By DPA
London : Extremism and ethnic segregation are on the rise in Britain despite three decades of trying to build a multicultural society, a report by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) said Wednesday.
Divisions between Britain’s ethnic groups are deeper than ever and are fuelling religious and political extremism to a dangerous extent, said the report.
“Extremism, both political and religious, is on the rise as people become disillusioned and disconnected from each other,” said the CRE.
“The simple fact is despite the progress that has been made, if you are an ethnic minority in Briton, you are still more likely to be stopped by the police, be excluded from school, suffer poorer health treatment and live in poor housing.”
The report primarily blamed governments for not meeting their own obligations on tackling discrimination.
“While some public bodies such as the criminal justice agencies have made huge strides in the area of race relations, others have fallen down,” said CRE director Nick Johnson.
The CRE, which will soon be renamed the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), has the power to take legal action against racially discriminatory organizations.
“Only a few decades ago, it was acceptable to put up a sign in a boarding house saying ‘No blacks, no Irish, no dogs’,” the report said.
“We don’t see those signs any more, thanks to race relations legislation,” it added.
A government spokesman said the government, while not accepting all of the CRE’s findings, was taking “robust and positive action” to address the concerns identified.