(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Civil society organisations across the EU reported an increase in racist crimes in 2013, in particular against Black and Asian ethnic minorities, Roma, Jews and Muslims.
The European Network Against Racism (EANR) presented Wednesday in the European Parliament its latest report on racist crimes in Europe, covering 26 European countries.
A total of 47,210 racist crimes were officially recorded, but this is only the tip of the iceberg, as many EU Member States do not properly record and report racially-motivated crimes, it noted.
There was an increase in anti-Semitic (Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden) and Islamophobic (France, England and Wales) crimes in some countries, and these crimes increasingly took the form of online incitement to hatred and/or violence.
There were cases of violence, abuse or incitement to violence against Roma in almost all EU Member States, and in particular those with a large Roma population.
In many EU countries, including Estonia, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the most violent physical attacks reported are perpetrated against Black and Asian people.
In Sweden for example, 980 crimes with an Afrophobic motive were recorded. In addition, crimes perpetrated by members of far-right groups are over-represented (49 percent) in racist crimes and complaints linked to political groups.
"Racist crime is one of the worst implications of racism, a threat to people's lives on the sole basis of their real or perceived race, ethnic origin or religion, and it should not go unpunished," said ENAR Chair Sarah Isal.
"Real political will is required to ensure better reporting, recording and sanctioning of racist crimes. EU Member States must step up their efforts in this area," she said presenting the report.
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