Belfast Conference To Address Hate Crime

Community representatives are to attend a conference in Belfast to come up with ways to stamp out hate crime in the city.

Belfast Council's Good Relations Unit organised the convention which will examine ways to promote equality and respect, as well as stop hate crime.

The unit's chairman Councillor Naomi Long said: "Hate crime has no place in a modern-society and cannot be tolerated. It can take many forms whether it is a physical attack, offensive or threatening graffiti or verbal abuse, and as a council we are making it one of our key priorities to do everything in our power to stop this sort of behaviour and promote equality and respect.”

Ms Long continued: "We are looking at how we manage our public spaces to ensure they are seen as shared and welcoming for all.

"We are also looking at ways of educating people, because so often hate crime is a result of people's ignorance of other cultures and traditions."

(JM/NS)