Nasc welcomes ECRI Report on racism in Ireland
Nasc welcomes The European Commission Against Racism (ECRI) report on Ireland in its calls for the adoption of legislation to prohibit racial profiling. You can download a copy of the report here.
The report identified four main areas of concern including: treatment of asylum seekers; health and accommodation issues for Travellers; structural issues including the merger of the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Council, the closure of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Intolerance (NCCRI) and the lack of a new National Action Plan Against Racism; and issues around racism and integration for migration communities.
Nasc’s third party racist reporting service confirms that migrants are experiencing significant levels of racial abuse and discrimination. Many migrants are subject to police stops and are required to produce identity documents on the basis of their ethnicity. A recent survey we conducted in Cork highlighted that Black Africans experience particularly high levels of racism, especially in accessing employment and goods and services.
Many of the recommendations of the ECRI Report mirror those made by Nasc in our report Stop the Silence: A Snapshot on Racism in Cork published in November of last year. We are concerned however that the ECRI Report does not seem strong enough on many issues, including the under-reporting of racism and the lack of criminal convictions taken under the Incitement to Hatred Act.
According to Nasc CEO Fiona Finn, “The ECRI Report draws much needed attention to the government’s failures when it comes to tackling racism. Now is the time for civil society to speak out against racism and intolerance in our communities, in our policing, and in our government bodies.”
Anyone who experiences or witnesses a racist incident can report this to us in complete confidence. We will then help you to determine whether an offence has been committed and should you decide to proceed, will assist in reporting the matter to the Gardaí. To make a report or for further information, please call us on 021-4317411, visit our Reporting Racism page or email reportracism@nascireland.org.
• Racial profiling has a ‘discriminatory effect’ and should be prohibited – report (TheJournal.ie, 19/02/13)
• Report on Racism calls for new legislation (Irish Times, 20/02/13)
• One in four Africans attacked in Ireland (Irish Examiner, 20/02/13)
