Northern Irish Justice Minister Naomi Long has vowed to bring hate crime legislation before the Assembly, as Stormont faces increasing pressure to take action over the issue. This comes following a slew of recent racially motivated attacks, which have left ethnic and other minority groups fearing for their safety.

“When someone is targeted because of who they are, where they are from, or what they believe, it is simply unacceptable,” Minister Long said.

“Stirring up hatred is an offence under Part III of The Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987. I intend to introduce foundational hate crime legislation, based on Judge Marrinan’s recommendations, in this Assembly mandate.”

The recommendations she is referring to state that the justice system should recognise when crimes are aggravated by hatred or prejudice so that courts can hand down tougher sentences to offenders.

When someone is targeted in a hate crime incident and they perceive it to be because of who they are, that has ramifications in the wider community.

The horrific death of Anu Okusanya will send shockwaves across our ethnic minority communities here in NI. pic.twitter.com/Txq9sSiAn8

— Naomi Long MLA (@naomi_long) September 4, 2024

She added: “This was a priority for me on returning to office in February but is particularly important considering what we have witnessed on our streets over recent months. Therefore, I propose to bring forward the statutory aggravation offence model for hate crime in a forthcoming Sentencing Bill which is planned to be introduced next year.

“The model will become the core method of prosecuting hate crimes in Northern Ireland, allowing all existing criminal offences to be aggravated by hostility based on membership or perceived membership of a protected group.”

According to reports, the Northern Irish Justice Minister has also announced plans for a stand-alone ‘Victims Bill’ to support those who have been targeted in hate crimes.

“There must be no place in our society for the hate, xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia that we have seen on the streets over recent weeks, nor should we tolerate homophobia, transphobia, ableism or anti-Semitism,” she expressed.

“Enhanced protection for victims of hate crime remains a key priority and I am committed to working to increase victim confidence in reporting and engagement in the court process. I am, therefore, proposing more specific support to victims and witnesses through provisions included in a Victims Bill, which I plan to introduce later in this mandate,” Long continued.

“This will include provisions to allow automatic eligibility for consideration of special measures and protection from in-person cross-examination by the defendant in hate crime cases.”

Long’s pledge comes following a UN report which criticised authorities for their response to paramilitary-linked racist violence and intimidation in the region.

In a report published earlier in September, provisional figures from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) suggested that racially motivated hate crimes have risen by a third in the last 12 months. Just last week, Anu Okusanya died in hospital after suffering an asthma attack when she fled the scene of an assault on another person. Her family stated that the care worker was running from fear, having been attacked two times before.

Furthermore, August saw days of rioting and violence in Belfast, with gangs targeting migrants and migrant-run businesses, leading to several arrests.

While Long’s commitment to introducing hate crime legislation appears to be a positive step for LGBTQ+ and other minority groups’ rights in Northern Ireland, when the Programme for Government was published on Monday, September 9, campaigners were left disappointed.

The Programme for Government, published today, is 88 pages long, and mentions LGBTQIA+ communities 0 times.

If this Executive is truly going to work for all the people of NI, they should start by acknowledging our diversity and the need for progress on rights and equality. https://t.co/vMhj6ldOaW

— The Rainbow Project (@TRPNI) September 9, 2024

In a post shared on X, The Rainbow Project wrote: “The Programme for Government, published today, is 88 pages long, and mentions LGBTQIA+ communities 0 times. If this Executive is truly going to work for all the people of NI, they should start by acknowledging our diversity and the need for progress on rights and equality.”

Similarly, Councillor Séamas de Faoite added: “Along with racism only being mentioned twice and racial equality just once – the summer we just had completely forgotten about.”