European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli was in Malta on a two-day mission on 10 and 11 December 2020.
In her first ‘country mission’ to Malta, following an invitation from the Human Rights Directorate within the Ministry for Justice, Equality and Governance, Commissioner Dalli addressed the conference marking International Human Rights Day on 10th December.
The mission was also an opportunity to mark the first anniversary of the von der Leyen Commission and Commissioner Dalli’s first year at the helm of the equality portfolio.
In her address, Commissioner Dalli said: “At the European level during the first year of this Commission’s mandate we adopted five equality strategies and two more are in the pipeline for early next year, to make sure that we leave no-one behind. I call on Member States to adopt equivalent equality strategies at the national level.”
During her mission, Commissioner Dalli also addressed the Joint Parliamentary Committees for Family Affairs and Social Affairs, held bilateral meetings with Government and an extensive consultation meeting with the bodies working on matters falling within her portfolio.
In her discussions, Commissioner Dalli laid emphasis on the portfolio initiatives that were launched in 2020 to achieve a true Union of Equality, where equality and human rights are inextricable.
For all people to be able to fully enjoy their inalienable human rights, efforts to achieve equality are crucial. In the first twelve months of this mandate the European Commission launched:
– the EU Gender Equality Strategy,
– the Gender Action Plan III in external relations,
– the Anti-racism Action Plan,
– the EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation, and
– the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy.
Meanwhile, work on the EU Disability Rights Strategy and the Strategy tackling Anti-Semitism is ongoing, and both will be launched during 2021.
Commissioner Dalli had the opportunity to discuss the different methodologies pertaining to her portfolio with the various interlocutors, with a particular focus on equality mainstreaming. Similar to the Taskforce for Equality that was set up at the beginning of her mandate, member states can also benefit from equivalent setups at the national level, which would serve as the hub for the mainstreaming of equality across all government services.
