Implementation issues

• Author: Ouhnaoui, Hania; Bribosia, Emmanuelle; Navasartian, Areg; Rorive, Isabelle
• Pages: 113-116

113

8 IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES

8.1 Dissemination of information, dialogue with NGOs and between social

partners

a) Dissemination of information about legal protection against discrimination (Article 10

Directive 2000/43 and Article 12 Directive 2000/78)

The Federal Anti-Discrimination Acts were widely publicised in 2007, in particular through

brochures presenting the main provisions of the law and identifying a list of organisations

and administrations involved in their implementation. Seminars on the con tent of the law

in the context of employment took place in 2007 as part of a European project dedicated

to the dissemination of information about legal protection against discrimination. The

Federal Anti-Discrimination Acts were also translated into sign language.417 Furthermore,

the Centre organised several training afternoons in the major cities of the country for the

benefit of local organisations and professionals (integration centres, municipalities,

lawyers, associations, etc.). In addition, the federal Minister for Equal Opportunities funded

the creation, in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, of an inter-university Chair on ‘Law and

discrimination’, involving academics from three universities for the French-speaking part

of the project. Each year, 30 hours of training on anti-discrimination law has been delivered

by scholars from those universities. Attendance was free and it was part of the continuing

training of lawyers and judges.

In early 2016, Unia launched its new website which is much more user-friendly and

published a leaflet called ‘For equality, against discrimination. How can we help?’ in order

to clarify its role and missions to the public.418 The eDiv initiative (reported in section 7.f,

above), is also worth mentioning. Unia has also been lauded for another awareness

campaign on disabilities: ‘I have a disability and I have rights’ (‘J’ai un handicap et j’ai des

droits’).419

Currently, Unia has three newsletters through which it disseminates information: one on

Unia’s activities in general, another focuses on disability and a third one focuses on the

legal action that Unia undertakes.

In its 2017 report, the Expert Commission for the Assessment of the 2007 Anti-

Discrimination Federal Acts suggests strengthening the training for judges, police services

and labour inspectorates, in collaboration with Unia. The commission has also stressed the

need for training adapted to the different groups of the public concerned by the anti-

discrimination legislation, in particular employers.420

At the very end of 2018, after the change in the federal Government, an awareness

campaign against racism, called #stopracisme, with the slogan ‘le racisme, ça sert à quoi?’

(Racism, what gives?), was launched, in collaboration with Unia. This was done on the

initiative of the equal opportunities department and with the support of the federal

Government, despite the absence of the federal action plan that the Government was

supposed to adopt following the 2001 Durban Conference.

b) Measures to encourage dialogue with NGOs with a view to promoting the principle of

equal treatment (Article 12 Directive 2000/43 and Article 14 Directive 2000/78)

417 For more details on those initiatives, see Unia (2018) Annual Report for 2017 (Discrimination - Diversity), p.

122 and seq., available on the website of the Centre, www.unia.be/en.

418 The folder is available at the following address:

https://www.unia.be/files/Documenten/Brochures/UNIA_folder_EN_220116.pdf.

419 For more details, see the Unia website: www.unia.be/fr/sensibilisation-et-prevention/campagnes/jai-des-

droits.

420 Commission d’évaluation de la législation fédérale relative à la lutte contre les discriminations (2017),

Premier rapport d’évaluation 2017, pp. 95-100 and para. 208, www.unia.be/en.