Today marks 73 years since the survivors were liberated from the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Sadly, anti-Semitism has far from disappeared. In 2016, at Unia we received no fewer than 109 reports of anti-Semitic offences – more than twice as many as in 2015. 

Out of all survey-respondents of North African and Turkish origin who experienced discrimination in the past year in Belgium, 20% said it had occurred on the job market, while the European average on this point is 12%. This figure was brought to Unia’s attention in the Second EU-MIDIS report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

The store manager of the Intermarché in Klabbeek was guilty of racism when he dismissed a black employee. That was the ruling of the criminal court of Walloon Brabant. The manager dismissed the man because some customers ‘didn’t want to be served by a black person’. Unia was a civil claimant.

Many Muslims in Europe are still confronted with discrimination, physical violence and harassment, despite the fact that most of them feel a strong connection to their country of residence. This is the conclusion of the FRA in a new report. The FRA is the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. The report is based on material including responses from 25,000 residents of Europe with a migration background.

The administrator of the Facebook page of the Vlaamse Verdedigings Liga [Flemish Defence League] has received a ten months’ suspended sentence. According to the Antwerp court he incited his followers to racism. Unia was a civil party.