UN committee slams UK over racism, incitement affecting minorities

Committee responsible for combatting discrimination calls on government to address hate speech and institutional racism.

The United Nations committee responsible for combatting racism has slammed the United Kingdom over continuing hate crimes, hate speech and xenophobic incidents, following riots fuelled by hate and misinformation that gripped the country this summer.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) said on Friday it was concerned by the presence of racist speech on various platforms, particularly where perpetuated by politicians and public figures.

The committee also issued its findings on Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Venezuela, after reviewing them in its latest session.

CERD said in a statement that it was “particularly concerned about recurring racist acts and violence against ethnic and ethno-religious minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers by extremist far-right and white supremacist individuals and groups”, including the violence that took place in July and August.

Riots and unrest fuelled by xenophobia and misinformation surrounding the tragic killing of three girls in a stabbing incident swept across the country in more than a week of violence that saw about 600 people arrested.

Protests by far-right groups escalated into clashes with police in multiple towns, which saw hotels housing asylum seekers torched and mosques and businesses run by ethnic and religious minorities attacked.

The three young girls were stabbed to death during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop at a community centre in Southport, England, by a 17-year-old suspect, Axel Rudakubana. He was born in Cardiff, the Welsh capital, reportedly to Christian Rwandan parents. But false information on social media claimed the suspect was a Muslim immigrant.

High-profile anti-immigration and anti-Muslim activists such as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, have promoted the protests online and have been accused by politicians and the media of peddling misinformation to inflame tensions.

Nigel Farage, the anti-immigration leader of the populist movement Reform UK who is now a sitting MP, is among the politicians blamed for their incendiary rhetoric.

“What you’ve seen on the streets of Hartlepool, London or Southport is nothing compared to what could happen over the course of the next few weeks,” Farage said.

In May, Farage said that Muslims do not share British values.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he “utterly” condemned “far-right thuggery” as government ministers promised harsh punishments for those taking part in the violence, which also prompted large-scale counter demonstrations across the country.

Institutional racism

CERD also pointed to the existence of “institutional racism within policing and the criminal justice system”, calling on Britain to establish an independent complaint mechanism to investigate allegations of racial profiling, stop-and-search practices, strip searches and the excessive use of force by police.

It called on the authorities to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished, stressing the need for victims and their families to access “effective remedies”.

Police have warned that arrests related to the riots will likely continue for months.

Some sentencings have been televised, a rarity in the UK, while police have churned out names and photos of those convicted, in a bid to make the criminal justice system’s response highly visible.