State Secretary Brnjac participated in the video-conference "Equality 2020" - Hoofdinhoud

The video-conference was organized to mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of EU i anti-discrimination directives.

Under the auspices of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Commission, the European Network of Equality Bodies (Equinet) organized a video conference on 29 June 2020 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (‘Racial Equality Directive’).

Minister of Justice Dražen Bošnjaković and State Secretary Nikolina Brnjac participated in the videoconference on behalf of the Croatian Presidency, together with the European Commissioner for Equality Dalli and other stakeholders in the field of human rights and equality. The participants recognized the importance of application of the legal framework for equality in practice. A joint statement was adopted, stressing the importance of anti-discrimination legislation, the need to improve its implementation in the future, as well as the role of national equality bodies’ network in the protection of human rights at EU level.

In her intervention, State Secretary Brnjac stated that the Republic of Croatia is an example of good practice when it comes to the legislative framework for combating discrimination, both in the context of prescribed discriminatory grounds and in the context of the scope of the established legislative framework.

In addition, the State Secretary underlined that the responsibility for strengthening and preserving equality is a common task of all stakeholders in society - from politicians, civil servants and teachers, to students, educators and parents.

In conclusion, summing up the recent debate at the plenary session of the European Parliament on the issue of racism and today's Equinet videoconference, Ms. Brnjac pointed out that it is necessary to continue joint efforts to achieve a more equal society.