Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

'Racism is systemic in England, UK government breaching UN's anti-racism treaty'

'Racism is systemic in England, UK government breaching UN's anti-racism treaty'

ENGLAND is "systemically racist" and the UK government is in breach of a United Nations (UN) treaty designed to eradicate racial discrimination, a recent report claimed on Wednesday (14), adding that minority ethnic groups in the country face sustained disparities across health, the criminal justice system, education, employment, immigration and politics.

As per a recent research by race equality think tank Runnymede, some institutional practices and customs continue to harm ethnic groups in the UK and the UK government's recent policies are making the matter worse.


Suggesting that racial inequality has worsened in some areas of England since the last shadow report was published in 2016, the report says that it is “particularly alarmed” over the government’s "Electoral Integrity Bill, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and the new plan for immigration".

Based on the evidence from more than 100 civil society groups, the report's findings say that the government's immigration measures “stand in clear breach” of UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) while the new Immigration Bill might pose a “significant threat” to ethnic minorities' rights.

Accusing that the government has not acted on several recommendations made by the ICERD in 2016, such as to provide protection to victims of dual or multiple discrimination and to make caste an aspect of race under law, the report also found that the government is in breach of numerous other articles of the UN ICERD. 

The report came as the country witnessed a torrent of racial abuse that was targeted at England's Black footballer Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after its defeat in EURO 2020 on Sunday (11).

GettyImages 1328323662 A tweet featuring racist content directed at the England football team is seen on July 12, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Getty Images)

Runnymede's report also directly questions the findings from the UK's Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) earlier this year, which concluded that the system is no longer "deliberately rigged" against ethnic minorities in Britain.

Arguing that CRED's conclusion “misrepresents the scale and complexity of the issues”, the report stated that it starkly contrasts with the evidence received for the current report which suggest that racial inequality has worsened in past years in some areas.

Senior policy officer Alba Kapoor said areas of concern include disparity in the criminal justice system, health inequalities, and a rise in hate crime.

Calling for the Tories to ensure UK’s laws and policies fully comply with the ICERD's definition of discrimination, the report urges to urgently implement a strategy to advance race equality.

Other recommendations in the report include engaging with social media platforms to tackle the incitement of racial hatred online, and ensuring effective systems for reporting hate crime and recording data.

Runnymede Trust chief executive, Dr Halima Begum, who in 2019 called prime minister Boris Johnson an “entitled Bullingdon Club brat”, said that progress has been made- like the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine to ethnic minority groups and efforts to address the Windrush scandal- though “race has become a needlessly fractious issue in the national discourse, and many members of our black and minority ethnic communities continue to experience stark disproportionate outcomes in their life chances”.

More For You

reeves-spring-statement

To prevent a budget deficit, Reeves has announced cuts to disability welfare payments and reductions in government departmental budgets, citing global economic uncertainty.

Government cuts growth forecast, announces public spending cuts

THE UK government reduced its 2025 growth forecast by half on Wednesday and announced spending cuts to manage public finances amid economic challenges.

The Spring Statement update comes as the Labour government, which won a landslide election in July, faces slow economic growth and rising borrowing costs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Slough Council writes off £382,000 in unpaid business rates

Two companies that owed the money had dissolved, while a third – which owed the largest amount – had gone into liquidation.

CRM

Slough Council writes off £382,000 in unpaid business rates

Nick Clark

AN ‘eyewatering’ £382,000 in unpaid business rates has been written off by Slough Borough Council with the agreement of council leaders – with one branding the sum ‘frightening’.

Leading councillors voted to approve the write off last Monday (17), after all attempts to collect the debt – owed by just three companies – had been ‘exhausted’. Councillor Wal Chahal, responsible for finance, said: “It’s an eyewatering number to be writing off, it’s just frightening.

Keep ReadingShow less
man-city-getty

Last year, Manchester City and Techno India Group launched the first Manchester City Football School in India, based in Kolkata. (Representational image: Getty)

Manchester City signs MoU to open sports school in Bengal: Mamata Banerjee

MAMATA BANERJEE, chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal, has announced that Manchester City has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a sports school in the state.

The Premier League club, which has won the league title for four consecutive seasons, is expanding its football education initiatives in the region.

Keep ReadingShow less
IMF Finalizes £1 Billion Loan Agreement for Pakistan

The IMF said in a statement on Tuesday that the 28-month agreement aims to support Pakistan’s efforts in tackling climate change. (Photo: Reuters)

REUTERS

IMF announces agreement on £1 bn loan deal for Pakistan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached an agreement with Pakistan on a new £1 billion loan programme and reviewed an existing bailout, which could unlock an additional £770 million if approved.

The IMF said in a statement on Tuesday that the 28-month agreement aims to support Pakistan’s efforts in tackling climate change.

Keep ReadingShow less