The duty of the House of Representatives to adopt legislation to curb racism and intolerance was recalled by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anita Demetriou, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 to be commemorated on 21 March each year.
The President of Parliament referred to the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in a pre-agenda report at the plenary session of Parliament. She noted that the day recalled the tragic events of 21 March 1960 in South Africa, when dozens had been killed and hundreds injured by police fire during a peaceful anti-apartheid demonstration by students, shocking public opinion.
Therefore, he said, this day is "a day of awakening to all that an open and free society must achieve without discrimination" and added that the Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) is already holding meetings in Cyprus with governmental and non-governmental authorities to prepare an evaluation in the context of the 6th cycle of monitoring of member states.
"Every day we witness racist acts and behaviours, toxic hate speech and violation of basic principles of equality, which urgently dictate the need to take measures aimed at revising prejudices, privileges and worldview, but above all the need for action", said the President of the Parliament, stressing that "we participate in the fight against racial discrimination, sexism and racist violence, while contributing to the realization of the European vision of justice, equality and freedom, actively promoting equality and dignity of people".
Mrs. Demetriou announced that in the context of the work programme for 2022, the European Commission announced the action plan for a "people-centred, digitally empowered Europe by 2030" and in the context of strengthening the fight against racism and discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, the European Commission's initiative in December 2021 to extend the European "list of crimes" to include hate speech and hate crimes based on criteria set out in the Conventions is also recorded. This gives Member States a legal basis for combating all forms of discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
"As the House of Representatives, we recognise our duty to enact legislation to curb all forms of racism and discrimination and we call on all stakeholders and all citizens to jointly undertake actions that reinforce the commitment to values such as humanism, social cohesion and the peaceful coexistence of individuals," she concluded.
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