NEWS RELEASE
March 7, 2008
UN Panel Gives Direction
on Racial Justice Treaty Issues
Raised in Minnesota Shadow Report
On March 7, 2008, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(CERD) issued 14 pages of Concluding Observations, thereby completing its
current review of US performance of obligations that the US undertook when
it ratified a racial justice treaty in 1994. The treaty, the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
is available online at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_icerd.htm. Full
text of the Committee’s Concluding Observations is attached and available
online at:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/co/CERD-C-USA-CO-6.pdf.
The Committee’s Concluding Observations list the positive aspects of the US
performance under the treaty (one page) but also expressed several concerns
and recommendations (nine pages).
As noted in the News Advisory we sent last night, Ambassador Warren Tichenor
who led the US Government presentation in Geneva has characterized relations
with the Committee as “respectful and collegial”. To obtain his response to
the Concluding Observations, you may contact him at the US Mission to the
United Nations in Geneva, phone 022 749 4880.
In response to the Committee’s Concluding Observations, Ajamu Baraka,
Executive Director of the US Human Rights Network, a coalition of over 250
human rights and social justice groups around the U.S., stated:
The Committee’s observations today expose to the world the extent to which
racial discrimination has been normalized and effectively made permissible
in many areas of American life by U.S. law and practices.
Baraka praised the Committee’s recommendation that the U.S. consider the
establishment of an independent national human rights institution, which he
said “would go a long way towards understanding racism and race
discrimination as a denial of human rights, not just civil rights.”
CERD Calls for Reports -- Due Within One Year -- on Five Subjects
The Committee identified five areas on which it requested follow-up reports
from the US within one year on the Committee’s recommendations regarding
1) the continued widespread practice of racial profiling (Paragraph 14);
The CERD recommended that “...the [United States] strengthen its efforts to
combat racial profiling at the federal and state levels, inter alia by
moving expeditiously towards the adoption of the End Racial Profiling Act.”
2) the situation of the Western Shone indigenous peoples (Paragraph 19);
The CERD reaffirmed its early warning and urgent action Decision 1 (68) in
its entirety, and urged the United Stats to implement all the
recommendations contained therein.
3) the disproportionate imposition of life imprisonment without parole on
young offenders belonging to racial, ethnic, and national minorities
(Paragraph 21);
The CERD recommended that the State party discontinue the use of life
sentence without parole against persons under the age of eighteen at the
time the offence was committed, and review the situation of persons already
serving such sentences.
4) continuing disparate impact of Hurricane Katrina on lowincome African
American residents, many of who continue to be displaced more than two years
after the hurricane (Paragraph 31);
The CERD recommended that the State party increase its efforts in order to
facilitate the return of persons displaced by Hurricane Katrina to their
homes, if feasible, or to guarantee access to adequate and affordable
housing, where possible in their place of habitual residence. In particular,
the Committee called on the State party to ensure that every effort is made
to ensure genuine consultation and participation of persons displaced by
Hurricane Katrina in the design and implementation of all decisions
affecting them.
5) lack of training programs, courses and public education to make
government officials, the judiciary, federal and state law enforcement
officials, teachers, social workers and the public in general aware of the
responsibilities of the United States under the treaty (Paragraph 36).
The CERD recommended that the State party organize public awareness and
education programs on the Convention and its provisions, and step up its
efforts to make government officials, the judiciary, federal and state law
enforcement officials, teachers, social workers and the public in general
aware about the responsibilities of the State party under the Convention, as
well as the mechanisms and procedures provided for by the Convention in the
field of racial discrimination and intolerance.
Subjects Raised by Minnesotans
Addressed in the CERD’s Concluding Observations
In addition, the CERD’s Concluding Observations addressed many issues raised
by Minnesotans in their shadow reports to the Committee:
1. Racial Profiling (CERD Concluding Observation 14): see Minnesota Shadow
Report (copy attached), Chapter 10 “Critique of the State Department Report
Regarding Racial Profiling”, Attorney Peter Brown and Chapter 11 “Racial
Profiling in the Context of the Historic Black Struggle for Freedom”; Luke
S. Tripp, Ph.D, and Chapter 13, “Racial Profiling – the Worthington and
Wilmar ICE Raids – The Real Story”, Attorneys Gloria Contreras-Edin and
Rachel Bengtson.
The CERD’s Concluding Observation 14: “...the Committee recommends that the
State party strengthen its efforts to combat racial profiling at the federal
and state levels, inter alia by moving expeditiously towards the adoption of
the End Racial Profiling Act.”
2. Special Measures (CERD Concluding Observation 15): see Minnesota Shadow
Report Chapter 3 “Missed Opportunities – Minneapolis and St. Paul. Contract
Compliance Policies and Performance” and Chapter 4 “Will Minneapolis Seize
Realistic Opportunity to Promote Adequate Community Development in the
Harrison Neighborhood? Or Not?”, Larry Hiscock.
The CERD’s Concluding Observation 15: “The Committee reiterates that the
adoption of special measures “when circumstances so warrant” is an
obligation arising from article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The
Committee therefore calls once again on the State party to adopt and
strengthen the use of such measures when circumstances warrant their use as
a tool to eliminate the persistent disparities in the enjoyment of human
rights and fundamental freedoms and ensure the adequate development and
protection of members of racial, ethnic and national minorities.”
3. Stark Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice System as Indicator of
Racial Discrimination (CERD Concluding Observation 20): See Minnesota Shadow
Report, Chapter 6 “Minnesota Drug Policy and its Disastrous Effects on
Racial and Ethnic Minorities”, Law Professor Michael Tonry; Chapter 7
“Juvenile Justice Changes in Minnesota: Wrong Direction, Particularly for
Minority Youth”, Law Professor Barry Feld; Chapter 8 “Imperiled Black
Families and the Growth of the Prison Industrial Complex in the U.S.”, Rose
Brewer, Ph.D.; Chapter 12 “Collateral Effects of Convictions and Arrests in
Minnesota: Disproportionate Impact Upon Minorities; Greatest Burden on
African-Americans”, Law Student Shawn D. Stuckey.
The CERD’s Concluding Observation 20: “Bearing in mind its general
recommendation No. 31 (2005) on the prevention of racial discrimination in
the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system, according
to which stark racial disparities in the administration and functioning of
the criminal justice system, including the disproportionate number of
persons belonging to racial, ethnic and national minorities in the prison
population, may be regarded as factual indicators of racial discrimination,
the Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary steps to
guarantee the right of everyone to equal treatment before tribunals and all
other organs administering justice, including further studies to determine
the nature and scope of the problem, and the implementation of national
strategies or plans of action aimed at the elimination of structural racial
discrimination.”
4. Police Brutality and Police Impunity (CERD Concluding Observation 25):
See In the Shadows of the War on Terror: Persistent Police Brutality and
Abuse of People of Color in the United States, a shadow report contributed
to by Minneapolis-based Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB)
and Minnesota Shadow Report, Chapter 14 “Police Misconduct and Civilian
Review in Minneapolis”, Michael Friedman.
The CERD’s Concluding Comment 25: “The Committee recommends that the State
party increase significantly its efforts to eliminate police brutality and
excessive use of force against persons belonging to racial, ethnic or
national minorities, as well as undocumented migrants crossing the
U.S.-Mexico border, inter alia by establishing adequate systems for
monitoring police abuses and developing further training opportunities for
law enforcement officials. The Committee further requests the State party to
ensure that reports of police brutality and excessive use of force are
independently, promptly and thoroughly investigated and that perpetrators
are prosecuted and appropriately punished.”
5. Rights of Non-Citizens to Equal Treatment (CERD Concluding Observation
24): See Minnesota Shadow Report, Chapter 13, “Racial Profiling – the
Worthington and Wilmar ICE Raids – The Real Story”, Attorneys Gloria
Contreras-Edin and Rachel Bengtson.
The CERD’s Concluding Observation 24: “Bearing in mind its General
Recommendation No. 30 (2004) on non-citizens, the Committee wishes to
reiterate that States parties are under an obligation to guarantee equality
between citizens and non-citizens in the enjoyment of the rights set forth
in article 5 of the Convention, including the right to equal treatment
before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice, to the
extent recognized under international law, and that Article 1, paragraph 2,
must be construed so as to avoid undermining the basic prohibition of
discrimination set out in article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
6. Responsibility to Promote Awareness of the Treaty and US Obligations
Under It (CERD Concluding Paragraph 36: See Minnesota Shadow Report,
Executive Summary; Chapter 1 “Survey of Minnesota Local Human Rights
Commissions Documenting the Failure to Inform Relevant Local Officials about
the ICERD and the Current CERD Review Process
Despite Significant Openness in Minnesota to Receive this Information” ; and
Chapter 2, “Comments Regarding the Failure to Educate/ Propagate Regarding
the ICERD at the Federal Level and the Demise of Executive Order 13107” .
The CERD’s Concluding Observation 36: “ . . . no specific training programs
or courses have been provided to, inter alia, government officials, the
judiciary, federal and state law enforcement officials, teachers, social
workers and other public officials in order to raise their awareness about
the Convention and its provisions. Similarly, the Committee notes with
regret that information about the Convention and its provisions has not been
brought to the attention of the public in general. (Article 7).
The Committee recommends that the State party organize public awareness and
education programs on the Convention and its provisions, and step up its
efforts to make government officials, the judiciary, federal and state law
enforcement officials, teachers, social workers and the public in general
aware about the responsibilities of the State party under the Convention, as
well as the mechanisms and procedures provided for by the Convention in the
field of racial discrimination and intolerance.
Concluding Observations of the Minnesota Delegation
Two Minnesotans who contributed to the Minnesota Shadow Report which was
part of the record considered by the Committee in reaching its Concluding
Observations also went to Geneva as part of the USHRN Delegation to
emphasize points raised in the Minnesota Shadow Report: Peter Brown,
Attorney and member of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
and Shawn D. Stuckey, third-year law student at St. Thomas Law School and
co-chair of the Legal Redress Committee of the St. Paul Branch of the NAACP.
Mr. Stuckey (561-315-3736; sstuckey@stthomas.edu) stated: “The Committee’s
Concluding Observations are a very good start. They reflect, in significant
part, a lot of work from many of us community persons in Minnesota and
across the country to counteract the State Department’s viewpoint. People
who are concerned about race relations in the US understand that they must
be based on truth and justice. Working to assure that the US lives up to its
commitments under the racial justice treaty it has ratified is an important
part of that truth and justice work. This treaty has far too long been
“under a barrel” so to speak. I look forward to these coming months and
years, working with the many others in our communities who are becoming more
aware of the availability of the broad and very positive human rights
framework to seek justice.”
Mr. Brown (612-824-6533; peterb3121@hotmail.com) stated: “A key finding in
our Minnesota Shadow Report was that virtually nothing is known in Minnesota
about the existence and obligations undertaken by the United States – at all
levels of government – to take immediate and effective steps to eliminate
racial discrimination. Although the treaty identifies some very concrete
steps to do that, people need to know what the treaty says and how to use it
before it can be of any use. We are very encouraged that the Committee calls
for action from the US on that score – and a progress report a year from now
– reporting their efforts to educate public officials and the pubic about
the treaty and its usefulness in building racial justice across our country.
This will be a good year for human rights – the full spectrum human rights
advanced by the human rights treaties.”
Other Newspaper Articles
(sans Minnesota flavor)
about the CERD’s Concluding Observations
1. AP story on CERD Concluding Observations:
http://www.pr-inside.com/un-panel-says-us-must-give-r475308.htm
2. Reuters story on CERD Concluding Observations: “U.N. panel calls for U.S.
death penalty moratorium”; Friday, Mar 7, 2008 11:13am EST; by Laura
MacInnis
3. AFP story on CERD Concluding Observations: “UN criticizes US racial
profiling post 9/11"
7 March 2008
For a copy of the Minnesota Shadow Report and/or for further information,
contact:
Amalia Anderson at 612-280-4730.
