The Ripollet City Council approved in July its first Protocol for Attention to Racial Discrimination, a pioneering tool in Catalunya that establishes mechanisms to prevent, detect, and address any situation of racism in the municipality.
The Ripollet City Council has taken a step forward in the fight against racism with the approval this July of its first Protocol for Attention to Racial Discrimination. This is a pioneering document in Catalunya that establishes municipal mechanisms to prevent, detect, and address any situation of discrimination based on racial or ethnic grounds occurring in the municipality.
The protocol is born with the intention of reinforcing the municipal commitment to equal treatment, the defence of human rights, and the construction of a cohesive, inclusive city free from racism. According to municipal sources, the document is the result of joint work with the Barcelona Provincial Council, the consultancy LaGroc, and SOS Racisme, and has involved collaboration from professionals within the council, other administrations, entities, and citizens.
The protocol is based on a reality confirmed by various studies: racism remains one of the main causes of discrimination, although a large number of cases go unreported. This underreporting makes it difficult to understand the true extent of the problem and limits the ability of administrations to provide an adequate response.
To address this situation, the protocol defines a clear action circuit so that any situation of discrimination can be detected, reported, and addressed in a coordinated manner. The aim is to ensure that affected individuals receive information, advice, support, and, if necessary, referral to the appropriate specialised services, avoiding processes of re-victimisation and always placing the victim at the centre of the intervention.
Coordinated response
The protocol is a tool to strengthen networking among administrations, security bodies, public services, and local entities. At the municipal level, it involves, in addition to specialised services, various municipal areas such as Social Services, Education, Housing, Health, Culture, Sports, Youth, and Equality. The goal is for any municipal professional to be able to detect possible situations of discrimination and activate the planned response mechanisms.
Additionally, the protocol foresees the creation of an Antiracist Protocol Commission, responsible for coordinating cases, monitoring them, and promoting preventive and awareness-raising actions. If a person believes they have suffered racial discrimination, they can approach, depending on the situation, one of the first contact services, such as the Ripollet Immigration Reception Service (SAIR), the Citizen Attention Office, the Inclusion Department in the Social Rights offices, the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Local Police, or the Ombudsman.
Prevention, awareness, and training
The new protocol is not limited to intervening when discrimination occurs. It also incorporates a set of preventive measures aimed at generating an institutional antiracist culture. Among these actions are the training of municipal staff, the dissemination of the protocol among citizens, the implementation of awareness campaigns, the creation of a specific space on the municipal website, and the establishment of a registration system that allows for a better understanding of the municipality's reality and evaluation of the actions undertaken.
With the approval of this protocol, the Ripollet City Council reinforces its commitment to the defence of fundamental rights and the fight against any form of discrimination. The aim is to ensure that anyone who suffers a situation of racism in the municipality finds an administration ready to listen, support, and activate the necessary resources to protect their rights.
The protocol represents an important step towards advancing a model of coexistence based on respect, equality, and non-discrimination. The residents of Ripollet now have a clear channel to report any racist incident, with the guarantee that it will be addressed by trained and coordinated professionals.
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