Michael Whine appointed new UK expert against racism and intolerance
UK independent expert on problems of racism and intolerance to serve five-year term on Council of Europe's racism monitoring body
Michael Whine MBE, Government and International Affairs Director at the Community Security Trust, has been appointed to a five year term as new UK independent member of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).
Mr Whine has been professionally employed as a researcher on extremism, antisemitism, and terrorism for over twenty five years. He is currently the Government and International Affairs Director at the Community Security Trust. He also acts as Consultant on Defence and Security to the European Jewish Congress, and represents it at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The ECRI’s statutes stipulate that it should consist of members “with a high moral authority and recognised expertise in dealing with racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance”. Each Member State of the Council of Europe has the right to appoint one ECRI member and has the legal duty to appoint an independent and impartial member.
In 2002 Mr Whine was appointed a member of the Hate Crime Independent Advisors Group at the UK Ministry of Justice. Between 2010 and 2012 he acted as Lay Advisor to the Counter Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service, and in 2013, he was appointed to the Hate Crime Scrutiny and Involvement Panel of the London CPS, which assesses and evaluates hate crime prosecution cases.
Mr Whine’s term with the ECRI will expire on 17 September 2018.