The killing of George Floyd in 2020 sparked a global wave of revulsion, with Black Lives Matter protests erupting in cities around the world calling for a human rights’ revolution. In the aftermath, the EU launched its first Anti-Racism Action Plan as part of the global drive towards racial justice.

The challenge for the European Union is to live up to its own motto of “United in Diversity”. The challenge for each of us in turn is to confront racism on an individual level.

It's not just good enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist

‘It's not just good enough to be non-racist,’ says Micaela Moua, the EU’s Anti-Racism Co-ordinator, ‘We must be anti-racist.’

The first step to becoming anti-racist, she says, is ‘being comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations.’

A former professional basketball player, Moua had 15 years experience working on non-discrimination and anti-racism at grassroots, local and national government levels in her native Finland before taking up the role as the first EU Anti-Racism Coordinator in 2021.

Racism exists

Racism exists, there’s no denying it and it affects the whole of society. ‘And if we don't talk about it, that doesn't mean it will just go away,’ she says.

‘Most of us believe that racism is wrong,’ says Moua, ‘But to be anti-racist on an individual level is to go beyond just saying racism is wrong and to actively try to stop it when those situations appear in your social surroundings.’

The EU’s Anti-racism Action Plan is a comprehensive policy tool that aims to step up action against racism and to promote equality in the EU within the span of five years.

Member States are key actors in ensuring true change on the national level and are encouraged to harmonise equality data and use the evidence to develop more effective policy.

‘The action plan is a horizontal tool that aims to mainstream anti-racism into all Commission policy areas, such as education, employment, digitalisation, youth and more,’ says Moua. The plan recognises the many different forms of racism such as for example, anti-black racism, anti-gypsyism, anti-Asian and anti-Semitism or that link with religion such as anti-Muslim hatred.

Sometimes racism can intersect with other protected grounds, such as, gender, disability, religion or migration status to fertilise discrimination. 

‘Science has proven that there is only one human race,’ as Moua is quick to remind us, but race as a social construct and racist ideologies have a long history, which to this day have real, negative consequences for people with racial or ethnic minority backgrounds.

Lasting change

For Moua, the goal is to achieve real, lasting change during her mandate. She wants to ensure that people facing discrimination ‘are able to live lives free of the barriers that racism creates.’

These barriers are not always visible to the naked eye. Over time, racial bias is embedded in a society, affecting the levers of power and influencing policy-making. Every day, people affected by racism can feel the impact of structural racism on their access to jobs, healthcare, housing, financial services or education, as well as cases of violence.

'It has a cumulative effect over a person's lifetime,' says Moua of structural racism, often starting at a young age in school, negatively impacting education and career paths and leading to negative outcomes.

Structural racism can also be hidden within digital technology such as social media and Artificial Intelligence (AI) which is a rapidly developing field that will enter into all aspects of our lives.

Protections against technological discrimination within AI are urgently required. Already, studies demonstrate that AI-based facial recognition algorithms can exhibit high misclassification rates when used on some demographic groups, such as women and people with a minority racial or ethnic background.

The use of (AI) algorithms can perpetuate or even stimulate racial bias

This bias is built into the software but it originates with people. ‘The use of algorithms can perpetuate or even stimulate racial bias if data to train algorithms does not reflect the diversity of EU society,’ says Moua.

When it comes to racism in AI, ‘I think it's crucial to ensure regulation and safeguards are in place,’ says Moua, pointing out that EU data protection rules already contain a number of safeguards regarding the processing of biometric data.

Diversity is a key feature of the European Union with its 27 Member States and 24 official languages, religions and histories.

‘We have to see this as a strength,’ says Moua. ‘And if we adhere to the values of open democracies, there is room and space for everybody here in all their diversity.’

When it comes to anti-racism activity in the European Union, ‘The political commitment is there,’ says Moua, ‘But there's still, at the same time, a lot of work to do.’

• The European External Action Service (EEAS) recently launched its Agenda for Diversity and Inclusion, the first EEAS strategy covering discrimination on all grounds. It brings together into one comprehensive plan both external and internal aspects of diversity and inclusion and includes targeted actions to combat racial discrimination and enhance ethnic diversity in the EEAS. Follow the link to learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion Agenda in the EEAS 2023-2025.