Ethnic minorities face climate of fear, says race
watchdog
By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent
15 June 2005

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=646984

Ethnic minorities face a "climate of fear and
suspicion", with Muslims, asylum-seekers and refugees
bearing the brunt of growing hostility to immigrants,
an investigation into racial prejudice in Britain has
concluded.

A Europe-wide human rights watchdog noted the high
numbers of attacks on minorities and said that
anti-Muslim discrimination had intensified in the four
years since the 11 September attacks. It criticised
"negative attitudes" among the police to blacks and
Asians, the disproportionate number of non-white
prisoners and the exploitation of "racist and
xenophobic discourse" by the far right.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI), set up by EU heads of state to investigate
racism and xenophobia, denounced the use of
"provocative, sensationalist and sometimes outright
racist language" in the reporting of asylum and
immigration.

As it delivered its bleak assessment, the Government
promised a fresh drive to sell the benefits of
economic migration to voters in an effort to draw the
poison out of the issue.

Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, has told his
ministers he was dismayed at the prominence that
immigration and asylum took during the election
campaign and is determined it should not happen again.


The ECRI acknowledged efforts by the Government to
build links between communities and to promote racial
equality. But it concluded: "In spite of initiatives
taken, members of ethnic and religious minority groups
continue to experience racism and discrimination.

"Asylum-seekers and refugees are particularly
vulnerable, partly as a result of changes in asylum
policies and of the tone of the debate around the
adoption of such changes.

"Members of the Muslim communities also experience
prejudice and discrimination, especially in connection
with the implementation of legislation and policies
against terrorism."

The commission called on ministers to examine again
the impact of anti-terror legislation, which had
"considerably contributed to a climate of fear and
suspicion around ethnic and religious minority
communities and in particular around Muslim
communities".

Following complaints from Asian leaders, it demanded a
fresh look at the use by police of "stop and search"
powers.

The ECRI registered its alarm over the "considerable
and steady increase" in anti-Semitic incidents in
Britain. It said it was worried by the "high levels of
hostility, discrimination and disadvantage"
encountered by Gypsy and traveller communities.

It also said it was worried by the success of the
British National Party, which "resorted to openly
racist and xenophobic propaganda", in building
"considerable local support bases in certain areas".
It suggested that the Government could consider
outlawing such organisations.

The ECRI said there were still high numbers of attacks
on members of ethnic minorities. It pointed to a 12.4
per cent increase in the number of people arrested for
racially motivated offences in 2003 compared with the
previous year.

The commission registered its concern over the growing
"disproportion between ethnic minority and other
prisoners" and, although it recognised progress by the
police, it said there was "still evidence of negative
attitudes in the police service".

Paul Goggins, a Home Office minister, said the report
had recognised advances that the Government had made
in tackling racism. He said legislation was in the
pipeline banning incitement to religious hatred and
establishing a powerful single Commission for Equality
and Human Rights. "Through these and other measures
our intention is that every individual, regardless of
ethnicity or faith, should be able to live free of
fear, discrimination and intolerance."

The report coincided with a Government decision to
drop plans to build accommodation centres for
asylum-seekers, including a scheme at Bicester,
Oxfordshire, which has already cost £18m. Efforts to
identify other sites for centres would be abandoned.
Tony McNulty, the Immigration minister, said that the
policy had been ditched because of sharp falls in
numbers of asylum-seekers and a fresh emphasis on the
speedy return of failed claimants.
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More about Europe at:
http://www.islamawareness.net/Europe/

More about Islamophobia at:
http://www.islamawareness.net/Islamophobia/





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