The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has called for urgent action to tackle racial discrimination in the wake of a new UN report.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has published a report welcoming some positive steps such as the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Programme across the UK, while outlining a number of concerns relating to race discrimination in Northern Ireland.

The Committee lists among its concerns the lack of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation in Northern Ireland, which is the only part of the UK not covered by the Equality Act 2010.

NIHRC Chief Commission Les Allamby said: “The report recognised the recent sharp increase in racist hate crimes in the UK following the EU referendum and the need to tackle racist hate crime.

“The Committee has also called on the UK Government, to improve its human rights record in relation to Traveller accommodation in Northern Ireland.

“It has highlighted the disparity in equality protection between NI and the rest of the UK, calling for a Single Equality Bill to address this problem.

“We raised these concerns directly with the Committee in July and welcome that they have been incorporated into the UN report.

“We now need action to be taken by the NI Executive to tackle these important issues and improve the quality of life and experiences of people from minority ethnic backgrounds in Northern Ireland.”