Fight against Racism demands changing EU policies

On the occasion of today’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the President of the European Left, Walter Baier, said: “The fight against racism and all forms of discrimination must be placed at the center of the work of all EU institutions and democratic parties. The need for this is shown by the growth of the radical right in Europe and the normalization of its racist agenda.”

“Words alone are not enough, he adds.” The EU must change its refugee and border policies. We demand an asylum and migration policy that meets the human rights standards established by the UN. The push backs at the EU’s external borders, the conditions in the refugee camps and the deportation of asylum seekers to crisis areas are stains on the EU and its member states.

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is commemorated every year on March 21, the day in 1960 when police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire on a peaceful rally opposing apartheid’s “pass laws,” killing 69 people.