Urgent Government action needed to counter racial and religious vilification in wake of war in Iraq

21/03/2003

The Australian Council of Human Rights Agencies (ACHRA) has called on state, territory and federal governments to initiate a national anti racism and religious vilification campaign in the wake of the war in Iraq.

"There has already been a backlash from some elements in the community against Arabs and Muslims living in Australia. This is likely to become worse as the war proceeds", Dr Diane Sisely, Chairperson of ACHRA said today.

"ACHRA calls on state, territory and Federal governments to commit to an urgent and comprehensive campaign to counter these attacks", Dr Sisely added.

"This campaign should:

Send a clear message to all Australians that racism and vilification will not be tolerated
Give information and emergency help for people subjected to racism and vilification
Closely monitor acts of racism and vilification, and
Provide culturally appropriate support and counselling services.

ACHRA is a new human rights group that was formed in February 2003 by state and territory Equal Opportunity and Anti-Discrimination Agencies. It is made up of Commissioners/Presidents from those agencies.

"We have many things in common. Our jurisdictions are similar, our processes are similar and our concerns are similar. We are committed to working closely on matters of mutual concern and to working closely with the Federal Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission."

"Each of us is committed to tackling racism and vilification in our own states. However the enormity of what confronts us now means there needs to be an urgent national response with significant resources devoted to this task. Only governments have the resources to do this."

"The Federal government in particular has demonstrated that it can act quickly with its anti terrorism strategy. We now call on it to do the same with an anti racism and vilification campaign and we call state and territory governments to contribute as well."