The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has called on the Portuguese authorities to adopt adequate tools - including protocols and standard operating procedures - to assist law enforcement agencies in effectively processing hate incidents and hate crimes. This should be accompanied by training programmes for police officers and other criminal justice professionals. ECRI has also recommended prompt and resolute action to ensure decent and safe housing conditions for Roma living in substandard settlements, including shanty towns, in close consultation with the Roma communities concerned. These are the two priority recommendations out of the total 15 recommendations that ECRI issues to Portugal in a report published today.
According to ECRI, Portugal has made progress in several areas in recent years. In 2024, a new Commission for Equality and against Racial Discrimination (CICDR) was prescribed by law to function as an independent body under the Parliament. While welcoming this step, ECRI regrets that no transitional measure was put into place since the dissolution of the previous CICDR and considers that the mandate of the new CICDR should be expanded and more should be done to increase public awareness about it.
Portugal has achieved significant progress in the area of LGBTI equality, including the adoption of a targeted action plan, the recognition of the right to self-determination of gender identity, and the criminalisation of "conversion therapies".
ECRI welcomes the adoption in 2021 of Portugal's first-ever National Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination, which includes actions to tackle hate speech and hate crime, as well as the amendment of the Criminal Code on the crime of incitement of discrimination, hatred and violence. Another welcomed step is the adoption of the Plan for the Prevention of Discrimination in the Security Forces and Services.
Some projects, such as the ROMA Educa Programme, have contributed to improving school attendance of Roma students. Roma mediators continue to play an important role in improving access to healthcare and education.
However, ECRI notes that some issues give rise to concern.
There has been a sharp rise in hate speech in Portugal, predominantly targeting migrants, Roma, LGBTI and Black people. ECRI expresses concern about the rise of online hate speech and the divisive and inflammatory discourse used by some politicians. Cases of hate-motivated violence have been reported, at times involving neo-Nazi groups. Significant gaps to counter hate crimes persist in the legal framework and in identifying, recording and investigating hate elements upon receiving complaints.
Roma remain one of the most marginalised groups in Portugal, often facing antigypsyism. Despite some positive initiatives, ECRI finds that the authorities' commitment to address the challenges faced by Roma has been insufficient, in particular in the area of housing. Although there have been some good initiatives to improve the educational situation of Roma, these are project-based and have limited funding or national coverage.
Another shortcoming identified in the report is the lack of a specific action plan for the integration of migrants, who experience xenophobia in the housing sector, among other issues. ECRI is also concerned about reports of migrants experiencing homelessness or living in overcrowded and undignified housing. Backlogs in handling regularisation requests have put the migrants concerned in a situation of greater vulnerability, leading to abuse in various aspects of life.
Finally, ECRI notes the persistence of reports about cases of racist abuse, including racial profiling, by the police. The report recommends action to improve the relations and trust between the police and groups of concern to ECRI, including migrants, Black, LGBTI, and Roma people.
Today's report has been published together with the response of the Portuguese authorities.
Report translated into Portuguese
