Alliance Welcomes Executive Commitment To Tackling Racism

The Alliance Party has welcomed a commitment from the Assembly to addressing racism and racist attacks across Northern Ireland.

South Belfast MLA and Executive Office Spokesperson, Paula Bradshaw, was speaking after she introduced a motion on behalf of the Committee for the Executive Office this morning calling for an urgent and comprehensive review into the racist attacks of July and August, requiring the First and deputy First Minister to bring forward proposals to prevent it from happening again.

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."