Glossary of anti-racism and ethno-racial discrimination

is a form of racism that targets people of African descent and Black people and manifests itself through acts of direct, indirect and institutional discrimination, as well as violence, including hate speech. Based on socially constructed ideas of “race” and reflecting the groundless belief that certain “racial” groups are biologically or culturally inferior to others, Afrophobia seeks to dehumanise and deny the dignity of its victims.[i]

[i] Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Resolution 2389 (2021) on Combating Afrophobia, or anti-Black racism, in Europe (2021) of 24 June 2021, point 1. 

are white people who understand that it is possible to use their privilege to create more equitable systems.[i]

[i] Tatum B. D. (2007). Can we talk about race? And other conversations in an era of school resegregation. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, p.37.

is the set of principles, attitudes and actions aimed at actively opposing racism and promoting racial equality. It is an ongoing process that challenges our own beliefs and behaviours, whilst seeking to eliminate racist ideas and policies, raise awareness of racial bias and privilege, and work to eliminate racial inequalities. It also involves engaging in difficult conversations about racism and supporting anti-racist movements and initiatives.^[i]

[i] Kendi, I. X. (2019) How to Be an Antiracist. One World.

shall mean prejudice against, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews as an ethnic or religious group.[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation N°15 on Combating Hate Speech adopted on 8 December 2015, § 7 (d). 

shall mean racism which is directed against Roma/Gypsies.[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation N°15 on Combating Hate Speech adopted on 8 December 2015, § 7 (c).

shall mean the making of something seem unimportant or insignificant.^[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation N°15 on Combating Hate Speech adopted on 8 December 2015, § 7 (dd).

is a set of policies, norms, practices, values, and representations that support the hegemonic position of White people in racialized societies.[i] Whiteness operates as the normative and often unmarked standard against which racialized groups are compared.[ii]

[i] Du Bois, W. E. B. (1935). Black Reconstruction in America, 1860–1880.

[ii] Green, M. J., Sonn, C. C., & Matsebula, J. (2007). Reviewing whiteness: Theory, research, and possibilities. South African Journal of Psychology, 37(3), 389-419; et Gillborn D. (2015). Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, and the primacy of racism: Race, class, gender, and disability in education. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(3), 277-287

in the context of racism, a is someone who witnesses a racist incident.[i]

[i] Australian Human Rights Commission (2021). Guide to addressing spectator racism in sports (2021).

is a theory in social psychology which suggests that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when others are present.[i]

[i] Darley, J. M., & Latane, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4, Pt.1), 377–383. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0025589

or bystander action refer to the steps taken by bystanders or others in response to incidents of interpersonal racism.[i]

[i] Australian Human Rights Commission (2021). Guide to addressing spectator racism in sports (2021).

viewed through the lens of ‘racialisation’, operate simultaneously on various markers of difference employed to define “Otherness”, including religion and ethnic or national background. With Muslimness - actual or perceived - becoming an identity marker, Muslims may also be “racialised” on the basis of their physical appearance, religious or cultural characteristics, regardless of whether they themselves identify as Muslims or not.[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) revised General Policy Recommendation No. 5 on preventing and combating anti-Muslim racism and discrimination, adopted on 16 March 2000 and revised on 8 December 2021, point 7, p.11.

shall mean any differential treatment based on grounds such as race, colour, language, religion, nationality or national or ethnic origin, which has no objective and reasonable justification. Psychological harassment (on racial grounds) is considered a form of direct (racial) discrimination.^[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation N°7 (revised) on national legislation to combat racism and racial discrimination - adopted on 13 December 2002 and revised on 7 December 2017, § 1; European Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin [Directive 2000/43/CE], la Loi du 28 novembre 2006, Code du Travail (Pdf) (Art. L. 251-1 et Chapitre VI.-Harcèlement moral), et Code Pénal (Art. 454)

shall mean cases where an apparently neutral factor such as a provision, criterion or practice cannot be as easily complied with by, or disadvantages, persons belonging to a group designated by a ground such as race, colour, language, religion, nationality or national or ethnic origin, unless this factor has an objective and reasonable justification.^[i]

14 Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation N°7 (revised) on national legislation to combat racism and racial discrimination - adopted on 13 December 2002 and revised on 7 December 2017, § 1; European Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin [Directive 2000/43/CE, la Loi du 28 novembre 2006, Code du Travail (Pdf) (Art. L. 251-1 et Chapitre VI.-Harcèlement moral), et Code Pénal (Art. 454)

means any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on a person’s actual or supposed belonging or non-belonging to a race, ethnicity or skin colour, which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social and cultural or any other field of public life.^[i] Luxembourg law distinguishes between direct and indirect discrimination, and these definitions are also included in this glossary.

[i] International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) Article 1, ratified by Luxembourg on 1 December 1977 [Loi du 1er décembre 1977]

refers to rules, norms, routines, patterns of attitudes and behaviour in institutions and other social structures that, consciously or unconsciously, present obstacles to groups or individuals in accessing the same rights and opportunities as others and that contribute to less favourable outcomes for them than for the majority of the population.^[i]

[i] Council of Europe. European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation no. 2 Equality Bodies to Combat Racism and Intolerance at National Level adopted on 7 December 2017, point 20, p. 13.

is based on a shared understanding of history and territorial origins (regional and national) of an ethnic group or community, as well as on particular cultural characteristics such as language and/or religion. Ethnicity is multidimensional and is more a process than a static concept, and so ethnic classification should be treated with movable boundaries.[i]

[i] United Nations (2008) Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Statistics Division Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses. Revision 2 (Series M No. 67/Rev.2 (Pdf)), p. 139

is a worldview shaped by the dominance of Western capitalism, which claims that Western/European culture is superior (unique and more progressive) to other cultures. Eurocentric interpretations of the world have a marginalising effect and are rooted in the social and political context of colonial oppression and domination.[i]

[i] Samir Amin, L'eurocentrisme : critique d'une idéologie, Paris, Anthropos, coll. « Economies », 1988, 160 pp

refers to the discomfort felt by a white person when they are exposed to discussions about racial inequality and injustice.[i]

[i] DiAngelo, R. (2018) White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Beacon Press, 192pp.

is a form of psychological manipulation that involves making the victim doubt the validity of their perceptions, experiences, or understanding of events.[i] In the context of racism, ‘racial gaslighting’ aims to invalidate the experience of a person of colour or to cast doubt on their experience, even if this is not intentional.[ii]  Examples include comments such as: “You might be overreacting”; “You need to learn to be less sensitive”; “Can’t you take a joke?”

[i] American Psychological Association Dictionary of Psychology disponible à l’adresse suivante : https://dictionary.apa.org/gaslight

[ii] Ogorchukwu Iyamah, J. (2023) Racial Wellness. Penguin Random House.

is any conduct which, by its repetitive or systematic nature, undermines a person’s dignity or their mental or physical integrity on the basis of their actual or presumed membership of a race or skin colour.^[i]

[i] Code du Travail (Pdf) (Art. L. 251-1 et Chapitre VI. -Harcèlement moral)

refers to the way in which various forms of discrimination—such as those based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and social interact inseparably, thereby producing distinct and specific forms of discrimination.[i]

[i] Crenshaw, K. (1989) Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine,

Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics, University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989: Iss. 1, Article 8.

refers to prejudice, hatred or fear towards Islam or Muslims.

refer to specific measures designed to prevent or compensate for disadvantages linked to race or ethnic origin. These measures are not regarded as forms of racial discrimination. When applied in the workplace, they may include actions necessary to remove barriers to employment faced by racialised groups. These measures are temporary and should not be continued once the intended objectives have been achieved.[i]

[i] International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) Article 1, ratified by Luxembourg on 1 December 1977 [Loi du 1er décembre 1977]; European Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin [Directive 2000/43/CE], article 5 ; Council of Europe. European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation N°14 on combating racism and racial discrimination in employment - adopted on 22 June 2012 point 7, p. 10.

are small and frequent everyday slights, such as comments, actions, or situations, that make people of colour feel unfairly treated because of their race. They can be intentional or unintentional, and the people who commit them may not even realise what they are doing when interacting with racialized persons.^[i]

[i] Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender, and sexual orientation. John Wiley & Sons.

A person who, whether in reality or by assumption, belongs to one of the groups that have undergone a process of racialisation. It should be noted that ‘races’ and so-called ‘racial’ or ‘ethnic’ groups are often a combination of characteristics: they may be referred to or assumed by reference, for example, to a person who is Muslim or Jewish (religion), Black (skin colour), Arab (language) or African or Asian (continent).^[i]

[i] La Ligue des droits et libertés Canada. Disponible sur : https://liguedesdroits.ca/lexique/personne-racisee-ou-racialisee/

are the descendants of African victims of the transatlantic and Mediterranean slave trades, including victims of the sub-Saharan slave trade. This group mainly comprises the descendants of transatlantic slaves living in the diaspora across North, Central and South America, as well as in the Caribbean. It also encompasses Africans and their descendants who, following the independence of their countries, emigrated or sought work in Europe, Canada and the Middle East, facing the same racial discrimination as that experienced by the inhabitants of Western European countries.^[i]

[i] United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent Identification and definition of "people of African descent" and how racial discrimination against them is manifested in various regions : working paper / prepared by P.L. Kasanda, Chairperson of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent

represent a socially constructed identity, generally based on skin colour.[i]

[i] Leonardo Z. (2009). Race, whiteness, and education. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 169.

are those who identify as Black, often in the sense of belonging to the Black community. The term ‘Black’ is frequently used by the people and communities concerned as a symbol of political identity in the struggle for their rights.^[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) ECRI Glossary.

is the unspoken advantage that racism confers on white people (the dominant culture) over people of colour. The term ‘advantage’ refers to the absence of barriers related to skin colour.[i] One example is the advantage of not having to think about one’s own skin colour.

[i] McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women's studies. Working paper No. 189. Wellesley, Massachusetts: Wellesley Center for Research on Women & McIntosh, P. (1989) White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Peace & Freedom Magazine, pp. 10–12 and Kendi, I. X. (2019) How to Be an Antiracist. One World

All human beings belong to the same species, and theories based on the existence of different ‘races’ are rejected. However, the term is used to ensure legal protection for people who are generally and wrongly perceived as belonging to a ‘different race’ and who have undergone a process of racialisation.^[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) ECRI General Policy Recommendation N°7 (revised) on national legislation to combat racism and racial discrimination - adopted on 13 December 2002 and revised on 7 December 2017, footnote no 1.

is the process whereby, based on stereotypes, members of the dominant group ‘racialise’ a group by attributing certain characteristics and traits supposedly inherent to all its members, thereby creating a homogeneous image of that group as ‘the other’.^[i]

[i] Guillaumin, C. (1972) L'idéologie raciste. Genèse et langage actuel. Collection IDERIC, vol. 2, no 1,‎ 1972 et avis de la Commission européenne contre le racisme et l'intolérance (ECRI) sur le concept de “racisation” (adopté lors de la 87eme réunion plénière de l’ECRI, le 8 décembre 2021)

is the belief that a factor such as racial or ethnic identity justifies contempt for a person or group of people, or the notion of the superiority of a person or group of people.^[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) ECRI General Policy Recommendation N°7 (revised) on national legislation to combat racism and racial discrimination - adopted on 13 December 2002 and revised on 7 December 2017  § 1.

refers to the embedding of racism in day-to-day interactions through practices (both mental and behavioural) that reinforce underlying power dynamics.[i]

[i] Essed, P. (1984) Alledaags Racisme [Everyday Racism]. Amsterdam: Sara (2nd edn. 1988, Baarn/den Haag: Ambo/Novib.); Essed, P. (1990a) Everyday Racism: Reports from Women in Two Cultures. Claremont, CA: Hunter House; et Essed, P. (1991) Understanding Everyday Racism: An Interdisciplinary Theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

is the product of a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations and other norms contribute in various ways to perpetuating racial inequality, and is a feature of the social, economic and political systems in which we all live. It manifests itself in discrimination or in highly stratified inequalities (based on origin, for example). It is more difficult to identify; rather, it manifests itself through its effects, whilst the mechanisms producing these effects may remain diffuse. Some states have introduced explicitly racist provisions into their constitutions or legislation. This is referred to as state racism. Examples include the apartheid system that was in place in South Africa until 1991 or the so-called ‘Jim Crow’ laws in the southern states of the United States.[i]

[i] European Network against Racism (ENAR) webpage “Structural Racism” and UNIA Belgium webpage “Racism”.

refers to the Roma, the Sinti (Manouche), the Kalé (Gypsies) and related population groups in Europe, including Travellers and the Eastern branches (Doms, Loms); it encompasses the wide diversity of the groups concerned, including people who self-identify as ‘Gypsies’ and those referred to as ‘Travellers’.[i]

[i] Council of Europe High Level Meeting on Roma (Strasbourg, 20 October 2010) - “The Strasbourg Declaration on Roma” §1

arise from applying a generalised view of presumed characteristics to one or more members of a group of people, often viewing the entire group in a negative light, without taking into account the individual characteristics of its members.^[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech, adopted on 8 December 2015, § 7.

is the act of labelling a group of people in a negative way.[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech, adopted on 8 December 2015, § 7.

is a system in which white people hold power and resources, with widespread beliefs in their superiority and entitlement, and in which relations of white domination are reproduced on a daily basis across various institutions and social contexts.[i]

[i] Ansley, F.L. (1989) Stirring the Ashes: Race Class and the Future of Civil Rights Scholarship, 74 Cornell L. Rev. 993, p. 1024 et Gillborn, D. (2006). Rethinking White supremacy: Who counts in ‘WhiteWorld.’ Ethnicities, 6(3), 318–340.

is the cumulative effect of racism on a person’s mental and physical health.[i]

[i] Carter, R. (2009). "A Guide to the Forensic Assessment of Race-Based Traumatic Stress Reactions". Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 37 (1): 28–40 et Ogorchukwu Iyamah, J. (2023) Racial Wellness. Penguin Random House.

is any prejudice, hatred or fear directed towards people from other countries or cultures.[i]

[i] Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech, adopted on 8 December 2015, § 7.