Speaking after meeting with the Community Relations Council, Mr Ford the process had taken too long already and further delays were not acceptable. The meeting included members of NICEM, the Belfast Islamic Centre, the Hindu Council, Equality Commission and others, and comes over a year after a consultation into the strategy was launched by OFMdFM.
David Ford MLA said: “Racial tension is a growing problem in several areas of Northern Ireland and the Racial Equality Strategy would be a huge step in tackling that blight on our society. It should be treated as a priority by OFMdFM and published without any further hesitation.
“Today’s meeting was a good opportunity to talk about the concerns minority groups have over this delay and ways we can highlight the many positive contributions ethnic minorities bring to our society, while we continue to wait on OFMdFM’s inertia.”