The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is gravely concerned at the findings of a report published today by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), which shows Ireland among the worst of all the EU countries when it comes to victims of racial discrimination and abuse. The EU-wide survey, which is the first ever survey of its kind on immigrant and ethnic minority groups’ experiences of discrimination and racist crime, was carried out for the FRA by GALLUP with face-to-face interviews of some 23,500 people of ethnic and immigrant backgrounds across Europe.
Dr Maurice Manning, President of the IHRC stated "there are some shocking findings in this survey in relation to discrimination against immigrant communities in Ireland. 73% of those surveyed of Sub-Saharan African origin and 25% of those from new EU Member States stated that they considered discrimination based on ethnic or immigrant origin is widespread in this country. The survey also indicated that Ireland is in the worst 10 countries in the EU where people of Sub-Saharan African origin had experienced discrimination on the basis of their background. In the past 12 months, discrimination occurred in a range of areas, including when seeking employment, buying or renting a house, at school or in a restaurant or bar, or in accessing health and social services."
Ireland was also among the worst 5 EU countries where people of Sub-Saharan African origin had experienced racist crime or victimisation such as theft, assault or harassment. The survey also showed that people of immigrant or ethnic background avoided certain places for fear of being assaulted or seriously harassed because of their background.
Dr Manning continued "This report by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) clearly demonstrates that more needs to be done to protect people in Ireland against racist discrimination and abuse and to publicise the existence of organisations such as the Irish Human Rights Commission, which have a vital role to play in ensuring that the rights of everyone are promoted and protected. It is particularly stark that a majority of those surveyed in Ireland did not know of any organisation offering support and advice to people who have been discriminated against. The recent budget cuts to the IHRC, Equality Authority and the closure of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) are only likely to worsen this situation. Independent monitoring of racist crime and ensuring access to independent agencies to provide support for victims of racial abuse and discrimination is vital to ensuring that no one is a victim of these dreadful crimes."
Éamonn Mac Aodha, Chief Executive of the IHRC stated "The IHRC reiterates the call made by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) for States to tackle this situation by promoting the reporting and recording of discrimination and racist crimes, fully applying anti-discrimination laws, and better informing vulnerable minorities about their rights. Across the EU, the FRA report shows that 82% of respondents who said they had been discriminated against did not report their most recent experience. This must be tackled by the Government as a matter of priority to ensure that everyone in Ireland is protected from racial abuse and discrimination."
ENDS/
For further information please contact
Fidelma Joyce
Irish Human Rights Commission
Tel: 01 8589601 Mobile: 087 783 4939
Notes to the Editor
The EU Fundamental Rights Agency provides the relevant institutions and authorities of the European Community and its Member States when implementing Community law with assistance and expertise relating to fundamental rights in order to support them when they take measures or formulate courses of action within their respective spheres of competence to fully respect fundamental rights.
The Agency focuses on the situation of fundamental rights in the EU and its 27 Member States. Candidate Countries and countries which have concluded a stabilisation and association agreement with the EU can be invited to participate following a special procedure. http://fra.europa.eu
The FRA is tasked with cooperating with, inter alia, "governmental organisations and public bodies competent the field of fundamental rights in the Member States, including national human rights institutions". The Irish Human Rights Commission, as Ireland’s National Human Rights Institution, and chair of the European Group of National Human Rights Institutions, regularly engages with the FRA in its work.
The FRA report indicates that face-to-face interviews were conducted with a random sample of respondents from selected ethnic minority and immigrant groups in all 27 Member States of the European Union. 23,500 persons were interviewed. The survey was executed by GALLUP. For the full results of the survey visit the EU-MIDIS Web area at http://fra.europa.eu/eu-midis/