The Government is committed to tackling resolutely any tendency towards an increase in racist views or attitudes in society, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, told the conference.
Mr O'Donoghue said Ireland was going through major changes in both its economy and society and was becoming increasingly multicultural. "The creation of an environment which recognises refugees as persons who enrich society has a key role to play in integration," he added.
Mr O'Donoghue was addressing more than 500 delegates from 50 countries at a three-day conference, All Different, All Equal: From Principle to Practice, hosted by the Council of Europe. The event is Europe's contribution to a United Nations world conference against racism in South Africa next year.
Mr O'Donoghue was one of 41 ministers representing the council's member-states who adopted a political declaration reaffirming their commitment to prevent and eliminate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and related intolerance. Conference participants also agreed a set of general conclusions to contribute to the world conference.
Mr O'Donoghue and 30 ministers from the council's memberstates spoke at the conference's concluding session about their efforts to fight against racism and intolerance.
The speech by the Austrian representative was disrupted briefly by a protester objecting to the inclusion in his state's coalition government of the far-right Freedom Party, which has been accused of racism.
Mr O'Donoghue told delegates the conference would help clarify the role of government and state agencies in dealing with racism and in developing mechanisms and good practices in government and wider society to defeat it. On the opening day of the conference, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, singled out Ireland and Turkey as the only two nations in the council which had not yet ratified the International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Mr O'Donoghue said yesterday the convention should be ratified and implemented by the end of the year. Mr Justin Harman, Ireland's permanent representative to the Council of Europe, who was closely involved in preparing the conference, said the problems and challenges in the area which have occurred over years in other states had been "telescoped" in Ireland.
"Our contribution to the conference is a reflection that Irish governmental and non-governmental organisations are acknowledging and accepting that there are issues to be dealt with and we are putting in place infrastructures, and it's recognised that this is a concrete reflection of an acceptance by Ireland that this issue has to be tackled." he said.
Mr Niall Crowley, from the Equality Authority, who participated in the conference, said its conclusions gave "a crucial stimulus to fighting racism at a moment in Ireland when it has really grown in virulence". He said the political declaration by the member-states of the council was "a very important document, particularly for its commitment to a national plan of action against racism and its focus on prioritising and protecting the cultural identities of minorities. That's particularly important in Ireland because the minorities are so strong."