Non-discrimination

Participants appreciated that the authorities had shown more openness to listening to civil society in the area of anti-discrimination in recent years, with the National Strategy for Equality and NonDiscrimination regularly integrating the views of CSOs in their work. Participants also welcomed the positive atmosphere for dialogue with the government and the parliament, as well as concrete forums, such as the youth parliament. Participants called for reinforcement in the area of funding, which was available at national and European levels, and also for more long-term support (as opposed to one-off programmes) for CSOs working in the field of anti-discrimination. Participants in general called for more awareness-raising efforts targeted towards citizens, and training for public officials. On that point, the Portuguese authorities brought up a number of training programmes on intercultural dialogue (in particular covering migrants and the Roma community) that involved the education, security, and health sectors. According to the Portuguese authorities, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination considered the anti-discrimination training given to the Portuguese police to be an example of best practice.

On disability rights, participants agreed the law was sound and that the legislation stemming from the Parliament was in line with the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). However, there existed a gap between the law on paper and that in practice, notably concerning the inclusion of people with disabilities in education and work. There was a noticeable difference between the quotas set for the number of employees with disabilities in both public and private jobs, and their actual representation in these sectors. Participants also believed that the law on physical accessibility in public buildings for people with disabilities was not fully enforced. They called for more efforts to implement the law, but also for more updated and disaggregated data. Participants also hailed security forces' openness to anti-discrimination training provided by specialised CSOs, concerning not only disability rights but also those of the LGBTIQ population. The Portuguese authorities indicated that a set of measures existed to facilitate independent living for people with disabilities in the areas of employment, social security and education. Contributions from civil society had been integrated into the national strategy for the inclusion of people with disabilities for 2021-2025, with the aim of ensuring an integrated approach in the implementation phase.

Participants commenting on LGBTIQ rights believed that the legal framework had improved in recent years, and that Portugal had humanistic laws, which however still needed to be fully implemented. They regretted the absence of a specific framework to address discriminations, which limited recourses against discrimination at the workplace or in access to services to the general principle of equality recognised by the Constitution. An example of a positive development in this field was the law on legal gender self-determination, which separated the medical and legal aspects of 6/7 gender recognition and facilitated procedures in both areas. Participants did, however, regret that the law did not extend to non-nationals, excluding asylum seekers from protection. They indicated that reports of hate-related attacks against LGBTIQ people were low, and that such attacks appeared to be more frequent than the reports suggested, calling for more efforts in the area of data collection and in training law and security officials.

Participants considered the Portuguese legislation on gender equality to be rather modern and inspiring for other EU Member States, for example in the area of salary transparency, where an EU Directive on the matter took inspiration from Portuguese law. However, it was also felt that some public services and Portuguese society in general lacked a certain awareness on rights and rules. This called for more capacity building in the police, education, justice, and health sectors. It was also said that victims' confidence needed be reinformed to encourage more reporting of gender-based crimes, such as gender-based domestic violence and harassment at the workplace. The Portuguese authorities indicated that gender equality had been a constant focus of public action since the return to democracy in 1974, and that the topic was mainstreamed not only in the training of public servants but also in citizenship education programmes in schools.

Participants commenting on the matter of migrants, including asylum seekers, regretted that legislation in that area was too scattered, thus hindering their ability to enjoy the rights afforded them by law, for example in the area of reception and integration. Frontline services faced coordination challenges, and asylum seekers had difficulties opening bank accounts and accessing services, such as health services. Positive developments in recent legislative updates facilitating asylum seekers' access to the job market and their children's access to Portuguese nationality were hailed. It was, however, still to be seen how these provisions would be implemented. As far as challenges were concerned, participants regretted that a procedure for identifying statelessness had not yet been effectively put in place, despite the existence of legal provisions. They also believed that the provisions of the Criminal Code needed to be updated to better address incitement to hatred and violence beyond the public sphere. Participants agreed that more training for law and police officials was needed to ensure more effective assistance for victims of hate crimes. The Portuguese authorities indicated that the Criminal Code was indeed going to be amended to expand the scope of hate crimes, and therefore possibilities for redress for victims. They also pointed out that the Council for Migration, a consultative body which directly advised the High Commissioner for Migration, ensured that the largest migrant communities in the country were represented through elections within the relevant CSOs.