NICEM European good practice

Through its lobbying and influencing work NICEM has played an important role in the development of EU legislation such as the Racial Equality Directive and is one of the key organisations consulted by the European Commission in relation to anti-discrimination work. More recently NICEM has visited Brussels to lobby the European Commission on the new Framework Directive on service provision which extends the scope of the Race Directive to religion and belief, disability, sexual orientation and age.

Through NICEM’s membership of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) it has also ensured the two-way sharing of best practice on ethnic minority issues on a European-wide scale. This sharing of best practice has been instrumental in the design and delivery of a number of NICEM projects including an Equality and Diversity Training Programme delivered on a partnership basis in Belfast and Berlin and the SOLID programme which tackled discrimination across Europe by training NGOs how to use the law to protect themselves in their work. As well as helping other regions of Europe to develop a NICEM based model, NICEM has utilised international expertise to deliver a Europe to Northern Ireland Training Programme across Northern Ireland, culminating in the organisation of an international conference to be held in Northern Ireland in May 2008.

Membership of ENAR has also ensured access to the Social Platform which brings together over 40 European NGO’s, federations and networks committed to the advancement of the principles of equality, solidarity and non discrimination and so has enabled NICEM to participate in multi-discrimination work at the European level.

Through its continued work with the European Commission’s Anti-Discrimination and Civil Society Unit, NICEM, in conjunction with the Equality Commission, has managed to secure Belfast as the venue for the 2008 European Equality Conference involving over 200 delegates from the 27 EU Members States.

NICEM also utilises the services and facilities of the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels which has proved a very useful resource in undertaking their Brussels based policy, lobbying and advocacy work.

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