Amnesty conference: It is not necessary to erode the rights of the defendant in order to enhance the rights of the victim, a conference on racism was told at the weekend.
Mr Imran Khan is the solicitor who represented the Lawrence family following the murder of their son Stephen in London by white racists in 1993, bringing the first ever private prosecution for murder in the UK. The case provoked an inquiry into the original police investigation that concluded there was institutional racism within the police.
This was a huge step forward, he said, though at enormous cost to the family. In cases such as this grieving must be put on hold as the victim's family take on the state. "The concept of the 'wronged victim fighting for justice' takes shape.
"Unfortunately this creature has in recent times, been hijacked for political gain by the law and order brigade," he said. "A platform is beginning to emerge that might allow a great leap backwards, as the emphasis shifts from protecting those who are prosecuted to those who are their alleged victims. The real, as opposed to the stated, content of concentrating on the victim now emerges as a deep erosion of the rights of the defendant. It is not axiomatic that to enhance the rights of victims we must erode the rights of the perpetrator."
Mr Khan was speaking at a conference organised by the Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International and the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism.
Professor Colin Harvey of the University of Leeds told the conference that asylum-seekers were particularly vulnerable to racism by the state. The quality of decision-making in relation to applications had been driven down by the drive to reduce numbers.
"The fact is that many governments simply do not want asylum-seekers to feel at home precisely because of a belief that most will, or should be, returned. We should remember that in the asylum process governments increasingly have one eye on possible future removal. This contrasts with the logic of building a culture of respect for human rights and the promotion of equality."
He appealed for evidence- based policy formation, and the establishment of a strong and credible research division within the relevant departments. "Too much of the current debate relies on speculation about the nature of asylum and inaccurate representations of the asylum-seeking community," he said.
There was reason for concern about legislation putting the EU Racial Equality Directive into domestic law in Ireland, according to the head of the European Commission unit dealing with it. Ms Barbara Nolan said Ireland was one of the few member-states with extensive anti-discrimination legislation. However, legislating for the directive had been delayed, and some areas needed to be addressed in the draft legislation. "A number of key definitions will need to be strengthened and clarified, including indirect discrimination and harassment," she said.