News

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has released its latest country reports on Armenia, Turkey and the United Kingdom, analysing recent developments and outstanding issues and providing recommendations to the authorities. Despite certain positive developments, ECRI notes, there are challenges ahead.

René Cassin’s James Masters looks back at the Battle of Cable Street, when a coalition of Jews, Irish dockworkers, socialists and trade union activists prevented Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists from marching through the East End of London.

UNITED announces the 2016 edition of our annual 9 November International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism campaign. This year’s campaign will focus on the topic of the “Human Rights Superheroes” who show us that we don’t have to hate.

At the meeting chaired by UNITED spokesperson Ralph du Long, UNITED programme coordinator Balint Josa spoke about the growing polarisation in European societies regarding attitudes to refugees and the impact of the negative narrative around refugees that is routinely spread by populist media and politicians, as well as giving an introduction to UNITED’s #LifeSeekers campaign.

The German refugee support organisation Pro Asyl is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month. The organisation was founded in 1986 by a coalition of asylum centre advisors, church representatives, trade unionists, humanitarians and human rights campaigners. Through means of analysis, legal reports, surveys, lobbying and European networking, Pro Asyl takes part in public and political discussions, as well as helping refugees individually in situations in which they need practical support.

UNITED would like to express solidarity with our friend and colleague Alena Krempaska of Human Rights Institute, who was brutally attacked on Monday evening.

Despite the world’s media focus on the eastern Mediterranean route in the past year due to the high number of arrivals, the central Mediterranean remains the deadliest route into Europe. By Eliza Galos via OpenDemocracy

UNITED’s summer E-news for July/August, with news from UNITED, news from the network, highlights from the website and a look to the future.

New deadline for nominations for the conference “Living Together: Transform a divided past into our common future” is Friday 26 August.

From June until September, UNITED is coordinating the #LifeSeekers campaign. #LifeSeekers is a campaign for a new approach to problems facing young people in Europe today. We want policy-makers to take positive action to solve these problems and to stop blaming migrants and refugees. Whether or not we are asylum-seekers, we are all Life Seekers, who want the freedom and power to shape our own futures.