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JUST West Yorkshire's Joint submission by UK NGOs Against Racism to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) with regard to the UK Government’s 18th and 19th Periodic Reports

On the 22nd and 23rd of August, 2011 JUST West Yorkshire will be part of a UK NGO delegation providing evidence to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva. You can find a copy of the submission to CERD which incorporates JUST West Yorkshire's contributions here.

The Report also incorporates feedback from a regional consultation that JUST West Yorkshire held in partnership with Runnymede Trust. The list of participants is listed on pp. 65-66 of the document.

The Report also contains a rich seam of information, which JUST WY hope you will find useful in advocating for racial equality.

Two new resources are avaiable on the YHEP website

Empowerment Reflections
These eight 'Yorkshire Papers' represent a variety of perspectives on the 'empowerment journey' of recent years and raise some pointed questions as to likely futures.

The final Evaluation of the Yorkshire & Humber Empowerment Partnership  focused on three questions

* What has the impact of YHEP been?
* What lessons have been learned?
* What might be done in the future to maximise impact?

The report highlights that 'YHEP has achieved a huge amount with relatively small amounts of money'  ... 'Has been proactive in its approach to policy change' ...'and has made a clear case for effective empowerment at community, local authority and regional levels'.

JUST WEST YORKSHIRE’S RESPONSE TO THE COALITON GOVERNMENT’S PREVENT STRATEGY

Ironically on the very day that the Coalition government announced its revision of the Prevent strategy to counter radicalisation, the Report from its own independent reviewer challenges the government narrative that Prevent monies have been used to fund extremist groups. Lord Carlisle’s Review also concludes that there has been no systematic attempt to recruit or radicalise people in universities and full time education. Hence the Home Office Minister Teresa May’s declaration that the government’s Prevent strategy will launch “an unyielding fight against extremism…. use smart engagement… a ruthless determination to find and punish those who promote or take to violence” points to a government intent on building policy on the basis of ideological flourishes rather than hard evidence and fact.