How can we combat racism in Europe ? One of the first steps is to know the extent of the problem and finding out who is affected and how. The annual report of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) was published recently and it shows a distinct lack of data on racial discrimination in EU countries. Only Britain and Finland had comprehensive systems to collect information on racist abuses.

These data gaps can result in ongoing discrimination in key areas remaining unnoticed. As a result, some ethnic minority groups may experience discrimination without adequate response from the state

Five countries had no data at all, meaning that there is no way to gauge the extent of the problem and to find ways to tackle it. Those countries were Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus and Malta.

It would be inconceivable for member states not to collect the relevant statistics to inform fiscal or economic polices — and the same must be done for policies to combat racism and xenophobia

The responsibility for collecting information on racism has fallen on non-governmental organisation rather than the states themselves. The report indicates

that asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants were victims of racist violence and sometimes suffered abuse from public officials

and that

the Roma minority was particularly vulnerable to racist violence, including at the hands of police officers

Full article from Reuters

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