[Cure-news] U.N. Independent Expert on Racism Begins Fact-Finding Mission in U.S.

[Ida Hakim]

U.N. Independent Expert On Racism Begins Fact-Finding Mission In U.S.

Official Visit Underscores Ongoing Issues Of Discrimination Throughout 
Nation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2008

CONTACT: Rachel Myers, ACLU, (212) 549-2689 or 2666; media at aclu.org
Stacie Miller, Lawyers’ Committee, (202) 662-8317
Ajamu Baraka, USHRN, (404) 695-0475

WASHINGTON – Several national civil liberties and human rights groups 
today welcomed a fact-finding mission to the U.S. by the United Nations 
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial 
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The American Civil 
Liberties Union, Global Rights, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights 
Under the Law, the U.S. Human Rights Network, the NAACP Legal Defense 
Fund, the Rights Working Group and the National Law Center on 
Homelessness & Poverty call on the U.S., state and local governments to 
fully cooperate with the special rapporteur.

“The visit of the special rapporteur is a critical opportunity to shed 
light on the pervasive and systemic problem of racism and discrimination 
in the United States,” said Jamil Dakwar, Director of the ACLU Human 
Rights Program. “In this election year, the eyes of the world will be 
turned toward America and its longstanding promise to end racial and 
ethnic inequalities.”

At the invitation of the U.S. government, Special Rapporteur Doudou 
Diène is visiting the U.S. from May 18 to June 6 to examine issues of 
racism and racial discrimination in this country. Diène will visit 
Washington, New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami 
and San Juan, Puerto Rico over the next three weeks where he will study 
incidents of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, 
xenophobia and related intolerance and the governmental measures in 
place to address them.

Diène is scheduled to meet with federal and local government officials 
as well as members of diverse communities across the United States and 
representatives of several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

“The special rapporteur’s visit presents a unique opportunity to give 
voice to those combating racism in the U.S. and will bring our concerns 
to the U.N. and its enforcement mechanisms,” said Aubrey McCutcheon, 
Director of Programs at Global Rights. “I am confident Mr. Diène’s visit 
will heighten our efforts towards eliminating racism and its vestiges.”

In March 2008, the separate U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial 
Discrimination (CERD) issued a strongly worded critique of the United 
States' record on racial discrimination and urged the government to make 
sweeping reforms to policies affecting racial and ethnic minorities, 
women, immigrants and indigenous populations in the U.S. Several civil 
liberties and human rights organizations have urged the special 
rapporteur to critically examine the continuation of racism and racial 
discrimination in various areas identified by CERD and well documented 
in extensive NGO reports, including criminal justice, education, 
housing, juvenile justice, immigration policy, police brutality, hate 
crimes and racial profiling.

The mandate of the special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, 
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance was 
established in 1993 by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and further 
extended by the U.N. Human Rights Council. The special rapporteur will 
submit a final report on the visit to the Human Rights Council in the 
spring of 2009.

More information about the special rapporteur’s visit is available 
online at: www.aclu.org/intlhumanrights/racialjustice/sronracism.html 
and www.ushrnetwork.org/special_rep