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:
- How has Islamophobia been used to justify repression and is it a point of objective convergence between terrorist ideology?
- Aside from communication campaigns, is there a reason for western governments to not take racism more seriously?
- 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?
- Is there an objective alliance between anti-muslim racism and terrorist ideology?
- What is the role of semantics in blurring the lines between targeting terrorist activity and political opposition?
- 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.)