Committee says EU referendum campaign contributed to a rise in racist hate speech and hate crimes
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination yesterday released its concluding observations on the twenty-first to twenty-third periodic reports of the United Kingdom.
Image credit: WikipediaYou can access them here.
In the concluding observations, the Committee said it was concerned by the negative portrayal of immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees by the UK media.
As reported by many media outlets (e.g., BBC News here), the Committee was also concerned that "divisive, anti-immigrant and xenophobic" rhetoric by UK politicians during the recent EU referendum campaign contributed to a rise in racist hate speech and hate crimes.
David Isaac, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, told the BBC that his organisation shared the UN's concerns and supported its call for "effective investigation and prosecution of all acts of racist hate crime".
"There are concerns that the acrimonious and divisive manner in which the referendum debate was conducted exacerbated worrying divisions in British society, and has been used by a minority to legitimise race hate", Isaac said.
The full section on racist hate speech and hate crimes from the UN Committee's concluding observations is excerpted below:
"Racist hate speech and hate crimes
15. The Committee is seriously concerned at the sharp increase in the number of racist hate crimes especially in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the weeks prior to and following the referendum on the membership of the European Union held on 23 June 2016. In particular, the Committee is deeply concerned that the referendum campaign was marked by divisive, anti-immigrant and xenophobic rhetoric, and that many politicians and prominent political figures not only failed to condemn it, but also created and entrenched prejudices, thereby emboldening individuals to carry out acts of intimidation and hate towards ethnic or ethno-religious minority communities and people who are visibly different. The Committee remains concerned that despite the recent increase in the reporting of hate crimes, the problem of underreporting persists, and the gap between reported cases and successful prosecution remains significant. As a result, a large number of racist hate crimes seem to go unpunished. It also remains concerned at the negative portrayal of ethnic or ethno-religious minority communities, immigrants, asylum-seekers and refugees by the media in the State party, particularly in the aftermath of terrorist attacks, as well as the rise of racist hate speech on the Internet. Notwithstanding these challenges, the Committee regrets that the State party continues to maintain its interpretative declaration on article 4 of the Convention (arts. 2, 4 and 6).
16. The Committee recommends that the State party, including the governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the British Overseas Territories and the Crown dependencies:
(a) Investigate all reported acts of racist hate crimes, prosecute and punish the perpetrators with sanctions commensurate with the gravity of the offence, and provide effective remedies to victims;
(b) Systematically collect disaggregated data on hate crimes, ensure that measures to combat racist hate crimes are developed with the meaningful participation of affected groups, and undertake a thorough impact assessment of the measures adopted to ensure their continued effectiveness;
(c) Adopt concrete measures, in consultation with affected groups, to increase the reporting of racist hate crimes by ensuring that the reporting mechanism is transparent and accessible, and that victims have trust in the police and the justice system;
(d) Taking into account the Committee's general recommendation No. 35 (2013) on combating racist hate speech, adopt comprehensive measures to combat racist hate speech and xenophobic political discourse, including on the Internet, particularly with regard to the application of appropriate sanctions, and ensure that public officials not only refrain from such speech but also formally reject hate speech and condemn the hateful ideas expressed so as to promote a culture of tolerance and respect;
(e) Take effective measures to combat racist media coverage, taking into account the Committee's general recommendation No. 35 (2013) on combating racist hate speech, and ensure that such cases are thoroughly investigated and, where appropriate, sanctions are imposed."