Enact the Equality Bill Now.
Stop the Right Wing Racist Mobilizations.
Build the Civil Rights Movement to Win Equality, Dignity, Respect and Religious Freedom for All. Britain’s black, Asian, Muslim, ethnic minority and immigrant communities are a permanent, growing and dynamic force in the life of this nation. Our vital contribution to this society and our struggles for justice, equality and dignity are shaping the new Britain, our Britain - a nation that can only thrive and progress as an integrated, multiracial and multicultural society that is united on the basis of equality and respect. The Government’s Equality Bill, which is now before Parliament, is a long overdue response to the growing power and certain permanence of our communities. Passage of the Equality Bill will provide us with an important new weapon in our fight to make Britain a society where equality is a reality for everyone who lives, works or studies here, whatever our race, culture, religion, national origin etc. The Equality Bill will put into law the most far-reaching anti-discrimination measures of any British equality legislation so far. It is an essential measure to overcome longstanding institutional and individual racism, sexism and anti-gay bigotry. The Bill will give our communities the power to make public bodies open up the doors of opportunity through the implementation of Positive Action policies. For the first time Employment Tribunals will be given the power to find that employers are discriminating against a whole class of people and to shape a remedy to end that institutional and systematic discrimination. Our ability to speak the plain truth about racism and to stop the alarming rise of physical attacks against individuals and the Mosques will be strengthened simply by the passage of the Equality Bill. Enactment of the Bill would constitute a strong rejection of the racist right wings attempts, in anticipation of the upcoming elections, to increase sentiment for the defence of white English privilege, to discourage Muslim and other ethnic-minority and immigrant community participation in the political process and to move the whole political discourse on race, ethnicity, immigration and foreign policy to the right. It is essential that the Equality Bill is passed before the forthcoming General Election. There is no reason for the Government to delay or put off immediate passage of the Equality Bill. There is a real danger that unless the Government makes the passage of this Bill an urgent priority it will not be passed before the Election, and thus may never be passed at all. The highly visible mobilization of racist and fascist organizations aimed at getting the Conservative Party to adopt an openly racist and nationalist platform will have a better chance of success if the Bill is allowed to languish. The quicker the Equality Bill is enacted the quicker a message is sent to the racist thugs that they are isolated and weak. Passage of the Equality Bill must be accompanied with a campaign to popularize its provisions and potential. We therefore demand that the Government prioritises the Equality Bill and ensures that it is passed into law before the General Election. We pledge to build an integrated civil rights movement to secure the passage and implementation of the Equality Bill and to seize the opportunity that it offers to advance the cause of equality. We pledge to defend the Muslim communities against religious and ethnic persecution, harassment and violence and to speak the plain truth about racism. We will not rest until equality, dignity, respect and justice exists for all of Britain’s diverse, multi-racial and multi-ethnic communities. Print Name
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