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A6 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 19 September 2020

Amal Clooney quits UK role over 'lamentable' Brexit plan

LONDON (AP) — Amal isn't secured.
Clooney has become the Clooney, who married
highest profile lawyer to movie star George Cloo-
quit an official job over ney in 2014, becomes the
her opposition to the British latest lawyer to resign over
government's suggestion the planned legislation.
that it could break inter- Richard Keen, the British
national law in the event it government's law officer
fails to agree a trade deal for Scotland, and the head
with the European Union. of its legal department,
In a letter Friday to British Jonathan Jones, have also
Foreign Secretary Dominic quit in the past couple of
Raab, the human rights weeks.
lawyer said she is quitting The British government has
her role as the U.K.'s special admitted that the legisla-
envoy on media freedom tion could potentially break
over the government's international law, but ar-
"lamentable" suggestion. gues that it's an insurance
She said she was "dis- policy for that potential
mayed" to learn that the 'no-deal' scenario. Johnson
government intends to has said the legislation is
pass legislation that would needed to end EU threats
effectively override sec- to impose a "blockade" in
tions of the Brexit withdraw- the Irish Sea that the prime
al agreement that Prime In this Friday, April 5, 2019 file photo, International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney smiles dur- minister asserted could
Minister Boris Johnson had ing a Foreign Ministers G7 meeting in Dinard, Brittany. "carve up our country."
himself negotiated. Associated Press One major element of the
"Although the government Brexit withdrawal agree-
has suggested that the its intention to violate an in- The Internal Market Bill, minish the bloc's previously ment is the section related
violation of international ternational treaty signed by which is currently being de- agreed oversight of trade to ensuring an open border
law would be 'specific and the Prime Minister less than bated by British lawmakers, between mainland Britain on the island of Ireland to
limited', it is lamentable for a year ago," she said in her has led to a furious outcry and Northern Ireland if a protect the peace process
the U.K. to be speaking of letter. within the EU as it would di- U.K.-EU trade agreement in Northern Ireland.q

EU unveils plan to combat racism, increase diversity

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Eu- help define new recruit-
ropean Commission pre- ment policies.
sented a series of measures Meanwhile, the new coor-
Friday aimed at tackling dinator for anti-racism will
structural racism and dis- be in charge of collecting
crimination, acknowledg- the grievances and feel-
ing a blatant lack of diver- ings of minorities to make
sity among the European sure they are reflected in
Union's institutions. EU policies. The EU said
The bloc's executive arm that more than half of Eu-
set out its action plan for ropeans believe that dis-
the next five years, which crimination is widespread
includes strengthening the in their country. According
current legal framework, to surveys carried out by
recruiting an anti-racism the EU Agency for Funda-
coordinator and increasing mental Rights, or FRA, 45%
the diversity of EU staff. of people of North African
The European Commis- descent, 41% of Roma and
sion's vice president for 39% of people of sub-Saha-
values and transparency, ran African descent have
Věra Jourová, said that re- faced such discrimination.
cent anti-racism protests in The EU's racial equality di-
the U.S. and Europe high- rective will also be assessed,
lighted the need for action. European Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova and European Commissioner with possible new legisla-
"We have reached a mo- for Equality Helena Dalli participate in a media conference on the EU anti-racism Action Plan at tion introduced in 2022. In
ment of reckoning. The EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. the wake of the Black Live
protests sent a clear mes- Associated Press Matters protests triggered
sage, change must hap- by George Floyd's death
pen now," Jourová said. "It "The commission itself will sees EU policies, is made up la von der Leyen are white. in the U.S., the European
adapt its recruiting policy of 27 members, one from Under the plan, data on
won't be easy, but it must Commission said it would
be done. to better reflect European each EU country. All the the diversity of commission look carefully into discrimi-
members of the team set staff will for the first time be
society."
"We won't shy away from nation by law enforcement
strengthening the legisla- The current College of up last year by European collected on the basis of authorities such as unlawful
Commission President Ursu-
a voluntary survey that will
Commissioners, which over-
tion, if needed," she said. racial profiling. q