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To: Lord Kilclooney
No to racism - Lord Kilclooney must resign
Racism of any kind cannot go unchallenged in Northern Ireland or anywhere in the UK
On 10 November, Lord Kilclooney made a racist reference to the US Vice-President elect Kamala Harris. Lord Kilclooney is a publicly funded official representing the House of Lords.
This isn’t the first time he’s made comments like this - and yet the House of Lords have failed to hold him to account for his comments, which speaks to a wider issue about systemic racism in the UK, and has led to us making this statement.
We stand together to reject racism in Northern Ireland and across the UK. The Northern Ireland Executive must take this as a reminder of the importance of addressing the inequalities faced by asylum seekers here unable to work, those detained in Larne House immigration removal centre, and people who are illegally racially profiled on cross-border transport.
Why is this important?
Lord Kilclooney has not apologised or accepted that his reference to Kamala Harris was racist. The House of Lords appears to have no powers to compel him to do so.
1000 racist incidents were reported in Northern Ireland (2018-19) and it is the only part of the United Kingdom to be prosecuting Black Lives Matters protestors, under legislation designed to tackle organised crime. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-44486135
