The State of the European Union. The European Parliament faces its most important elections yet

GLOBAL AGREEMENTS ON MIGRATION AND REFUGEES: CHALLENGES AND PROPOSALS 97 The alarming rise in xenophobic and racist discourses specifically targeting migrants over the past few years underscores the need to im- plement measures designed to foster coexist- ence, ensure social inclusion and reduce instanc- es of discrimination, racism and xenophobia. Such arguments, which tend to form part of a greater anti-immigration narrative, suppose an additional stumbling block in an already dif- ficult path to full social insertion. In addition to having to deal with discrimination based on a range of factors such as race and gender that go beyond their status as foreigners, migrants are especially vulnerable to social exclusion. The increasing incidence of such negative and de- meaning messages must be firmly counteracted in an appropriate and integrated manner through public and private consciousness-rais- ing initiatives that highlight the problem, pro- mote tolerance and foster the construction of a more inclusive society. Migrants and refugees are frequent targets of discrimination. The UN Comittee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has ex- pressed concern about the vulnerability and marginalisation suffered by people in both of these categories due to discrimination in gen- eral and discrimination on the basis of race in particular. The discourses framing migrants and refugees as criminal elements now being articu- lated in industrialised countries are provoking a growing level of racism and xenophobia aimed against these groups that is causing grave social damage. In terms of the situation in Europe, it should be noted that despite vigorous efforts on the part of EU institutions and the Council of Europe to combat it by means of legal instru- ments, discrimination persists in the Union and many people continue to suffer its effects there. Respondents to the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency’s Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey 5 perceived their eth- nic or immigrant background as being the greatest underlying factor of the discrimination they face in Europe, citing their foreign-sound- ing names, skin colour and religion as other im- portant triggers of such behaviour. The FRA notes in its 2018 annual report on fundamental rights that seventeen years after the adoption of the Racial Equality Directive and almost a dec- ade after the adoption of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, immi- grants and minority ethnic groups in the EU continue to face widespread discrimination, harassment and discriminatory ethnic profiling. In light of these findings, it is crucial to en- sure the protection of all migrants arriving in Spain, paying special attention to the needs of especially vulnerable individuals such as chil- dren, implementing the Global Compact on Migration in a coherent fashion in alignment with sustainable development and climate change agendas and affording civil society or- ganisations a major role to guarantee that all processes have a people-centred, human-rights focus. We must remain conscious of the challenges the effective implementation of the Compact supposes in the context of new realities of a global nature such as climate change and envi- ronmental degradation that are leading to un- tenable situations that will undoubtedly cause the total number of migrants around the world to increase dramatically over next few years and decades. A massive coordinated effort will be needed to ensure that these people receive the protection and assistance they require. 5  Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey Main results, European Union Agency for Fundamen- tal Rights. Available at: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/ files/fra_uploads/fra-2017-eu-midis-ii-main-results_en.pdf