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Anti racism and interculturalism
A core value of the MRCI is a commitment to working towards an anti racist and intercultural society. Racism has been defined as 'Any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. (UN International Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1996)). An intercultural society is one where all people live free of racism and where the rich diversity of our multicultural make up is respected, reflected in structures and policies, and resourced at all levels. Interculturalism also implies equality across diverse cultures: while multiculturalism is rooted in concepts of tolerance and acceptance, interculturalism places an emphasis on respect and rights associated with cultural expression. Finally, interculturalism is concerned with integration and the creation of a society where all its members benefit mutually from its diverse make up.
See also MRCI's Strategic Plan.

An important aspect of MRCI's work in this area is identifying and highlighting racism in the workplace. Manifestations of racism and discrimination in the workplace can take many forms. Some forms can be explicit i.e. name-calling, assaults, threatening behavior and incitement to hatred. There are also more subtle forms such as demoting migrant workers to do certain jobs within the workplace or being passed over continuously for promotion within the job. For migrant women there is the additional concern of gender discrimination such as unequal pay, sexism in the workplace, sexual harassment and pregnancy-related discrimination, with some migrant women having been unfairly dismissed as a result of becoming pregnant. This intersection between racism and sexism is complex and has very serious impacts on the lives of migrant women workers.

The connection between exploitation and racism is complex. In essence some of the key distinguishing elements include the extent of control exerted by the employer, for example in preventing employees from associating with the local community; the conditions established to facilitate exploitation such as with holding legal documents, being denied opportunities to learn English, not being allowed speak your native language; and evidence that migrant workers are being actively targeted to fill certain jobs with exploitative working conditions.

Exploitation in the workplace can happen to both indigenous and migrant workers yet it is clear that migrant workers are increasingly vulnerable due to the additional dimension of racism. This vulnerability to racism is reinforced by a number of factors, including living in an environment that is relatively different in terms of language, culture, customs, and economic and social context. These factors can easily be manipulated by exploitative employers, e.g. where they offer rates of pay that are an improvement on the country of origin rates of pay but not equal to rates of pay in an Irish context. There can also be the expectation that migrant workers conform to perceived stereotypical behavioral patterns, e.g. that they be compliant, not complain about their conditions and so on.

Tackling racism is a key concern in MRCI's work in the area of Integration. MRCI is also active in supporting the work of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR). MRCI acts as Secretariat for ENAR Ireland and is represented on the Board of ENAR. ENAR Ireland has over 18 member organisations who focus on a broad range of issues including Travellers, Roma, Migrant workers, health and ethnic minorities, asylum and refugee issues, sports in racism and many more. ENAR produces a vast range of publications relevant to the theme of racism. In an Irish context specific publications of interest include the Irish Shadow Report on Racism and Responding to Racism in Ireland Contact raluca@mrci.ie for further information on ENAR Ireland.

Through our daily work MRCI seeks to highlight the multiple forms of racism impacting on the lives of migrant workers and their families. This ranges from reporting and taking action on the direct racial abuse or denial of services to indirect forms of racism such as racial profiling, structural barriers, workplace exploitation and so on. Through or direct advocacy work we support individuals to take action using the Employment Equality Act - see the Eqality Authority website for further information. In our community work and policy activities we systematically raise the issue of racism, new manifestations of racism and discrimination and identify appropriate responses. Anti racism and discrimination is also incorporated into our training activities with migrant workers and organisations. MRCI firmly recognises its role and responsibility in raising awareness and promoting understanding and action on the theme of racism across all our work with migrant workers and the wider community.

The National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism is a key agency active in the area of antiracism in Ireland. MRCI supports the work of NCCRI and is particularly active in the Migration Policy Forum. NCCRI has a very useful racism incident reporting mechanism: Racist Incidents Report Form. The NCCRI has played an important role in the development of the National Action Plan Against Racism. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has responsibility for its implementation.