At the presence of more than 35 officials from Municipalities, Ombudsperson Institution regional Offices, Justice Academy and Agency for Free Legal Aid, on 22 March 2023 the Council of Europe Office in Pristina launched the HELP anti-discrimination course.
The event was organised by the Council of Europe and United Nations Mission in Kosovo projecton “Promoting human rights and non-discrimination principles at the local level” and “HELP in the Western Balkans” project funded by Human Rights Trust Fund.
The event was opened by Frank Power, Head of Office, Council of Europe Office in Pristina, Armenda Berani Shala, representative of the Office for Good Governance, Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination - Office of the Prime Minister and Jasminka Perunicic Allen, Senior Project Officer from HELP in the Western Balkans.
The participants got familiar with the “HELP in the Western Balkans” project, as well as to the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Programme and its online platform, where over 45 courses on human rights are available in the self-learning format, including the course on Antidiscrimination.
Participants were introduced to the tutors who will accompany them in the implementation of the course for the following 2 months, namely Arberita Kreyziu, HELP course tutor for the group in Albanian and Aleksandra Dimitrijevic, HELP course tutor for the group in the Serbian language.
The tutors also presented a brief overview of the course and the examples of domestic legislation that will be provided through the implementation of the online course. The participants had the possibility to share their expectations from the course and exchange with their colleagues.
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The HELP course on Antidiscrimination was developed by a Working Group (WG) of international consultants. Modules related to the discrimination against Roma and the SOGI communities were developed in cooperation with the Council of Europe Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Unit and the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma issues.
In five (5) modules participants will explore issues of discrimination experienced by a range of communities as well as key terms and definitions associated with these groups. Finally, participants will see how they are protected by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Throughout the cascade trainings at local level, involved civil servants will be able to apply such standards and principle in their work in the municipalities and beyond.
The local level training program is part of the project ‘Promoting Human Rights and Anti-discrimination principles at the local level’, implemented by the Council of Europe, funded by UNMIK and the OHCHR.