many government agencies and equality bodies, a network of excellent non-governmental organisations and people of good will throughout Europe. I wish us all success in the important work of creating a Europe based on respect and equality!   

Nils Muiznieks
Chair, ECRI