What is Unia doing to combat racism?
Unia fights racism in all its forms.
The work of Unia is aimed at :
- By giving advice, support and assistance to citizens who experience discrimination;
- By proposing solutions through dialogue;
- By taking legal action in certain cases.
- By informing employers about the content of anti-racism and anti-discrimination legislation (Unia provides practical answers to concrete situations, in particular through the online training module eDiv) in order to support employers in their company’s diversity policy;
- By providing training to different institutional target groups (police, justice sector, local authorities, etc.), companies and various organisations;
- By consulting and signing cooperation agreements with sectors (for example with employers and the various trade unions), governments and the volunteer sector.
- Unia provides targeted input and recommendations to the relevant authorities. In addition, it submitted a report in 2017 evaluating the application and effectiveness of anti-racism and anti-discrimination legislation.
- Unia prepares reports and studies, including its annual report, such as the Annual Report Discrimination/Diversity 2013: Focus racism and the different diversity barometers with which Unia makes an inventory of the various socio-economic aspects of Belgian society.
- In the field of awareness-raising and prevention, Unia has a variety of instruments to improve equal opportunities and fight discrimination. These instruments have been developed either in a collaborative process with the school sector or solely by other organisations.
- Unia works with various partner organisations in specific areas, such as housing, where candidates from minority groups are often victims of discrimination when looking for a home.
- Unia organises campaigns and events to raise awareness within specific target groups. The annual #DonneMoi1Minute (‘Give me 1 minute’) video competition mobilises schools and classes throughout Belgium around a theme.
- Unia publishes several reports and publications on racism in various domains.
- On 5 March 2020, Unia launched the Consultative Commission on Racism, in the presence of some 30 players from civil society, trade unions and the academic world. The Commission treats issues of racism in the broadest sense of the word: anti-Semitism and Islamophobia can also be addressed.
- Unia developed a data hub in which you can search for all existing data in Belgium on racism.