To better understand the dynamics of structural racism and how it is serving repressive agendas, the JLC is organising a side event during the OSCE’s (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) 2017 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting titled “Racism and the rise of the police state in western democracies” in order to answer the following questions:

  1. How has Islamophobia been used to justify repression and is it a point of objective convergence between terrorist ideology?
  2. Aside from communication campaigns, is there a reason for western governments to not take racism more seriously?
  3. Is it legitimate to speak of “police states” and if so, what would that imply to the notion of democracy and the rule of law in western societies?
  4. Is there an objective alliance between anti-muslim racism and terrorist ideology?
  5. What is the role of semantics in blurring the lines between targeting terrorist activity and political opposition?
  6. What assessment can be made of the strategy adopted against terrorism for the past twenty years?

Following their presentations, speakers submit their recommendations to civil society and governments.

Date: 19 September 2017
Time: 8:15am to 9:45am
Location: Meeting Room 2, Warsaw National Stadium, Poland

Speakers:

  • Yasser Louati – President, Justice & Liberties For All Committee (JLC), France.
  • Rachel Harger – Human Rights Solicitor, Defend The Right To Protest, United Kingdom.
  • Hussam Ayloush – Executive Director, Los Angeles Office, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), USA.
  • Ibrahim Mohamoud – Communication Officer, CAGE, UK.
  • Malia Bouattia – Co-Founder Students Not Suspects / Educators Not Informants Network, UK.

For more information about the event, please see here.

 

(NOTE: CAGE represents cases of individuals based on the remit of our work. Supporting a case does not mean we agree with the views or actions of the individual. Content published on CAGE may not reflect the official position of our organisation.)