Human Rights First Condemns Northern Ireland Violence

Belfast, Northern Ireland — Human Rights First joins local human rights groups in Northern Ireland in condemning the knife attack in Belfast on Tuesday that left a man seriously injured, and in condemning too the ensuing large-scale violence and intimidation directed at immigrant communities.

“We have been covering human rights issues in Northern Ireland for decades, and fear that this horrific attack is being manipulated by far right groups hoping to stoke racist violence, and by paramilitary groups to fuel and exploit unrest,” said Brian Dooley, Senior Advisor at Human Rights First.

Human Rights First urges those looking for information about what is happening to follow reputable local sources, including Human Rights First’s long-term allies the Committee on the Administration of Justice and Amnesty International Northern Ireland.

“There are plenty of armchair experts and keyboard warriors offering views from afar who are contributing to the problem. Their hot takes are best avoided,” said Dooley. “Our thoughts are with those being hounded and threatened, and with the victim of the knife attack. We join his family in their calls for calm, in their reminder that there are ‘many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country,’ and in their hope that they ‘do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.'”