For those interested in Human Rights
looks like some of you could be a part of the education process. . .
Unawareness of equality laws widespread
By Lucy Millett
OVER HALF of potential victims of harassment and discrimination do not know their rights, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey.
The survey found that 53 per cent of EU respondents did not know their rights should they experience discrimination or harassment. Discrimination based on ethnic origin was found to be the most widespread form in the European Union, with sexual orientation the second highest followed by discrimination on grounds of disability.
Fifteen per cent of European respondents claimed to have been discriminated against in the 12 months prior to the survey and 29 per cent claimed they had witnessed discrimination against someone else during that time.
Equality bodies have been set up in all EU member states to promote equality and to combat discrimination. These bodies provide services including assisting victims of discrimination, conducting independent surveys, publishing independent reports and making recommendations.
The National Equality Body for Cyprus is the office of the Ombudsman (ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.cy) incorporating the Anti-discrimination Body and the Equality Authority. The Office investigates complaints, makes recommendations to offenders and can impose penalties and fines. It also carries out and publishes research. Complaints can be made directly, by antiracist NGOs, or on the Ombudsman’s initiative.
According to the ‘For Diversity, Against Discrimination’ (FDAD) campaign migrants have “contributed enormously to the economic development of Cyprus’ yet they are ‘the main victims of discrimination and racism.”
The growing problem of discrimination and racism in Cyprus is clear from the significant number of migrants seeking help from NGOs, the Ombudsman and the Council of Europe as well as from increasing reports in the media.
The FDAD claim that migrants in general ‘work under worse conditions and receive lower wages than locals’. They are also “victims of institutional racism, stereotyping and stigmatisation and are used as scapegoats for many social and economic problems”.
Those particularly vulnerable are domestic workers whose ‘contracts of employment are frequently violated’ and who often “fall victim to abuse, sexual harassment, rape and violence”.
Deportations, even of persons married to EU citizens, “are frequent and often illegal”, and seasonal workers are “often deported without being paid”, the FDAD.
In order to combat the problem of discrimination Cyprus must ‘accept that it is a multi-cultural society and develop policies and practices to promote social integration, enrich society and create conditions of equality for all its inhabitants, irrespective of national, ethnic, racial or other origin,” it added.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009
Unawareness of equality laws widespread
By Lucy Millett
OVER HALF of potential victims of harassment and discrimination do not know their rights, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey.
The survey found that 53 per cent of EU respondents did not know their rights should they experience discrimination or harassment. Discrimination based on ethnic origin was found to be the most widespread form in the European Union, with sexual orientation the second highest followed by discrimination on grounds of disability.
Fifteen per cent of European respondents claimed to have been discriminated against in the 12 months prior to the survey and 29 per cent claimed they had witnessed discrimination against someone else during that time.
Equality bodies have been set up in all EU member states to promote equality and to combat discrimination. These bodies provide services including assisting victims of discrimination, conducting independent surveys, publishing independent reports and making recommendations.
The National Equality Body for Cyprus is the office of the Ombudsman (ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.cy) incorporating the Anti-discrimination Body and the Equality Authority. The Office investigates complaints, makes recommendations to offenders and can impose penalties and fines. It also carries out and publishes research. Complaints can be made directly, by antiracist NGOs, or on the Ombudsman’s initiative.
According to the ‘For Diversity, Against Discrimination’ (FDAD) campaign migrants have “contributed enormously to the economic development of Cyprus’ yet they are ‘the main victims of discrimination and racism.”
The growing problem of discrimination and racism in Cyprus is clear from the significant number of migrants seeking help from NGOs, the Ombudsman and the Council of Europe as well as from increasing reports in the media.
The FDAD claim that migrants in general ‘work under worse conditions and receive lower wages than locals’. They are also “victims of institutional racism, stereotyping and stigmatisation and are used as scapegoats for many social and economic problems”.
Those particularly vulnerable are domestic workers whose ‘contracts of employment are frequently violated’ and who often “fall victim to abuse, sexual harassment, rape and violence”.
Deportations, even of persons married to EU citizens, “are frequent and often illegal”, and seasonal workers are “often deported without being paid”, the FDAD.
In order to combat the problem of discrimination Cyprus must ‘accept that it is a multi-cultural society and develop policies and practices to promote social integration, enrich society and create conditions of equality for all its inhabitants, irrespective of national, ethnic, racial or other origin,” it added.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009
About
Translate!
Highlight the text you want to translate and then click your language below...
You can also drag these links to your browser's links bar and use them on any site.
more...
Albanian Arabic Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Maltese Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese
You can also drag these links to your browser's links bar and use them on any site.
more...
Albanian Arabic Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Maltese Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese
Share!
Hey guys, this button exists on every page now... which means you can share discussions, photos, blogs, etc. on facebook, myspace, hi5, etc.
Music
© 2010 Created by chad steele on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
