The Irish Commission on Human Rights and Equality has called for more urgency and priorities of the state to eliminate racism and racial discrimination in Ireland.
It is part of a submission from the IHREC to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, following the UN recommendations in 2019.
The IHREC said there had been “progressive developments” in the last three years, such as the establishment of an anti-racism committee and legislative proposals to address the incitement to hatred and hate crime in Ireland.
However, in its submission, it stresses the need for the future Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill and the proposed Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill to be closely aligned.
Today is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which led the Commission to publish its recommendations on the general scheme of the Hate Crime Bill.
It called for clarity and consistency in the definition of terms related to hate crime, such as hatred, harm, and unfair discrimination, as well as hostility and incitement.
The definition of “harmful online content” must also be clear and sufficiently precise in proposed online security laws according to IHREC, including online hate speech and content that incites violence or hatred against protected groups.
It said that terms relating to hate speech, such as racism, should be clearly defined in law.
IHREC Chief Commissioner Sinéad Gibney said racist hate crime and hate speech must be tackled immediately.
She said if they were not challenged, they would “send a broader toxic message that some individuals or groups do not belong and can therefore be treated inconsistently”.
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