Elisa Massimino: Extremism Threatening European Democracy

In recent months, a resurgence of extremist, ultranationalist and antisemitic violence has shaken many cities in Europe. Coupled with the growth of right-wing political parties, this outbreak of violence - and the environment that enables it - threatens to corrode the fundamental values of the European Union from within. Discrimination against Jews, Roma, immigrant populations and the LGBT community has emerged not only among the civilian population, but in the political sphere as well. A year ago in the European Parliament elections, voters in half of the European Union’s 28 countries elected representatives from far-right parties whose leaders have expressed antisemitic, xenophobic, racist, homophobic, anti-Muslim or anti-Roma sentiments.

Human Rights First President and CEO Elisa Massimino will discuss how the rise of extremism in Europe is threatening liberal democracy and the human rights and security of minority communities, endangering the transatlantic trade agreement and making it more difficult for Europe to address the growing migration crisis.

Speaker Elisa Massimino is the President and CEO of Human Rights First.

Katerina Linos, Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit:
http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1470