Uni.lu Professor Appointed ECRI President, Working to Reduce Inequality, Protect Human Dignity

Professor Jean-Paul Lehners of the University of Luxembourg has been elected president of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the human rights body of the Council of Europe which acts against racism, discrimination and intolerance.

Prof. Lehners, who holds the UNESCO Chair in Human Rights at the University, was elected by the 47 members of ECRI for a two-year term. From 2016 to 2017, he was vice-president of this body.

"The guiding principle of ECRI and my work is respect for human dignity. Every person, whether this person is a minister or a homeless person, has the right to human dignity", explained Prof. Jean-Paul Lehners. He wishes to devote his mandate in particular to reducing discrimination and inequality. "We cannot claim that discrimination or inequality has decreased in recent years. On the contrary, we observe for example more and more often verbal transgressions by politicians and opinion leaders, which are consequently trivialised and imitated."

In addition, the new president intends to increase the visibility of ECRI's activities and to take greater advantage of digital tools to achieve this.

ECRI is a body of the Council of Europe for the protection and defense of human rights. It is in charge of monitoring problems of racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, intolerance and discrimination. ECRI has effective tools, such as reports that analyse the situation of each member states, identify problems and recommend concrete solutions to governments. Its policy recommendations on topics of common interest, such as recommendation 15 on the fight against hate speech, are increasingly applied by the member states. It can also make public statements in case of serious attacks on human rights.