On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, marked on Friday 21 March 2025, the Association de Soutien aux Travailleurs Imagers (ASTI – Association for the Support of Immigrant Workers) highlighted its concerns regarding the limited progress in the development of Luxembourg’s national action plan against racism.

In its statement, ASTI noted that racism and discrimination “persist across various sectors of Luxembourgish society”, adding that the government's delay in presenting the plan - originally expected by the end of 2023 - was "unacceptable".

ASTI reiterated that Luxembourg continues to face several major challenges in combating racism and discrimination. In its sixth report on Luxembourg published in September 2023, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) criticised the country for various shortcomings. “Among other issues, ECRI highlighted the presence of hate speech in the political sphere, which normalises rejection of others and contributes to a climate of distrust and division,” ASTI stated.

According to ASTI, the situation has worsened since 2023. Earlier this year, a member of parliament from the ADR party reportedly supported a call to “eliminate” LGBTQIA+ individuals. This instance of political hate speech coincides with the growing prevalence of hate speech on social media, which the organisation described as reaching alarming levels. ASTI called for concrete measures to protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable.

ASTI further criticised the limited powers of Luxembourg’s Centre for Equal Treatment (CET), which cannot address discrimination based on nationality. The group also highlighted rising racist incidents in schools and their underestimated effects on children's mental health, as well as ongoing discrimination in housing and employment, which it said hinder integration and stability for many residents.

ASTI argued that the absence of an effective system for recording and monitoring racist incidents continues to obscure the true scale of the issue, due to fragmented data and widespread underreporting. The organisation recalled that it proposed the creation of an observatory to track racist, xenophobic, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents back in 2017, but noted that political decision-makers have not yet acted on this proposal.

ASTI has thus called on the government to act decisively by developing and implementing a national action plan against racism without further delay. “Luxembourg’s international human rights commitments, as well as its status as a country of immigration, require concrete and measurable actions to combat all forms of racism and discrimination,” the organisation stated.

IK