Lisbon, Nov. 28, 2024 (Lusa) - Several associations and groups have denounced the "lack of representativeness, independence and transparency" of the Portuguese Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination (CICDR), stressing that the government's recent appointments "reinforce these concerns".
In a statement, 36 associations and collectives stressed that the composition of the CICDR following the government's recent appointments "includes only five representatives of racialised communities subject to discrimination, with profiles centred on a perspective of assistance and equivocal in the face of the relations of oppression and supremacism that permeate the practices of the bodies and associations they led".
"This choice does not reflect a structured and inclusive approach to tackling racism as a systemic problem and jeopardises their ability to respond," they denounced in a statement sent to Lusa on Wednesday.
These associations and groups said that the CICDR had been "inactive since July 2023, with interruptions in its activities that left a formal and legal vacuum in the reception, processing and redress of complaints of ethnic-racial discrimination".
"There has not even been confirmation of the receipt of complaints filed during this period, and the resumption of its functions has been marked by serious delays and shortcomings, which continue to jeopardise its mission," they warned.
Among the demands put forward in the statement, the associations and groups immediately demand a "review of the composition of the eight members appointed by the government, guaranteeing consultation with anti-racist associations and racialised communities" and a "focus on treating racialised communities as active agents and not mere recipients of assistance".
They also demanded "transparency in activity reports and proportionate responses to complaints" and the "recognition of racism as a structural problem and the adoption of a consistent approach in this regard".
The associations and collectives pointed out that "recent data shows that around 74% of people who are victims of discrimination choose not to file complaints, due to distrust of institutional mechanisms, fear of retaliation or lack of knowledge".
"This evidence underlines the institutional failure of the CICDR, whose historical ineffectiveness - marked by high rates of complaints being dismissed (80%) and passing time limits (22%) and a low proportion of convictions - perpetuates disbelief and impunity," they added.
For the signatories of the statement, which includes SOS Racismo, Climáximo and OVO PT - Observatory of Obstetric Violence in Portugal, without "an urgent review of the legal framework for combating racism, without guarantees of independence, transparency and representativeness" the CICDR and the entire state "will continue to perpetuate the inoperativeness and negligence that have long jeopardised the institutional fight against racism in Portugal".
The CICDR was an organisation that initially worked under the High Commission for Migration (ACM), an organisation that was abolished with the creation of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), following the extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).
The then government opted to make the CICDR autonomous, with the body operating under the auspices of the country's parliament, which was responsible for electing the body's president, a decision approved in November 2023.
In January of this year, the country's president promulgated the creation of the CICDR, having warned that the autonomisation of the body "will only partially respond" to some demands, "namely from the gypsy communities".
DMC/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
