Council Response to Hate Crime in Belfast

Jump to the response from the Council 5th May 2015 (Below)

Meeting with the current Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Arder Carson (Sinn Fein), Honorary Consul of Poland Jerome Mullen (on the left) and PECA Billingual Development Officer Sylwia McAvoy.

Meeting with current Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast Alderman Guy Spence (DUP), Honorary Consul of Poland Jerome Mullen (on the left) and PECA Bilingual Development Officer Sylwia McAvoy.

Meeting with the community representatives at Tigers Bay community in North Belfast.

This is the text of the motion passed with all party support 5th May 2015 by Belfast City Council.

The motion was proposed by Sinn Féin’s Cllr Mary Ellen Campbell and seconded by the Alliance’s Emmett Brown McDonough. The motion will now be brought to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee to progress it.

Councillor Campbell to move:
Anti-Racism Pledge

“This Council:
• in keeping with both the United Nation’s and the Council of Europe’s definition of racism;

• recognising that it can take many different forms, including, but not limited to, xenophobia, anti-migrant racism, anti-Roma racism, Islamaphobia, anti-Traveller racism and anti- Semitism;

• sensitive to the fact that the current economic climate of job losses and cutbacks in essential public services can be exploited by some to encourage anti-migrant sentiment and support protectionist labour market policies; and

• committed to ensuring that Belfast City is a welcoming city, that treats all communities and people equally, that is constantly striving to improve access to our services, that values and celebrates diversity and that ensures that everyone shares in the City’s successes Commits to the following:

• to defend human rights and democratic principles and reject all forms of racist violence, incitement to racial hatred and harassment and any form of unlawful racial discrimination;

• to represent the interests of all constituents, regardless of race, colour, religion, nationality or any other aspect of their identity;

• to refuse to display, publish or to distribute or endorse in any way views or positions which stir-up or invite, or may reasonably be expected to stir-up or invite prejudices, hostility or hatred towards people of different ethnic or national origins, religious beliefs or linguistic communities and to deal resolutely with any racist sentiment and/or behaviour within our party;

• to refrain from any form of political alliance or cooperation at all levels with any political party which incites or attempts to encourages racial, ethnic, religious or linguistic prejudices and hatred;

• to commit to ensuring that as elected representatives we partake in anti-racism training so as to enhance our knowledge and understanding of the issue of racism and how to develop effective responses to it;

• to work actively to prevent both direct and indirect discrimination against, and to promote equality in all areas of economic, social, cultural, linguistic and political life among and between persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities;