Press release by Runnymede Trust©

A group of charities have issued a strong critique of the UK government’s lack of action on race inequality, which will be presented to the United Nations in Geneva next week. The group’s concerns, outlined in a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, criticise the government’s record to date on the issue.

Named UK NGOs Against Racism and convened by the Runnymede Trust, the group will be presenting to the UN committee on 22nd and 23rd August as part of the UN’s examination into what governments are doing to tackle racism. The UK government will be examined by the committee on 23rd and 24th August.

UK NGOs against Racism is calling on the government to:

Urgently develop a race equality strategy outlining what it intends to do to promote equal opportunities between people of different ethnic backgrounds;

Show commitment to tackling ethnic inequalities in outcomes in education, health, housing and employment and to tackling disproportionalities in the criminal justice system;

Look at ways to ensure its austerity measures do not disproportionately impact on those from minority ethnic communities.

In addition, the group has expressed concern regarding the reduction in budget of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as well as around decisions to remove or not implement parts of the Equality Act, including those around dual discrimination.

The UN’s response to the UK evidence will be published on 2nd September.

Commenting, Runnymede director Rob Berkeley said: “It is crucial that the government puts together a strong race equality strategy focused on tackling the inequalities that still exist in the UK. We hope that the UN response on 2nd September will prompt practical ways for the UK government to work to decrease racism and discrimination”.

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