Spanish experiences in cooperation against racism

The cooperation project ‘Living Together Without Discrimination‘ aims to prevent and combat racism and xenophobia against the migrant population in Morocco. Within the framework of the activities undertaken in this European Union-financed project, a virtual meeting was held to share Spanish experiences relating to networking and cooperation between NGOs and institutions in the identification, registration and investigation of incidents of racial or ethnic discrimination, racism or xenophobia.  

At the meeting, organised by FIIAPP and OBERAXE, sharing their experiences were specialists from the Assistance and Guidance Service for Victims of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination, a free public service providing assistance to potential victims of racial or ethnic discrimination in Spain. In addition, specialists from the ERABEREAN Network participated, a network promoted by the Basque Government to fight against discrimination based on race, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity. 

The main objective of this meeting was to contribute to the establishment, on the part of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), of a system for collaboration and coordination with other public services and civil society to better identify, register and investigate racist incidents or xenophobic incidents against migrant women and men in Morocco, considering the gender dimension. This event is part of a series of themed meetings aimed at promoting the exchange of networking experiences against racism and to contribute to the development and adaptation of this system in Morocco. 

The presentations have made it possible to learn about the initiatives and good practices relating to networking and collaboration to fight against racial discrimination and to visualise the role, objectives and tasks that these networks carry out to promote equal treatment and fight against discrimination in Spain. During the meeting, the methods used to identify, record and investige incidents of discrimination were addressed, as well as the different approaches to networking deployed in the experiences presented. In addition, special importance was given to integrating the gender perspective and the treatment given to cases of intersectoral discrimination by these services.  

With European funding, this cooperation project is managed by FIIAPP together with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) with technical support from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE). The participating institutions on the Moroccan side include the Moroccan National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Women Residing Abroad (MDCMRE).