Pact for Equality

Who we are

As a group of anti-racism, migration, and anti-discrimination advocates, all politically active in our communities, we mobilised our expertise to formulate the Pact for Equality’s principles and demands over two days of deliberation in Marseille, April 2024. 

This Pact is shaped by our personal experiences of exclusion and discrimination, as well as our strong links with local communities. 

Our mission statement:

“We have the privilege of speaking on behalf of ourselves and drawing attention to similar struggles faced by our communities. We want to use our skills, unique perspectives, and expertise to demand people in positions of power change the reality faced by migrants*, refugees and racialised people in Europe**, and contribute to ending all forms of discrimination.”

Our demands

Anti-discrimination and equality

1. Expansion of equality or anti-discrimination frameworks to all EU policies 
2. Awareness-raising and education on racism and discrimination 
3. An EU anti-racism law that addresses the gaps in the Race Equality Directive for comprehensive protection from discrimination 
4. Investment and incentives for Corporate Social Responsibility programmes specifically on issues on discrimination and equality
5. Structural investment in civil society organisations, primarily those led by racialised people
6. Mandated collection of disaggregated data, with clear and broad categories for self-identification encompassing race, ethnicity, country of origin, nationality, and religion, as well as gender, sexuality, and ability
7. Equal and fair recognition of university degrees or technical qualifications with EU academic institutions, regardless of country of origin or sponsorship. 

Migration and Asylum

8. Provide safe migration routes to Europe, with universal access regardless of country of origin
9. End EU externalisation policies
10. End deportations of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
11. End racial profiling at the borders and in society
12. Equal civic, political and social rights for all migrants
13. Complementary routes to arrival, including but not limited to expanded student and worker visas, humanitarian visas, family reunification, and private sponsorship

Democracy and citizenship

14. The right of everyone born in the EU to acquire citizenship (jus soli)
15. Pathways to naturalisation without racist and discriminatory criteria based on nationality, country of origin, ethnicity or race, or socio-economic status
16. The right of everyone to acquire an EU citizenship that is not tied to a specific Member State
17. The right to vote for all EU residents, regardless of citizenship or migration status, for local and EU elections
18. A guarantee that EU citizenship acquired from a Member State or the EU can never be revoked, even for those with dual or multiple nationality
19. The EU to acknowledge colonial responsibility in excluding racialised people in participative democratic system and to work towards greater inclusion, representation and (meaningful) participation
20. A harmonised EU citizenship system and the uniform application of the 1997 Citizenship Directive

MEP Pledge 

The Pact for Equality is a commitment between civil society organisations, racialised communities, trade unions, and MEPs to engage in a regular formal dialogue process during the next five years and beyond.

We believe MEPs have the power to reverse the trend of rising hatred and discrimination in Europe, as well as address the shrinking avenues for dialogue with civil society actors and local communities in the policy-making process. 

For MEP candidates, the 2024 European Parliament elections represent a unique opportunity to reaffirm your commitment to the founding values of the Union and to its anti-discrimination framework.

By signing the Pact for Equality, once elected as an MEP I pledge to: Reaffirm and call for a strengthening of the EU anti-discrimination framework, through an expansion of its key instruments and monitoring their proper implementation by Member States Closely monitor developments around the current anti-discrimination framework to better address the specific challenges of structural racism and intersectional discrimination affecting both EU and non-EU citizens, across all EU policy areas (notably migration and asylum) and social groups in the Euro- Mediterranean region Base my voting decisions on inclusive and participatory processes, primarily through consultation of individuals and movements directly impacted by racism and discrimination, as well as civil society, academia, and other relevant stakeholders providing evidence and expertise on discrimination in and by the EU Foster a positive narrative and policy shift away from securitised, criminalising, Islamophobic and stigmatizing discourses about racialised people – regardless of citizenship – as well as the organisations, human rights defenders, and general public who act in solidarity towards these groups Request concrete EU measures and policy changes in favour of equality, anti-discrimination, and anti-racism Address post-colonial legacies and inequalities notably by fostering a relationship of reciprocity between the North and South of the Mediterranean Work with national equality bodies to promote awareness of the legal means available to victims, the collection of high-quality, disaggregated data on racism and discrimination, holding national authorities accountable, and pushing for the implementation of the Directive on standards for equality bodies Work with local authorities to promote best practices and monitor the implementation of the EU anti-discrimination framework at national level, as well as the adoption and application of national anti-racism action plans.

Find out more at euroalter.com/pactforequality.