Cyprus: The Cyprus Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights, acting as the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Body, collaborated with EQUINET to host a High-Level Conference focused on the Transposition of EU Directives on Standards for Equality Bodies into National Law.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the conference was conducted at 'Filoxenia' during the Cyprus EU Presidency, following an EQUINET Workshop of a Working Group on 'Standards Project for Equality Bodies' held the previous day. The opening session featured welcoming remarks from Commissioner Maria Stylianou-Lottides, Anne Gaspard, Co-Director of EQUINET, and Marinos Moushouttas, the Minister of Labor and Social Security.
European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib contributed via a videomessage, while the keynote address was delivered by Szabolcs Schmidt, Head of the Unit for Non-Discrimination, Anti-Racism and Roma Coordination at the EU Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. Schmidt emphasized the significance of the new Guidelines on the Standards of Equality Bodies at the European level.
Lottides highlighted that the Guidelines are designed to bolster the institutional coherence and effectiveness of Equality Bodies, aiding in both the prevention and addressing of discrimination. She noted that the Equality Body in Cyprus, managed by the Commissioner for Administration since 2004, already aligns with the Directives' philosophy and has extensive powers for investigating complaints and promoting equal treatment.
Participants included representatives from European institutions, organizations such as the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Institute for Gender Equality, the European Disability Forum, AGE Platform Europe, and ILGA-Europe. These representatives, along with those from various EU member states, shared experiences and discussed strategies to enhance the effectiveness of Equality Bodies.
The conference underscored the critical nature of timely and coherent transposition of new Directives into national law, highlighting it as a crucial step towards strengthening human rights protection and ensuring equal treatment across Europe.