Uruguay: Report Says Discrimination and Racism Persist
Conmemoration of the 19.122 law in Uruguay, July 2024 Photo: @onsc_uy
July 24, 2024 Hour: 6:21 pm
Only 18 per cent of public agencies implemented specific training programs, which significantly reduced opportunities for access and advancement.
On Wednesday, an official report stated that structural racism persists in Uruguay despite 10 years of Law 19.122, which seeks to promote the participation of people of African descent in education and employment.
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This is the conclusion of a joint evaluation of the implementation of this legislation by the National Human Rights Institution and Ombudsman’s Office (Inddhh) and the National Civil Service Office (ONSC).
The report considers this law as a milestone in national history, as it recognizes that the Afro-Uruguayan population has been a victim of racism and discrimination since the slave trade, and proposes reparation measures.
In this regard, the law establishes that eight per cent of jobs in the public sector must be allocated to people of African descent.
However, in 2021, only 2.7 per cent of the public sector’s income went to Afro-descendants.
In some agencies, the figure was even lower, showing a serious lack of commitment to the law, the report notes.
Despite the obligation to report annually to the ONSC on the number of Afro-descendants hired, 43 per cent of agencies failed to report in 2021.
At the same time, only 18 per cent of public agencies implemented specific training programs, which significantly reduced opportunities for access and advancement.
The distribution by gender and age also shows significant inequalities.
Afro-descendants account for only 1.2 per cent of income in the public sector, while young people aged 18-24 make up only 0.8 per cent.
The study finds that the poor implementation of Law 19.122 reflects a broader problem of racism and discrimination in Uruguay.
Although this legislation was an important step towards equality, the data show that structural discrimination persists in this country, the report concludes.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: The Independent-The Star
