The First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly have said “there must be a zero tolerance approach to racism and wanton destruction” after they spoke to the Chief Constable today.
They issued a joint statement after discussing the recent disorder in Belfast with PSNI chief Jon Boutcher.
Meanwhile, the Assembly is being recalled from its summer break on Thursday to discuss the disorder.
It follows a proposal from the Alliance Party, backed by Sinn Féin, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and independent unionist Claire Sugden, with the debate set to take place at midday.
The two Stormont leaders said: “While people are entitled to take part in peaceful protest there is no justification for racism or for the violence and intimidation that occurred on our streets on Saturday.
“Today we have spoken to the Chief Constable and offered him our full support and we pledged to work to deliver a shared, peaceful and inclusive society.
“There must be a zero tolerance approach to racism and wanton destruction. Nobody should have to live in fear or threat of violence.
“Again, we would appeal to anyone with information to contact the PSNI.”
Earlier, the First Minister called for the prioritising of “protecting lives and property and facing down racism” in Northern Ireland.
“There is no place in this society for racism or the attacks on our minority communities which took place at the weekend,” said Ms O’Neill.
“Today, I spoke to PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and we agreed that the shared priority is to protect lives and property and face down racism, violence and intimidation,” she said.
Four men appeared in court on Monday to face charges linked to the violence.
Several businesses were attacked during the violence, which erupted in the city after the protests on Saturday.
Business owners have said the Islamic community was deliberately targeted.
“Co-operation between the PSNI and An Garda Siochana is essential so that those responsible for causing and orchestrating the racist violence on Saturday will face the full force of the law.
“As a Government and as a society we must all work together to deliver a shared, peaceful and inclusive society,” Ms O’Neill said.
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly added: “We all stand united in tackling intimidation, disorder and violence and firmly against hate and racism.
“The vast, vast majority of people throughout NI do likewise. There is no place for thuggery in NI.”
It comes as the Justice Minister Naomi Long said further protests and disorder following the events at the weekend “cannot continue”.
Her party has also called for a recall of the Stormont Assembly “to discuss a motion about the disorder and violence seen in the city”.
A number of social media posts have encouraged people to attend another protest later this week.
Initially posts stated the protest was to be held this coming Saturday, however further posts have instead suggested an event will take place between 5pm-7pm on Monday.
Speaking to BBC NI, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said: “We are already seeing now on social media people making preparations for another round of this next week. This cannot continue.
“I don’t share the concerns people have expressed around immigration.
“Let’s be clear, this was a cross-border operation, people came from Dublin and were protesting in Belfast. We have got to get a grip on this. We have got to get to the ring leaders and find out who they are.”
Watch: Cars burn during night of disorder in south Belfast
Asked about his view of further events taking place later this week on BBC NI’s Good Morning Ulster programme, SDLP politician Matthew O’Toole said: “We can’t have a repeat of it on Friday I think that is the most important thing.
“The people who were hell bent on destruction on Saturday were not simply there, it is important to say, because they wanted to have a fight and a riot. They also wanted to spread hate. This was a racist, Islamophobic demonstration. We cannot have a repeat of that.
“My worry is some of the people allowed to march from City Hall down through my constituency towards the Belfast Islamic Centre and through the Holyland and Botanic area… I worry some of them will feel emboldened. They will feel they have had the opportunity to do that once and they may want to do that again.
“It has to be policed properly.”
Meanwhile loyalist activist Jamie Bryson told the programme people should “stay away” from any further protest taking place in Belfast later this week.
“I saw some stuff on social media with people calling for another protest at Belfast city hall and were calling on people to turn up in masks and that type of thing,” he said.
“People should stay away from that and young loyalists in particular should not be whipped up by these people who are bad actors.”
Alliance Party MLA Paula Bradshaw said she is urging other Stormont parties to sign their recall petition of the Assembly.
“Our political leaders now have to act decisively,” she said.
“The First Minister and deputy First Minister need to reverse the de-prioritisation of good relations work, urgently bring forward the draft Race Relations Order, expedite the development of a renewed Racial Equality Strategy and to recognise the genuine sense of fear and dread now experienced by individuals and families who have made Belfast their home.
“I would call on all MLAs to sign this recall petition and take the opportunity to speak with one clear voice on behalf of Belfast and everywhere else, saying if you attack one member of our community, regardless of creed or colour, you attack all members of our community.”
Policing Board chairman Mukesh Sharma described the violence in Belfast as “deeply depressing and disturbing”.
“As a board, we join in the condemnation of all those who engaged in this disorder, and we welcome police commitments to bring all those responsible to justice,” he said.
“There is no place for hate in our community.
“We all have a real job of work to do to provide reassurance to the community that the violent actions of a few are not representative of our society.
“I welcome the increased police engagement at this time with affected and concerned communities, and also trust that all those officers injured in the course of the disorder make a speedy recovery.”
Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts added: “These attacks are despicable and should be condemned. Racism has no place in our community and those behind these attacks should be brought to justice.
“Our thoughts are with the owners and staff of these businesses going through such a traumatic experience”.
“We hope that the police will learn lessons from last weekend and ensure that these disgraceful racially motivated attacks on business owners are prevented in future.”