Thank you Mr. Chair,

Madam Special Rapporteur,

The European Union would like to congratulate you on taking up this important role and thank your predecessor, for her work in discharge of this mandate. The EU firmly supports your mandate and the work it entails.

The EU remains fully committed to the elimination of all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance including in contemporary forms which are an affront to human dignity and have to be overcome. In this respect, we also stress the need to address stereotypes, stigmatization, identity-labelling as well as essentialization.

The EU commitment builds on solid legal ground, namely the universal framework of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which is the basis for efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate all forms of racism, as well as the Racial Equality Directive of 2000, which forbids all direct or indirect discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin.

Furthermore, the EU put together an Anti-racism action plan 2020-2025 which is the key initiative to step up action against racism and racial discrimination in the Union and which puts equality at the centre of EU policy making.

In this spirit, the EU calls for the full and effective implementation of the ICERD and urges all Member States to do their utmost to tackle the rise in hate crime and incitement to violence against persons belonging to ethnic, racial and religious minorities.

Madame Special Rapporteur,

In your report, you summarize submissions received by Member States and other stakeholders.

Which best practices did you identify in terms of Member States effectively addressing the rise in hate speech and racial defamation online?

Which are the areas of particular concern that you would like to focus on during your mandate?

Let us conclude by assuring you of our support and wishing you all the best for your work in this important role!

Thank you.