ECRI: Brexit Led to further Rise in Islamophobia
Human rights experts from the Council of Europe in Strasbourg Cedex in France, say new laws are needed to tackle racism and discrimination, Sky News reported.Although the Council of Europe is separate from the EU, its criticism and a call for stronger UK ties to the European Convention on Human Rights is unlikely to be welcomed by campaigners pushing for a swift exit from Europe.
The commission said a particularly high number of violent racist incidents occurred in 2013 when there was a sharp rise in anti-Muslim violence, while anti-Semitic incidents reached the highest level ever recorded in 2014.
Christian Ahlund, the chair of the watchdog, said: "It is no coincidence that racist violence is on the rise in the UK at the same time as we see worrying examples of intolerance and hate speech in the newspapers, online and even among politicians.
The report also said there are "significant gaps" between equality law in Britain and in Northern Ireland, and pointed to the absence of a national strategy for the integration of Roma, Gypsies, and Travelers in the UK.
Some positive developments were cited in the study, however.
The Commission welcomed the Equality Act 2010 coming into force and said the UK has generally strong legislation against racism and racial discrimination.
The Government launched a new action plan to tackle hate crime in July.
Source: Islamic News
