Current best practices

• Author: Ouhnaoui, Hania; Bribosia, Emmanuelle; Navasartian, Areg; Rorive, Isabelle
• Pages: 121-122

121

10 CURRENT BEST PRACTICES

- The publication of several diversity barometers by Unia. These diversity barometers

provide data and statistics, which are crucial to addressing discrimination issues in

the fields of employment, housing and education in Belgium.444 The last one,

published in 2018, focuses on measuring discrimination and inequalities in the

education system.445 In particular, it identifies the risks of discrimination against

pupils on the ground of their social or ethnic origin, disability or sexual orientation at

school. It was the result of long-term scientific research carried out by KU Leuven-

HIVA, the learning and diversity research centre of Ghent University and ULB-GERME.

In order to carry out this study and the subsequent report, Unia received funding

from the three community Ministers of Basic Education and the Minister of Equal

Opportunities of the French-speaking Community. Unia coordinated the research, and

political recommendations have been formulated through a combination of the results

of the study and the expertise of Unia.

- In December 2018, the Senate voted unanimously for a resolution against

antisemitism. This resolution aims to make the Government appoint a national

coordinator of the fight against antisemitism; to reinstate the antisemitism watch

unit and to have better and clearer annual statistics on the number of antisemitic

aggressions, the number of cases opened and the number of actual convictions. In

March 2019, Kris Peeters (then federal Minister for Equal Opportunities) convened a

meeting of the Antisemitism Watch Unit for the first time in five years.

- On 25 April 2019, the Belgian Federal Chamber of Representatives adopted a

legislative act that allows for the creation of a Federal Institute for the Protection and

the Promotion of Human Rights.446 This is the first institute universally competent in

respect of Human Rights, unlike the several different specialised bodies (e.g. Unia:

discrimination; Myria: migrants’ rights; IEFH: gender equality, …), whose respective

jurisdictions will remain untouched. In order to achieve an overall coverage of

fundamental rights, it was decided to define the competence of the new body in a

‘complementary’ or ‘residual’ way. Thus, this new federal institute would be

competent to ensure the respect of all fundamental rights, in the federal fields not

covered by an existing specialised body. The institute is intended to work in close

cooperation with the specialised public bodies active in the field of human rights and

take part in the human rights network. At this stage it is not entirely clear what role

the institute is going to play in the field of discrimination as it will have to define its

action in complementarity with the mandate of Unia and the Institute for the Equality

of Women and Men. The institute will have a consultative role and will be able to

intervene in front of the judiciary and the Constitutional Court (see section 7, above).

- In 2018, the Government took the initiative to adopt a Royal Decree fixing the

conditions for positive action as recognised in the three anti-discrimination laws of

10 May 2007. This ancillary Royal Decree was finally adopted on 11 February 2019.447

It is only applicable to positive action relating to employment in the private sector.

Its main purpose is therefore to provide private employers with a secure legal

framework within which positive action may be undertaken. A positive action plan

may be adopted either through a collective agreement or through an employer’s

444 Available on the website of Unia www.unia.be/fr/publications-et-statistiques/statistiques/tudes-statistiques-

dunia.

445 Unia (2018) Diversity Barometer: Education,

www.unia.be/files/Documenten/Publicaties_docs/1210_UNIA_Barometer_2017_-_FR_AS.pdf.

446 Belgian Federal Act of 12 May 2019 creating a Federal Institute for the Protection and Promotion of

Fundamental Rights (Loi du 12 mai 2019 portant création d'un Institut fédéral pour la protection et la

promotion des droits humains), OJ (Moniteur belge), 21 June 2019.

447 Royal Decree of 11 February 2019 setting on the conditions of positive actions (Arrêté royal du 11 février

2019 f‌ixant les conditions de l’action positive), OJ (Moniteur belge), 1 March 2019, p. 21169.