Coordination at national level

• Author: Lorenzo Cachón
• Pages: 90-90

90

9 COORDINATION AT NATIONAL LEVEL

Although the transposition of European directives is the responsibility of the Ministry of

Justice under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the department that drew

up the texts transposing Directives 2000/43 and 2000/78 in 2003 was the Min istry of

Labour and Social Affairs (Directorate General for Labour).

The department responsible for implementing anti-discrimination policies is the Directorate

General for Equality of Treatment and Div ersity, a directorate g eneral of the Secretary of

Equality within the Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Parliament and Equality.147

This department has a general duty to monitor the implementation of the two directives

(independently of the duties of other minist erial departments in their resp ective fields).

The directorate general is also responsible for developing regulat ions applicable to the

Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination.

The department responsible for implementing policies to support p ersons with disabilities

is the State Se cretariat for Social P olicy, which is part of the Ministry of Health,

Consumption and Social Welfare. Most of the anti-discrimination issues covered by this

report come under this department’s remit. However, we should note that there are other

departments with responsibilities in matters of racial or ethnic discrimination, both in

ministries and in other tiers of government, such as the autonomous communities and

town councils.

Anti-racism and anti-discrimination National Action Plan

On 4 November 2011, the Spanish Government approved the ‘Comprehensive strategy

against racism, discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance’ (still in force in 2019).

In addition to drawing together various actions already included under Government plans,

the strategy contains some compromises sought by ECRI (but not others). The strategy

includes four blocks of activities: analysis, information systems and criminal legal action

on racism, racial discrimination, xenoph obia and related intolerance; promotion of

institutional coordination and cooperation with civil society; p revention and protection for

the victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; and

specific areas (including education, employment, health, housing, media, internet, sports,

and awareness) (see Cachón, 2012). In 2015, the Governm ent published its ‘Report on

the evaluation and monitoring of the comprehensive strategy against racism, racial

discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance’. Th ere are no mo re recent evaluation

reports of the plan.

147 Since January 2020, it has been part of the Ministry of Equality.