There have been positive steps across the United Kingdom to boost the rights of national minorities, say European experts, but intolerance and hate speech are growing.
Furthermore, national minorities still face discrimination in many areas of life and additional efforts are needed to protect minority languages.
These are among the main findings of a new report on the UK’s compliance with the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM).
The report welcomes the fact that equality, integration and race strategies are being implemented across the UK and measures to tackle hate speech and hate crime are being put in place. However, global political events and concerns about immigration have contributed to anti-immigrant and anti-minority views in politics, the media and society at large in recent years.
In addition, people belonging to national minorities continue to face particular challenges related to employment and healthcare, as well as having inadequate political representation.
