Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech
Who will benefit from this project?
- General public and in particular victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crime, will benefit from better protection of their rights through non-judicial redress mechanisms
- Equality bodies and/or Ombudspersons’ Offices
- Civil society organisations working with/representing vulnerable communities
- Ministries of Justice, Ministries of Interior, Judiciary and law enforcement agencies
How will the project work?
- In close co-operation with the national partners
- Through regional activities and networking to support peer learning from good practices
- Applying a tailor-made approach to meet the concrete needs of the country
- Building on the results of co-operation in the field of anti-discrimination under PGG Phase I (2015-2018)
Objectives
- To improve access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech through non-judicial redress mechanisms
- To strengthen the capacity and co-operation of Equality bodies/ Ombudsoffices with NGO partners on redress mechanisms to discrimination, hate speech and hate crime
- To raise awareness towards non-discrimination and to increase the visibility of national redress mechanisms
Expected results
- The legislation on anti-discrimination, hate crime and hate speech is improved and implemented more effectively in line with European human rights standards
- Procedures and tools for disaggregated data gathering on hate crime are further strengthened
- The capacity of Equality bodies/ Ombudspersons’ Offices and NGOs to assist men and women from vulnerable groups in pursuing discrimination complaints through relevant non-judicial redress mechanisms is increased
- Awareness of the work of ‘equality bodies’ / Ombudspersons’ Office and non-judicial redress mechanisms is increased among women and men from vulnerable communities, general public, and NGOs
- National stakeholders have the competences and readiness to combat hate speech in a coordinated manner

Follow the project
project at a glance
Duration: 1 January 2019 - 28 February 2023
Funding: European Union and Council of Europe
Budget: 1,914,000.00 Euros
Implemented by: Council of Europe’s Anti-Discrimination Department (Directorate General of Democracy).
This web page has been produced using funds of a joint programme between the European Union and the Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.