Calls for hate crime legislation to tackle rise in racist attacks in Northern Ireland
There have been calls for the Executive to bring in stand-alone hate crime legislation to help tackle a rise in racist attacks in Northern Ireland.
On Tuesday, the Assembly called on the First and deputy First Minister to initiate a review into bringing in such legislation following disorder during the summer.
It comes as police figures show 2024 is already the worst year for racist violence in Northern Ireland. A record 1,411 racist incidents and 891 racist crimes were recorded by the PSNI in the year ending June 2024, according to official police data released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
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South Belfast MLA Paula Bradshaw welcomed that the Assembly is united in opposing racism - but emphasised concrete action and leadership is needed to stop racist attacks.
Ms Bradshaw stated: "Before and after the appalling racist attacks in the summer, we have heard harrowing evidence both in Committee and as individual MLAs that victims of racist hate crimes feel entirely let down by the failure to prevent such attacks from happening.
"Although they are less highlighted, racist and xenophobic attacks, causing fear to people and property damage, are occurring appallingly regularly. The helplessness felt by victims is exacerbated by the sense that their prevention is dependent on 'community representatives' rather than on the civil authorities of law and order.
"The response to create the conditions where racism and sectarianism are directly tackled has been very slow. There is still no Racial Equality Strategy and no Refugee Integration Strategy.
"What is required now is leadership and change. We need a rapid review, but we also need to reflect that racism, sectarianism and paramilitarism do not exist in silos, they are all parts of the same profound problem. We now need the First and deputy First Minister to come forward with concrete action to tackle this problem, while delivering change which will make all members of our society feel equally protected and valued."
South Belfast MLA Matthew O'Toole echoed the calls for action to be taken to ensure racist attacks are left in the past.
He said: “I welcome the widespread condemnation of the horrific scenes that unfolded on our streets during the summer, but it will take more than warm words to stop those behind orchestrating this violence. This problem isn’t going to go away on its own, just last week we saw a child and its mother injured in my constituency when masonry was hurled through the window of their home.
“A review into what happened cannot just look backwards, it must include actions to ensure that this never happens again. While Executive parties claim they want to tackle this issue, we have no update on the Racial Equality Strategy and calls for stand-alone hate crime legislation have been rejected by the Justice Minister. This legislation is more needed than ever after the events of the past few months.
“We also cannot pretend that loyalist paramilitaries were not involved in this violence and we cannot allow them to conflate the legitimate concerns of working-class communities and use it to fuel this racism. That would be a huge disservice to both victims of these attacks and these communities themselves. The best way the Executive can address these concerns is by taking meaningful action around housing, educational opportunities, poverty and all the other issues facing people across Northern Ireland.”
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