Item 4 on the agenda this afternoon is the debate on tackling racism and racial inequality, and I call on the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip to move the motion—Jane Hutt.

Motion NDM7041 Rebecca Evans, Darren Millar, Rhun ap Iorwerth

To propose that the National Assembly of Wales:

1. Supports:

a) wholeheartedly the global fight to root out racism and racist ideology and strives towards a more equal Wales, tackling all forms of racial inequality; and

b) the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

2. Calls on the Assembly Commission on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales to facilitate the development of a cross-party Welsh declaration embodying the principles of the CERD in consultation with the most appropriate persons and organisations.

Motion moved.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to open this debate on the twentieth anniversary of this Assembly to tackle racism, to root out racist ideology and review our commitment to the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. I thank Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives for making this a joint motion to unite us today in the commitments we make as a result of this debate.

Fifty people died in the terrorist attacks in Christchurch on 15 March and 250 more in Sri Lanka on 21 April 2019. On 27 April 2019, on the last day of passover, the shooting at a synagogue outside San Diego left one woman dead and three others injured. The shooting came exactly six months after a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing 11 people in the deadliest attack on Jews in US history. The global response to these terrorist attacks has been powerful and inspirational. In the wake of the New Zealand attack, the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for a global effort to root out racism and bigotry. Her profound statement,

'They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not', requires us all to look at ourselves and our responsibilities personally and politically. She said that if we want to make sure globally that we are a safe, tolerant and inclusive world, we cannot think in terms of national boundaries. She said we must weed out racism where it exists and make sure that we never create an environment where it can flourish. Today, we have an opportunity to add our voices to the calls for racial harmony, peace and justice. We must publicly condemn racism, Islamophobia, Afrophobia and anti-Semitism wherever it occurs, and we must take further action to tackle racial inequalities that are present in our own country. We know that means that we must take action here in Wales.

We've already come a long way. Fifty years ago this year on 7 March 1969, the UK Government ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, making a commitment to condemn and eliminate all forms of racial discrimination and to criminalise acts of violence or incitement of violence against people from minority ethnic groups. We now have legislation that mirrors the standards in the convention, outlawing racial discrimination at work and in the provision of services such as healthcare, housing, employment and education. We must make that legislation work effectively here in Wales. In Wales, the systems we have in place for addressing hate crime and supporting victims are seen as world leading. Public bodies in Wales are subject to the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010, with a duty to promote equal opportunity and foster good relations between groups in society.

The twenty-second of April, Deputy Llywydd, marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of the death of Stephen Lawrence and the first national Stephen Lawrence Day. We marked his life and the achievements of his family, which have created an important legacy to be safeguarded and built upon. Last year, here at the Senedd, we worked with Windrush community elders from Race Council Cymru to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation to British and Welsh life. That was such a powerful, moving and joyful event that we will be holding similar events around Wales, funded by the Welsh Government this year, and, I hope, for years to come.

Let us be in no doubt, everyday racism, structural racism and racially motivated crimes are still each and every day having a profound impact on the lives and life outcomes of people in Wales. It's unacceptable that many BAME people in this country have come to the conclusion that they just need to tolerate everyday racism. In 2017, the British social attitudes survey evidenced that a quarter of people admitted being very or a little prejudiced towards people of other races. Structural and institutional racism is also very real. We know this for certain too, because of the pay gaps that exist and the lack of BAME people in more senior management or leadership positions.

Likewise, there is substantial evidence that many of our BAME children and young people are experiencing racist bullying in schools. Some of us will have heard the stories first hand. Show Racism the Red Card has had a major impact in schools. Their dedicated and experienced staff run workshops with children and young people, both to highlight the issues and change attitudes.

Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are also very real issues in Wales today, with extremist groups fuelling hatred and spreading lies. We must reinvigorate our approach in Wales, so that we can secure a more peaceful and more inclusive future, not least in the context of Brexit. That's why, for example, we're investing £2.4 million to expand our regional community cohesion programme, to identify and mitigate community tensions.

There are many other challenges facing us, but we're not starting from scratch. Over the last two years, we've been engaging with BAME communities right across Wales through our all-Wales BAME engagement programme, run by EYST, as well as through our Wales Race Forum. The engagement programme has given us recommendations for action to tackle racism and the inequalities that arise as a result. We can do something about this.

The themes of the programme are representation of BAME people in public and political life as a key theme—already a priority for this Welsh Government, and for me personally. I recognise that this is crucial to everything else we want to do. This isn't about tokenism or making up numbers. Wales needs diverse representation of ethnic minority groups, women and other protected characteristics in our top management positions and in our politics. We need to change the processes and culture of institutions. We won't succeed until we have fresh voices and new perspectives in our Welsh public bodies, in the council chambers, boardrooms and top tables, and of course in this Chamber.

On the second theme, employment and socioeconomic inequality, there is variation between and within different ethnic minorities, but the overall picture is clear enough: people from diverse ethnic backgrounds consistently face additional obstacles in the Welsh labour market.

And thirdly, the BAME engagement programme has made 13 far-reaching recommendations about tackling racial inequality in schools. Both I and the Minister for Education are determined to take action to tackle all types of racial inequalities in schools and improve outcomes. That is fundamental for unlocking the potential of the next generation of racially aware, ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world, ready to be citizens of Wales and the world. We must take the important opportunities that we have through the new curriculum, our anti-bullying guidance, and our investment in professional learning for the school workforce.

Last but not least, tackling racist incidents, hate crimes, and structural racism has never been more urgent than at present: 68 per cent of all hate crimes are racially motivated. And nor can we afford to ignore the impact of right-wing extremism in Wales. Numbers may be small, but the activities of such groups, both online and locally, can have a disproportionate effect on our communities, and are a disgrace to our society as a whole.

So, finally, in opening this debate, we must continue to build a strong and diverse society, where people of every race, faith and colour are valued for their character and their actions. We want to create a peaceful and harmonious country where our children and future generations can thrive. It's crucial that encouraging reporting, supporting victims, holding perpetrators to account, continue to be top-level priorities. On our twentieth anniversary of devolution, we must make this a renewed commitment for the Welsh Government and this Assembly, and I look forward to this debate.

The UN convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination is an international treaty adopted in 1965 by the United Nations General Assembly. The convention covers the rights of all people to enjoy civil, political, economic and social rights without discrimination on grounds of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. The UK ratified this in 1969, 50 years ago. 

Hate crime is defined as an offence that the victim considers to be driven by hostility towards their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity. It can include verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, harassment, assault and bullying, as well as damage to property. Although people's experience of hate crime captured by the crime survey of England and Wales has gone down steadily over the last decade, police recorded hate crime in England and Wales has more than doubled since 2012-13, when 42,255 such crimes were recorded. In part, this is due to improvements made by the police in identification and recording of crime offences and, in part, to more people coming forward to report these. However, there have also been spikes of hate crime. 

Speaking at last October's Celebrating International Integration Day event in the Temple of Peace, organised by NWAMI, the North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration, I referred to the Let Us Integrate through Music and Art Assembly event that I hosted last May with NWAMI and with Cwmbran-based KIRAN, the Knowledge-based Intercommunity Relationship and Awareness Network. As the honorary president of NWAMI, I've worked with the organisation for many years. NWAMI is dedicated to building up a cohesive community and integrated society in Wales in the twenty-first century, and to achieving this by promoting an understanding of, and respect for, this country's diverse cultures, through cultural engagement and interaction, education and training, organising cultural performances in music, dance and other art forms, as well as activities including speaker sessions and workshops.

In south Wales, Cwmbran-based KIRAN aims to advance education and raise awareness about different racial groups and different social and cultural settings. 

Will you take an intervention? 

Of course. 

You're describing some really good work on the part of some really good organisations in Wales. But do you accept that their work is made so much harder when politicians, like Boris Johnson from your party, refer to Muslim women as letterboxes, for example? 

I'm not going to comment on fly-by partisan comments, because I want this to be a united debate with a united message. I'm happy if we want to have a partisan debate on issues to partake in on that basis but not this debate.

In south Wales KIRAN want to promote knowledge and mutual understanding between different racial groups and generate activities to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds with the objective of encouraging acceptance of social diversities and facilitating meaningful engagement between members from different communities.

Last May, I had a meeting in the Assembly with the Welsh Refugee Council, the North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration and the personal support service CAIS, to talk about how we can work in partnership to break down barriers and increase understanding of each other's cultures. We must recognise the vital work being carried out by front-line community and third sector organisations to promote multicultural integration in Wales.

As the chair and founder of NWAMI, Dr Sibani Roy, has stated,

'Some of the people think that when you talk about integration you mean assimilation. We have to explain to people that integration is not assimilation. We have to respect the law and culture of the land.'

She added,

'What we need to do is educate people and say, "We're all human beings, we're friendly and we should try to understand each other's cultures." When they learn about other cultures, then they will possibly become friendly. Change will happen slowly, but tit for tat is not the way to change people. By talking to people and educating people, eventually by convincing them that human beings are not all bad.'

She said,

'It doesn't matter. It's individuals and that is what I've always believed myself that we treat people as individuals. It doesn't matter what the background is, their faith or colour.'

In terms of Brexit, when people voted to leave the EU, they were voting for control not extremism. However, as the Minister referred to, some extremists have sought to hijack Brexit for their own unsavoury ends. But at this critical time we must remember that this is not about a soft Brexit or a hard Brexit, but an open Brexit that ensures that the UK is turned outwards and is more engaged with the world than ever before. We must build a cohesive community and integrated society in Wales in this century. To achieve this, we need to promote an understanding and respect of Wales's diverse cultures through cultural engagement and interaction, education and training. We therefore support the call for a cross-party Welsh declaration embodying the principles of the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and, as I have said many times, this is about celebrating our glorious diversity together. Diolch yn fawr.

My community is enriched by the presence of a rich variety of nationalities, faiths and cultures, and I appreciate the great deal of work that the Welsh Government has done to promote racial harmony in our communities across south Wales and tackle racial inequality.

In education, for example, we can see the very real differences that have been achieved where educational outcomes amongst different ethnic groups have been almost eliminated in terms of differences. If anything, ethnic minorities now outperform our indigenous white community. The exception, of course, is the Roma, Gypsy and Traveller community whose attainment and qualifications are wildly at variation with the average, and a lot of work remains to be done to address that.

I'm also aware of excellent work being done in schools to promote community cohesion, and the Minister has already mentioned the great work being done by Show Racism the Red Card, both in schools and on the terraces. I have noticed a much more robust response in clamping down on racist language in schools that I'm involved in, as well as, I hope, most schools. Remarks that were previously ignored or overlooked are now dealt with and addressed. Persistent offenders are subject to disciplinary proceedings, including exclusion, and quite rightly so.

Sadly, this is against a rising tide of racist incidents outside school. A recent Cytûn analysis highlights a 40 per cent increase in religious hate crime, which has doubled over three years. Islamic communities have been the most targeted, followed by Jewish communities. And the rise of the far right should concern us all. It's nearly two years since a deplorable crime was committed by one of my constituents, who drove all the way to London to mow down innocent worshippers as they gathered outside their place of worship. This man had never met any of these people, nor knew anything about them. His actions, according to his former partner in court, were influenced by the hate messages he'd read online by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and other people on the far right. The attacks on worshippers in Christchurch in New Zealand in March remind us that this isn't just a problem caused by a particular man now on the payroll of UKIP. Social media has allowed the far right to develop a global profile. There's clearly a lot of work to be done by our colleagues in Westminster to ensure that those who provide a platform for these hateful messages are made liable for what they allow to be published.

In light of the events in New Zealand, not even two months ago, I'm concerned about the slowness of the Home Office response, because they've been very slow to come forward with the funding to strengthen security at Islamic places of worship. There was finally an announcement made on Good Friday, but it was merely asking people to express an interest, and no funding is actually going to be available to do anything until July, and, of course, then they'll have to process the applications before they actually decide on who's going to get what. I hope it won't be a repeat of what happened in the last financial year, when, as I understand it, no place of worship in Wales was in receipt of this Home Office funding, and that is a considerable cause for concern.

But on the wider issue, I'd just like to express some concerns about the way in which we're handling another aspect of a rise in crime, which is in relation to stop and search. In response to an increase in knife crime—which at one time I regarded as mainly a London problem, which has now spread, unfortunately, to most other large cities across the UK—in March this year, Mr Javid, the Home Secretary, increased the powers of the police to stop and search, and the seniority of the people who were allowed to do it. It is of considerable concern to report that this increase in stop and search has also led to an increase in the targeting of people from racial minorities. Black people are now seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people in south Wales, and that is just in the last year, when it is up 4.5 per cent more likely. And I think that we need to stop and reflect, having learnt all that we've learnt from the Stephen Lawrence report about the way in which stop and search was being used inappropriately on the black community and was deterring the black community from coming forward. We now have to ensure that it is not used in a way that discriminates against a particular community. This is not devolved but a matter I hope that the Deputy Minister can take up with the Home Office.

It's hard to see how anyone could disagree with the second part of this motion, that we need to root out racial discrimination in our society. To me, that's pretty obvious. Apart from isolated voices on the far right, few would argue that someone could be less worthy because of the colour of their skin, despite the fact that many people undoubtedly hold those views in private. But this is exactly why we must put in place systems that directly challenge structural racism and discrimination. Stopping people speaking in favour of racism is not enough. Stopping people acting on it is what is vital. That's why it's essential, in my view, for us all to be part of what this motion calls

'the global fight to root out racism and racist ideology'.

We know that the far right is on the rise, and we must, on a global scale, call out the slurs and the prejudicial comments that poison our political debate and cause harm to people. But calling this out is only useful if we go deeper and challenge the ideology of subtle racism that runs through our political discourse and society, because the far right did not emerge from nowhere. Blaming migrants, asylum seekers and health tourists for the decline in living standards has become as standard, yet these problems were caused by austerity. The ground was laid for them by the deliberate creation of a hostile environment for people from other cultures and countries. Comments like Boris Johnson's Islamophobic statement that I referred to earlier have to be rooted out, and you have to accept that. The ground was laid for them when Labour produced a campaign mug promising immigration controls at the same time that they were more than willing to vote for crippling austerity measures. Whether it's the financial crash and the greed of the bankers or the subsequent austerity that was used to punish working people, it's obvious to see that it's the political and financial class who are to blame for our current situation, not immigrants. It's no surprise that the far right can thrive under these conditions. Now, Labour may well have new leadership since that infamous mug, but I say this today because it's simply not good enough. This new supposedly left-wing version of Labour is also now promising tight border controls and an end to freedom of movement as part of implementing Brexit. How is that different to the mug? It's pandering, and it's arguably the oldest political lie in the world to say that your home-grown elite is not to blame for your living and working conditions: 'Those different people, those other people over there, are to blame.' Blaming others for our problems is morally and politically lazy, but it's repeatedly used as a strategy because it's very effective.

Racism is part of our history. Whilst our country has spent most of its history being ruled from London, we've also taken part in the British colonial empire that was responsible for countless wars and numerous genocides of non-white peoples. This global domination was often justified by the idea that others were inferior to us white people, and the hangover from that mentality still lurks in the background today. It's this heritage that makes it so easy to believe that other people around the world are somehow problematic adversaries that we must either dominate or keep out.

I'm afraid that I'm not able to draw a line under the past, because that's what got us here. But I do welcome the fact that there is at least some political will from at least some political parties here in this Senedd to work together to combat racism and to combat hate crime, and I support this joint motion on that basis.

I very much welcome this debate at a time when racism and intolerance is at the worst that I can remember for a long time, and I do further welcome the support of both Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives for it. The worrying rise of the far right across Europe, including Britain, is seemingly normalising racist language and behaviours and, as Leanne Wood said, blaming foreigners or those of different religions for all of our nation's ills. Meanwhile, the fascist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon is being feted by UKIP in a disgraceful display of far-right kinship, and I don't think it's any surprise that no member of UKIP is here today to take part in this debate.

Our current political discourse should be a worry and a concern to every right and fair-minded person in this country. But, Llywydd, as we all know, no-one is born racist. It's something taught and learned. That's why it's so important that we invest time and money in anti-racist education, and why I want to spend a few moments to build on the comments of the Deputy Minister and Jenny Rathbone and talk a little bit about the work done with young people here in Wales by the anti-racist education charity Show Racism the Red Card.

Going back almost 20 years, I was first introduced to the then fledgling organisation by my friend and then Unison colleague Sanjiv Vedi, who was working to establish Show Racism in Wales after it had been set up in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1996, when the Newcastle United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop donated £50 to an anti-racist educational charity run by the now chief executive officer of Show Racism the Red Card, Ged Grebby. Working in partnership with Unison, the Football Association of Wales and Sports Council for Wales and others, Show Racism the Red Card in Wales appointed its first full-time member of staff, Sunil Patel, and he's still working with them. That organisation has gone from strength to strength.

Its success comes from working directly with schools and local football and sports clubs, and this work has shown how the anti-racist message can be relayed by using high-profile sports personalities as role models. Initially, this was with footballers such as Shaka Hislop, Ryan Giggs, Ian Wright, Sol Campbell, Brendon Batson and Thierry Henry, to name just a few. But it moved into other sports, including rugby union, and worked with the likes of Colin Charvis. Of course, I'm always pleased when I see the players of Merthyr Town Football Club wearing their Show Racism the Red Card t-shirts.

But, most importantly, Show Racism works in schools and other educational settings to offer a range of educational training, workshops, resources and activities designed to educate young people about the causes and the consequences of racism. Their work helps to make sure that the young people that they work with, up to 18,000 a year across Wales, are given the opportunity to learn about tolerance and diversity in tackling racism.

Sadly, Show Racism report that the situation in our schools has been getting worse—and why I also welcome the Deputy Minister's commitment to the Welsh Government addressing anti-racism within the new curriculum. And we know that racist incidents in sports have risen. Indeed, there have recently been a number of disturbing high-profile incidents at the highest level of football, and almost certainly linked to what I said at the beginning of my contribution about the rise of the far right. That is why it is so important that their work continues.

So, I hope that the Government is looking at the success of Show Racism the Red Card, that they get a fair hearing and, more importantly, they get a fair crack of the whip when funding is being allocated, because they have a successful model on which we can build, and the anti-racist message that they were set up to promote is more important now than ever.

I represent Newport East, which is a multicultural area, and I was brought up in Pill in Newport, in Newport West, which is very multicultural, more so now than it was when I was growing up there. But I must say, Dirprwy Lywydd, I always found it a very positive experience in terms of the richness of culture, music, dance, clothing, cuisine. It was a very enriching experience in terms of all of that variety, and learning about other people’s cultures and countries was absolutely fascinating, and I still find that fascinating today. But, of course, it did have many issues, social and economic issues, as an area, and it still does in Pill, and Newport East, as I know my colleague Jayne Bryant would say as well.

So, there are many matters that we have to deal with, and many of them are based in the economy, the quality of jobs that people have, the opportunities that they have, and, in turn, much of that comes from the educational experience and education system.

I’m now chair of the cross-party group on race in the Assembly. We haven’t yet met, but we will be meeting soon. Race Council Cymru provide the secretariat, and I have in front of me, Dirprwy Lywydd, the report on racial inequalities in Wales in 2019 from the members of that cross-party group. And it is very comprehensive, and it goes right across the whole, unfortunately wide range of negative and prejudicial experiences, discrimination that ethnic minorities in Wales face, you know, from employment, from public appointments, into sport, as Dawn Bowden mentioned, schools and, of course, everyday life. As Leanne Wood said, I do think it is very important that people in general understand the importance of what is said and that, when they come across people saying things they shouldn’t be saying, they do make their views clear and challenge what is said. It’s often said, isn’t it, that all that’s required for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing? And I think in this day and age, all of us need to take on that message very strongly, and particularly those of us who are front-line politicians and have an opportunity to speak out strongly and clearly.

Will the Member take an intervention?

I will.

Thank you very much, John. Would you agree with me that it’s really important that we help teach our children, through schools, how to be that positive bystander, how to effectively step in and intervene when you see something is going wrong? Because it can be very difficult, I think, when you’ve got peer pressure, you’ve perhaps got a group of people, and it’s very difficult for you to be the one voice that says, ‘Stop it’, whether that’s about sexism, racism or whatever. So, I think it’s really important, as the new curriculum comes in, that that element of good citizenship—that we work on giving those young people those skills, with a clear understanding that if it happens in an institutional setting like a school, they’ll be backed up.

I would very much agree with that. I think there’s a lot in our education system today that is about empathy and empathising, isn’t there? And a lot about diversity, understanding diversity, and respecting it. And I’m sure Kirsty Williams is very committed to making sure the new curriculum builds on that.

I was very interested in what the Deputy Minister said about community cohesion and the strategy, because I think that is very, very important, and it would be great to have more detail on that—you know, when it’s expected, what the timings are, and perhaps maybe a little bit more on the content, and whether there might be a campaigning element in terms of public attitudes.FootnoteLink Because I do believe, in terms of challenging some of the negative views and stereotypes around, that we do need that public campaign, to make absolutely clear what Welsh Government and, I’m sure, the vast majority of Assembly Members believe people should say and do and not say and not do. I think a campaign around that and providing clarity on that would be very useful indeed.

Also, I think, very important, and perhaps part of community cohesion, Minister, are some of the events that many of us would be familiar with that take place in our communities, that bring people together, allow that sharing of experience, and that enriching experience of different cultures, music, dance, food, drink, and so on. One that has taken place for many years in Newport East is the Maindee festival. It is a parade and a day of events and activities that really does bring members together from different sections of society. I think in the round of considering how we take forward community cohesion, it's very important to support and value events such as that.

Recently, along with the two MPs for Newport, my colleague Jayne Bryant and I met with the Polish community in Newport, and they were saying, 'How can we share our culture, our experience? How can we develop links with others and be a more integrated part of the local community?' We were able to say to them that one opportunity would be in July this year with the Maindee festival, where you can have a stand, you can do a dance, you can provide some music—whatever you think appropriate—but it's a platform and an opportunity for you. I really do think we need to value those cultural events.

Information further to Plenary

Thank you for giving me time to speak on this very, very important issue. The Race Relations Act actually started in 1965, and it actually outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, colour and belief. That is virtually not happening. Since 1973, governments in the United Kingdom have spent millions and millions of pounds on race relations. Today, have we really achieved it? That is, we have to ask the question of all the politicians in London and here. That is not there. Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and so on—mentioned here by a few colleagues regarding black and ethnic minorities—the jobs sector, families, schools, children. The young generation hasn't been taught the beliefs of others. That is the problem. We must understand. Now, this is the fourth or fifth generation of ethnic minorities, and still we call them ethnic minorities. It surprises me, because now my child is fourth generation. We are British. That Britishness is not there—or Welshness is not there.

Will you take an intervention? I accept what you've just said about Islamophobia. Do you therefore share my concerns about the comments of Boris Johnson about Muslim women, calling them letterboxes and contributing to making this problem even worse? Do you have anything to say about that?

In Islam, as I'm telling you now, Leanne, you must remember that our belief is that when you live in a different country as a Muslim, live like them. I'm not saying that I'm agreeing or disagreeing with Boris. Personal views are different. He might have seen a woman living with purdah or a hijab in a different way. But there is a personal choice. This woman or anybody who uses purdah—yes, I agree with that if there is a matter of security. Now, nobody knew 20 years ago about extremism. It has come into this equality reason now. Extremism has come out of all this nonsense about third-world countries, or the middle east when the problem started. Islamophobia has become the norm for others, and people take one step backwards from Islam. It's not that. Islamic belief is very kind and very loving. There are people in the Chamber here—as John Griffiths just mentioned, the biggest mosque in Wales is in Newport, in his constituency.

Purdah is a religious belief. Let people think what they believe, but I would not go against anything, because we've got to abide—. It's not against the law in this country yet, so why are we discussing it? If there is a law you make, yes, I'll come and talk to you about that. But the fact is, Deputy Presiding Officer, race relations is a very, very crucial issue for our next generation. What laws are we going to make now? We have been talking about this for the last 12 years, since I've been here. Look at the real statistics. Have we really achieved anything? We have to make some movement now by law, or with communities together, to make sure that we are one nation. Forget race, colour, religion, faith—we are one nation, and that should start from the family.

Education is the most important. If we start doing it now, in 2019, it may take another 15 to 20 years to make sure our young generation will understand each other nicely. That is what my point is, Deputy Presiding Officer: we must educate our children to make sure—. We have failed. We all failed to bring this racial equality. We have failed. I agree with that. But, to make our future better, we must make some better rules and regulations in this Chamber. Education, education, education. Religious understanding and belief must not discriminate. We just heard that a black person—the police check them quite often, more than others. That is discrimination. They're all British. There should be no difference between him and her—or black, white, yellow, green or whatever it is.

So, my point is: please, please, in this Chamber, we must make rules so that young generations must be taught in a way that they do not discriminate in future. It'll take 15 to 20 years before this nation is definitely transformed.

I do think that proclamations about our principles as an institution and representatives of the voting public are important. I think that it is crucial in this time that we do make it absolutely clear what we intend to do. So, I welcome the opportunity for this Assembly to support the principles of the United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The first part of the motion refers to the global fight to root out racism and racist ideology. We know that it's easy these days to be pessimistic about the rising tide of populism with its racist appeal, but I think some of us ought to cling to the broadly optimistic view that President Obama did set out in some of his speeches. And it went something like this: if you didn't know where in the world you'd be born, or gender, or race, or how wealthy, when in human history would you choose to live? And it seems mostly the case the answer will be 'now'. On average, across the world, a person born today is more likely to be safer, healthier, wealthier and better educated than at any other time. But, that isn't to deny that there aren't differences in different parts of the world or different people within the world.

So, that, in general terms, is good news. But, the motion continues to commit us to strive towards a more equal Wales, tackling all forms of racial inequality, and we can't ignore the march of populism as has been mentioned. The upcoming elections will be a barometer of where we are. We have a party represented in this Chamber that supports a candidate, Carl Benjamin, who says he finds racist jokes funny. What worries me is not that idiots like Carl Benjamin think that, but that a political party openly supports and promotes his particular view. That's what concerns me. And it concerns me also that those views have been represented in this Chamber.

When we mentioned that we wanted to become a nation of sanctuary—

Can I say how much I agree with the point that you've just been making in here? I think we all note that that party isn't represented in this Chamber during this important debate. 

I absolutely agree with you.

When we here agreed, most of us, that we would become a nation of sanctuary and that that would be positive, we had Members of UKIP saying that it couldn't at all be a positive move forward because all we were going to do was open the floodgates for everybody to come along, and almost suggesting that Wales would be overtaken by—and I can't use their words in the way that they would bring them and describe them. I just think that that really adds fuel to the fire of racism. So, in the Assembly, we have moved forward, and I just want to say a few words about what we are doing and what our commitments are. 

As the Assembly Commissioner for equalities, I'm proud that our BAME Assembly network, REACH, is advising on how we can better support BAME staff and how we might attract more talent. I'd like to give a special mention to our HR team and the REACH network who have worked together on a recruitment campaign to select our latest intake of apprentices. The focus was to attract applicants from the BAME community, and we adopted a number of approaches to achieve that, including blind applications and collaborating with external partners to promote the scheme within BAME communities, putting on workshops, and helping applicants with those applications and helping them to better understand the institution and its work. And, as a result, I'm delighted to say that we've had the highest number of applications we've ever received, and that 13 out of the 14 BAME candidates were invited to the assessment stage, and they were successful in filling two of the three apprenticeships that were available. Now, it's things like that that create integration, which Oscar and others here have mentioned today. Because it is clearly the fear of the other that mostly incites hatred and racism.

I'm going to finish, because I can see the clock. I don't think that history is going to treat us well. When we turn back boats full of refugees, when we somehow have created a graveyard in the seas and the oceans of the world because we simply wouldn't offer refuge or sanctuary to the people who so desperately needed it—I think that's where we need to start really, seriously examining some of our actions. 

I would like to thank the Welsh Government for tabling this important debate today. It's a sad fact that we have to table such a debate in the twenty-first century. Racism has no place in our society, but unfortunately racist elements still exist. 

The United Nations ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in the 1960s, at a time when the civil rights movement was in full swing in the US, trying to put an end to racial segregation. The world has seen massive progress in the intervening decades, but racism continues to raise its ugly head. 

Across Europe, we have seen the rise of far-right political parties. Hungary is run by a far-right Government; the Swiss People's Party won almost a third of the vote in Switzerland; in Austria, the Freedom Party won a quarter of the vote; and in Denmark, the Danish People's Party won over 20 per cent of the ballot.

Caroline, will you take an intervention?

Certainly.

I don't know if I've landed in an alternative universe, here. Weren't you elected on a far-right ticket and haven't you recently met Nigel Farage?

Sorry—? Yes, I have. Yes, I did. [Interruption.]

Far-right parties have gained between 10-20 per cent of the votes in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands and many others. And, closer to home, we've seen UKIP lurch to the far right. When I joined UKIP, the leadership made it clear that there was no place in the party for racists, and it even said on the application form to become a member that you could not become a member if you had been a member of a far-right party. And this changed when Gerard Batten became leader. And it was sickening when Gerard Batten and Neil Hamilton shared a platform with Tommy Robinson, and they went further into decline when they welcomed Carl Benjamin, Mark Meechan and Paul Joseph Watson into the party. [Interruption.] Not another one, sorry. It was clear that the party leadership were embracing the far right, and I decided to leave and was soon followed by others who were as outraged as I was. How could the UK leader and the Welsh leader condone outright racism and bigotry? How could they share a stage with people who celebrated Nazi values, if they weren't of those same beliefs?

Anti-Semitism also has no place in society, and many remarks that have been made are distasteful and have incited hatred and riots. And there should be no place in public office for anyone who believes that it is okay to discriminate based upon race, sex, language or religion. We must ensure that what has happened in the US or in other parts of Europe doesn't happen here. We must eradicate the ideology of the far right and the far left who believe it is okay to discriminate based upon race or religion. There is only one race—the human race—and every single being must be free from persecution, and worship whatever god they choose, and this will only happen if we stamp out racism and bigotry, and integration here is of paramount importance.

I urge Members to support the motion as a step on the road to eradicating hate in all forms. And my grandfather always said, your pen writes the same for everyone, and my pen always does.   

I welcome Wales having some declaration on eliminating racial discrimination, based on the United Nations convention. As a developing democracy and a nation in our own right, this is a good move to make. Wales is the right place to be doing this. Cardiff, Newport and other cities here were amongst the first in Europe to embrace people from other cultures. We've all heard about Tiger Bay, Cardiff docks, where people came from all over the world to make their home. 

But our welcoming way of being is under threat, and we can feel this. There's been large immigration to Wales over centuries, particularly during the industrial revolution, and much of that immigration came from England when hundreds of thousands of people moved here for work. But we have a culture in Wales that is strong enough and attractive enough that people embraced it. I'm proof of that myself, with a Yemeni/Irish/English background, and if you go further back, there's Swiss, there's Greek, there's Filipino, there's Bantu and there's black South African, yet I stand here as a Welshman speaking to you today, and a proud Welshman.

I'm getting tired of everything being blamed on immigrants. I don't know how people can look at the NHS and blame problems on immigrants and immigration, because they keep our Welsh NHS going, and it's political decisions that cause problems with the NHS. When things get tough, we don't have to turn on our neighbours, because that's what too many irresponsible politicians are doing nowadays. And it's also not so simple to say, 'Racists bad, non-racists good', because we've all been socialised in society, and we all sometimes need to recognise our own prejudices that need to be overcome by reason.   

So, I welcome this motion, but I hope in future that we can also see some action focused on outcomes. When we look at Welsh democracy, I'd like to see more people from minority backgrounds involved. I think NWAMI with Dr Sibani Roy are doing great work in encouraging integration—not assimilation, but integration, understanding—and I'd like to see that charity supported more. We need more people of colour to work as journalists to scrutinise this Government. We need more people of colour involved in politics.

Will you take an intervention? 

Yes, sure. 

Do you think the media is one area where we can make the best use of it to make sure that the harmony is there among the communities? 

I think the media has a responsibility to promote positive interaction between people of all backgrounds, of all colours and of all races. I think we need more people involved in the law—more lawyers, more judges—to implement laws that we make here. It would be great to see more people from different backgrounds in those professions. I think we need a Welsh bill of rights to protect minorities in addition to this declaration. 

But we can't just fight racism, because we also have to fight poverty and classism. The limitations and subjugation that poverty brings also prevents people from getting into this Assembly and realising their potential. As the first Welsh-born Assembly Member of colour ever elected to this place, I can tell you that being working class made things just as difficult for me.

I welcome the declaration to eliminate racial discrimination. I hope we can now take that further to other areas of discrimination and bring forward concrete actions. Diolch.

Thank you. Can I now call the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip to reply to the debate? Jane Hutt.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you very much to all Members participating in this debate for your insights, your reflections and your commitment. And I think it is the commitment that has come across today, which shows we have really got to drive this agenda. We are seeking cross-party support for taking action on race issues. We have to demonstrate the Welsh Government's commitment to this policy area, and it helps us in the Welsh Government to provide a formal response to the recommendations of the all-Wales BAME engagement programme.

In spite of progress, it's all too clear that there is a long way for us to go, and we must be vigilant and active to make sure that we don't slip backwards or lose any of the progress that's been made. There are real dangers of that at the present moment, so we have to redouble our efforts and commitments.

I thank Mark Isherwood first of all for highlighting the work of third-sector organisations, but particularly those organisations that network in north Wales and south Wales, and you mentioned events that you've attended that have had an impact on integration through cultural and artistic events. Of course, John Griffiths drew attention to this as well, and particularly the role of festivals. I won't forget Black History Month last year, which was fantastic—it was more than a month—and the organisation behind it throughout the whole of Wales. I've already mentioned the support for the Windrush anniversary. We know that the Fusion project since 2015, we've supported that with the partnership of the cultural and heritage sector and we must think more about this in terms of every aspect of Government policy and funding. It is important that we are putting more money into the regional community cohesion programme, because they can identify where we need to identify tensions and also see opportunities in terms of community cohesion. So, those are all important points.

Mark Isherwood also referred to the Welsh Refugee Council, such an important organisation—the coalition of organisations working across Wales. We had an event, Sanctuary in the Senedd, on 3 April, and I was pleased to speak at that event, saying—and I believe it is true—that refugees have received in Wales such a welcome, and I think it does give us confidence to say that the spirit of the Welsh people is defined by empathy and friendship, not by difference or exclusion. Wales needs migration and we value the contributions that people seeking sanctuary make to our society. And, of course, I said there, as we say at every opportunity, that there is absolutely no place in Wales for hate speech or racism.

I thank Jenny Rathbone for her contributions and particularly drawing attention to race and equality in schools and improving outcomes, especially for Gypsy/Traveller children. We know that Gypsies, Roma and Travellers are amongst the most marginalised in our society. It is our moral responsibility to ensure that all citizens of Wales are treated fairly. And, of course, in terms of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers, that's where we have to counteract the negative views and misconceptions that fill the narrative around them.

I also thank Jenny for raising her concerns about the slowness in delivering the protecting places of worship scheme, the Home Office scheme. Indeed, the Home Secretary did announce an uplift of that scheme in March, but it is not going to be implemented until July and, like Jenny, many of us have visited our mosques in recent weeks. I visited my local mosque, and it was the divisional commander from the police who actually said that he couldn't believe what it must feel like to feel fearful in your place of worship in terms of insecurity. I want at this point to pay my respects to all Muslims in Wales during Ramadan. It is a time for prayer, reflection and fasting, and I think we all across this Assembly will want to pay our respects. Ramadan Kareem. It is part of our world here in Wales, and we want to support that.

I recently chaired a hate crime criminal justice board, and also co-chaired with the First Minister the policing board. At these meetings, we've discussed security for mosques and we've talked about hate crime monitoring from each region—that includes reports from every police force. Of course, we've also discussed knife crime, and I will pass back those points and questions to the Home Office.

But I think Leanne Wood and Dawn Bowden have raised important issues about how we seriously address this, and I do draw attention to the convention. If you look at the international convention, I think we need to make sure we focus on that today. It is about the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination— [Interruption.]

I'm very grateful to you, Minister. Thank you. I'm sure we'd all support, as the motion calls for, a cross-party declaration, but in order to put the convention into effect, I'm sure you'd agree we need to go further than that. Can I seek your reassurance today that as we look at the possibility, potentially post Brexit, where we may lose the EU equality protections—and some of us are hoping that doesn't happen—that we will include this convention as we look to consider embodying the European conventions on human rights generally, as we have done with the convention on the rights of the child into Welsh law?

You can certainly have my assurance on that; it is an opportunity. We have had a seminar on how we can incorporate rights, and, of course, it's building on the work that Jeremy Miles did last year, and I will certainly give you that commitment.

Just finally, drawing to a conclusion, I think this is an opportunity. We've talked a lot about education and, in fact, taking on board all of the recommendations from the BAME engagement group, and I mentioned 13 recommendations on education. The fact that Race Council Cymru have recently had a meeting with the curriculum officials and Kirsty herself attended the recent Show Racism the Red Card award ceremony, I think it's vital that we see this as embedding in our curriculum, in our schools and education.

But I'm also, finally, very pleased that there's a cross-party group on race equality, which is going to be chaired by John Griffiths. So, finally, we call for the support across this Assembly on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales to facilitate the development of that cross-party Welsh declaration, embodying the principles of the international convention and reinforcing, reinvigorating our commitment as Welsh Government to support wholeheartedly the global fight to root out racism and racist ideology.

Thank you very much. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? No. Therefore, the motion is agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.