On 21 March, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as an anti-racist city, Barcelona reaffirms its commitment to the prevention, protection and guarantee of the rights of all immigrants and racialised residents, with an institutional declaration approved by all municipal groups.

According to cases opened by the Office for Non-Discrimination in 2020, racism and xenophobia were once again the main causes of discrimination in the city, accounting for 42% of the 219 cases.

The City Council is working to consolidate the Office for Non-Discrimination as a leading service for the city and to strengthen collaboration with human rights organisations. In this respect, work is under way to develop a support protocol in response to aggressions on the grounds on racism and xenophobia. Support for the activity of entities on the Barcelona Municipal Immigration Council remains solid, within the context of the initiative ‘Towards an anti-racist Barcelona’.

The City Council is also committed to more training on human rights and giving a focus to intercultural policies among municipal staff. In this respect, for over a decade now the Barcelona Interculturality Programme has been promoting the recognition of diversity to prevent racism and discrimination through the following projects: ‘Impulsem la interculturalitat’, the antirumours strategy, the Espai Avinyó and intercultural training.