Over 30 municipal officers in Kosovo met in Pristina on 22nd March for the launch of the HELP course on Antidiscrimination. The event was organised by the Council of Europe and UNMIK action on “Promoting human rights and non-discrimination principles at the local level” and “HELP in the Western Balkans” project funded by Human Rights Trust Fund.
The event was opened by Frank Power, Head of Office, Council of Europe Office in Pristina and Armenda Berani Shala a representative of the Office for Good Governance, Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination - Office of the Prime Minister.
The participants were introduced to the “HELP in the Western Balkans” project, as well as to the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Programme and its online platform, where over 45 courses on human rights are available in the self-learning format, including the course on Antidiscrimination.
Participants were introduced to the tutors who will accompany them in the implementation of the course for the following 2 months, namely Arberita Kreyziu, HELP course tutor for the group in Albanian and Aleksandra Dimitrijevic, HELP course tutor for the group in the Serbian language.
The tutors also presented a brief overview of the course and the examples of national legislation that will be provided through the implementation of the online course. The participants had the possibility to share their expectations from the course and exchange with their colleagues.
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The HELP course on Antidiscrimination was developed by a Working Group (WG) of international consultants. Modules related to the discrimination against Roma and the SOGI communities were developed in cooperation with the Council of Europe Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Unit and the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma issues.
The aim of the course is to provide a detailed, yet easily accessible, educational resource to promote understanding among national judges, prosecutors and lawyers in respect of the significant amount of relevant ECtHR case law.
In five(5) modules participants will explore issues of discrimination experienced by a range of communities as well as key terms and definitions associated with these groups. Finally, participants will see how they are protected by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
The online course is available on the Council of Europe HELP e-learning platform, in self-learning format, in 17 languages. It takes 6 hours to complete and participants who finalise the course can generate an electronic Statement of Accomplishment.
