Turkey set to boost ECRI efforts against discrimination

Turkey, now term president of the Committee of the Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), is planning to strengthen the body's discrimination monitoring mechanism, Deputy Foreign Undersecretary Fatih Ceylan yesterday told an Ankara meeting of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). The two-day seminar brings together national and international experts to discuss the implementation of ECRI recommendations to combat discrimination based on racial, ethnic, religious or other bias. Ceylan argued that Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and homophobia are among Europe's worst problems, and that hate crimes and intolerance are on the rise. ECRI Chair Nils Muiznieks underlined that the standards of the fight against discrimination are adequate, but that there is a need to further explore religious discrimination.