"Improving equality data collection in Belgium” (IEDCB) is a Belgian project co-funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) programme of the Directorate-General for Justice of the European Commission. It was realised thanks to a partnership between Unia and the Equal Opportunities Team of the Federal Public Service for Justice. The project aims to improve the collection and processing of equality data in Belgium. 

In this extraordinary year, Unia continued to fight for human rights and equality. The corona pandemic acted like a magnifying glass. Those already in a vulnerable position were often the first or hardest hit by Covid-19 or its measures.

In Belgium, a person's origin is still  an obstacle on the labour market. To help change this situation, the Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue and Unia have jointly developed the ‘Socio-economic Monitoring’. A fourth publication, in line with the three previous ones, has just been published.

Unia funded a research on police selectivity, conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC) and the Brussels North police zone. Main conclusion? The management of a police zone has a strong impact on police practices. It is therefore at this level that we must work to improve the relationship between the police and the population.

The Council of Europe, the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues and the European Commission must investigate whether the police and judiciary did not take excessive measures against travelers. That’s what Unia says in a report on the actions of the police and the judiciary during a large-scale investigation into car scam. The report lists a range of measures that have serious consequences for entire families.

Unia commissioned a study to be carried out about equal opportunities in the schools in the three Communities in Belgium. The Diversity Barometer Education is the final part of a triptych. The first two parts were about Employment (2012) and Housing (2014).

Article 52 of the Anti-Discrimination Law states that the application and effectiveness of the anti-discrimination laws must be assessed by the Legislative Chambers. Unia has prepared an assessment report on the Anti-Discrimination Law and the Anti-Racism Law based on its own practical experience, national jurisprudence and its general expertise in the fight against discrimination.

The year 2015 left a deep mark on our society. Violent conflicts and tensions on a global scale have had a direct impact on us. As we finalise this annual report, Belgium is suffering the repercussions of the bomb attacks at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station in Brussels.