JUSTICE Minister Naomi Long has been warned her plan to bring in hate crimes legislation during the next assembly "is too late".
UUP leader and chair of the assembly's Ethic Minority Communities cross-party group Steve Aiken said Northern Ireland is set to fall further behind in protections as the proposed new laws have already been outpaced by extensions to legislation in England and Wales.
Black and minority ethnic leaders sounded an alarm in the summer about the gaps in the law to protect them from racism and discrimination, pointing out the north's "Racial Equality Strategy is sitting in somebody's drawer since 2015".
Mr Aiken is sponsoring a Private Member's Bill on Hate Crime on behalf of the group, warning "there is no time to waste", in the wake of recent events, including attacks on community centres.
He said Ms Long has received a "comprehensive report... from Judge Desmond Marrinan, who chaired the Independent Review on Hate Crime last December".
"However, we also note that the Law Commission in England and Wales published their consultation paper on the Hate Crime Final Paper which is much more progressive than that proposed by the Naomi Long.
"The new hate crime law in England and Wales includes new protected characteristics to tackle hate crime such as misogyny and ageism, and hostility towards other, wide ranging groups.
"Groups that also deserve similar levels of protection in Northern Ireland.
"With time in this remaining mandate at a premium we are calling for the Justice Minister to work closely with the Ethnic Minority Community and to accelerate the bringing forward of legislation, and to bring it in line, at the minimum, with the proposals raised in England and Wales."
He said hate crime legislation "should not be the basis of Private Members legislation".
"I have little doubt, based on the Justice Minister's strong commitment to improving community relations across Northern Ireland, that she should be looking favourably at bringing in hate crime legislation in this mandate."
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment.
