The UN calls on the UK government to address hate speech, xenophobia, and investigate institutional racism in policing and journalism.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has called on the UK government to address the rise of hate speech and xenophobic rhetoric, which it believes contributed to the summer riots in the country. The Committee expressed concern over the persistence and increase of hate crimes, hate speech, and xenophobic incidents, including those by politicians and public figures in various media platforms. The UN urges the UK to establish a mechanism to investigate complaints related to institutional racism in its policing and justice system, and to hold journalists and news organizations accountable for how they describe minority communities and when they publish content that incites hatred or fuels xenophobic attitudes.