PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 51 – Statement for Item 9 General Debate on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 October 2022.

The UK delivered a statement on the Item 9 General Debate on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance – outlining our Inclusive Britain strategy.

Thank you, Mr President.

Let me be clear – racism is abhorrent and has no place in our societies. We can only effectively combat it by working together. Everyone must be able to live their lives free from racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance.

In my country we are aiming to do this through our landmark Inclusive Britain strategy, which sets out steps towards tackling racial and ethnic disparities that persist.

This includes taking forward the right legislation, regulation, and putting education in place to ensure fair treatment for all, and by clamping down on racist abuse online through our Online Safety Bill.

We have specific programmes to tackle hate crime, including the Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks programme, a free programme that assists victims of anti-Muslim hatred through legal signposting, advocacy and counselling services.

We are also supporting our Community Security Trust, a charity working to protect British Jews from racism and antisemitism by offering free courses on personal safety to university students, youth workers and religious leaders.

Internationally, we are proud to have joined many of you at the General Assembly last month to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Declaration on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.

We are fully committed to continue tackling the scourge of racism that continues to affect all regions of the world.

Thank you.