Brussels, 01/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is going to earmark €20 million for civil society and development NGOs to help fight all forms of discrimination in the developing world, be they based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, belief, ethnical origin or disability, explained EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs on Friday 1 June at a conference on fighting discrimination to encourage development, organised by the European Commission to examine ways of moving in the direction of tolerant democracies that defend human rights as an inclusive growth vector.
The €20m comes from the Economic Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), and a call for tender will be organised next year.
European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, said: “It is clear that no country can develop in the long term when some minorities face serious threats, intimidation and even violence because of who they are. Since I took office, I have put the promotion of human rights and human development at the core of EU development policy. The new package launched today is a clear signal of the EU's determination to help civil society and willing partners to make diversity acceptable and an asset of our societies.”
MEP Michael Cashman (S&D, United Kingdom), a member of the EP's development committee, said: “This new call to combat discrimination is part of a shared global agenda for tolerant democracies. The European Commission is right to put so much effort into equality as part of the EU's development strategy, and we in the European Parliament wholeheartedly support this. Soon we will have to approve the second revision of the Cotonou Agreement. We are sincerely committed to this in partnership with ACP governments and civil society.”
Both men welcomed the participation in the conference of Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and representatives of ACP countries on an individual basis. The conference was also attended by NGOs from ACP states like Sexual Minorities Uganda and the Coalition Advocating for the Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) from Trinidad and Tobago. (AN/transl.fl)