EUROPEAN UNION Permanent Delegation to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva FORUM ON MINORITY ISSUES Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 9th session, 24-25 November 2016 Item 2 - Legal framework and key concepts EU Intervention Mr. President, The EU is based on the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Those principles are enshrined in the Treaty on the European Union (Article 2), in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (Article 19), as well as in the Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 21) which prohibit any discrimination based on any ground, including race, colour, ethnic origin, language, religion or belief, and membership of a national minority. In recent years, the EU has been working hard to complete its internal legislative framework to fight discrimination, and to protect the variety of cultures and languages, which are enriching Europe. The EU law on non-discrimination, based on two non-discrimination Directives and Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia, ensures that discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin is prohibited in a number of specific fields, and that all EU Member States penalize hate speech and guarantee that a biased motivation of any other offence is taken into account in the severity of the penalties. In implementing the EU legislation, the EU Member States can rely on support and expertise of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), which for instance provides useful data on issues of racism and hate crime. FRA also created a