(NAME-MCE) U.S. Violates International Human Rights of People of Color

[Anselmo Villanueva]

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ken Neubeck <kneubeck at comcast.net>
Date: Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 10:37 PM
Subject: U.S. Violates International Human Rights of People of Color

RIGHTS-US: U.N. Panel Finds Two-Tier Society
By Haider Rizvi

March 11, 2008

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41556

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 11 (IPS) - The United States government is drawing
fire from international legal experts for its treatment of American
Indians, Blacks, Latinos and other racial minorities.

The U.S. is failing to meet international standards on racial
equality, according to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (CERD) based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Last Friday, after considering the U.S. government's written and oral
testimony, the 18- member committee said it has found "stark racial
disparities" in the U.S. institutions, including its criminal justice
system.

The CERD is responsible for monitoring global compliance with the 1969
Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, an
international treaty that has been ratified by the United States.

In concluding the CERD report on the U.S. record, the panel of experts
called for the George W. Bush administration to take effective actions
to end racist practices against minorities in the areas of criminal
justice, housing, healthcare and education.

This is the second time in less than two years that the U.S.
government has been found to be falling short of its treaty
obligations. In March 2006, The CERD had harshly criticised the U.S.
for violating Native Americans' land rights.

Taking note of racial discrimination against indigenous communities,
the Committee said it wants the U.S. to provide information about what
it has done to promote the culture and traditions of American Indian,
Alaska Native and indigenous Hawaiian peoples. It also urged the U.S.
to apply the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The CERD also voiced strong concerns regarding environmental racism
and the environmental degradation of indigenous areas of spiritual and
cultural significance, without regard to whether they are on
"recognised" reservation lands.

The Committee recommended to the U.S. that it consult with indigenous
representatives, "chosen in accordance with their own procedures -- to
ensure that activities carried out in areas of spiritual and cultural
significance do not have a negative impact on the enjoyment of their
rights under the Convention".

In its 13-page ruling, the U.N. body also raised serious questions
about the death penalty and in the sentencing of minors to life
without parole, which it linked to racial disparities between whites
and blacks.

In their testimony, Bush administration officials held that the treaty
obligations do not apply to laws or practices that are race-neutral on
their face but discriminatory in effect. The Committee outright
rejected that claim, noting that the treaty prohibits racial
discrimination in all forms, including practices and legislation that
may not be discriminatory in purpose, but in effect.

The CERD panel also objected to the indefinite detention of
non-citizens at Guantanamo prison and urged the U.S. to guarantee
"enemy combatants" judicial review.

The panel said the U.S. needs to implement training programmes for law
enforcement officials, teachers and social workers in order to raise
their awareness about the treaty and the obligations the U.S. is
required to uphold as a signatory.

Human rights defenders who watched the CERD proceeding closely said
they were pleased with its observations and recommendations.

"The U.N. is telling the U.S. that it needs to deal with an ugly
aspect of its criminal justice system," said Alison Parker of Human
Rights Watch, which has been monitoring discriminatory practices in
the United States for years.

In a statement, Parker hailed the U.N. panel for rejecting the U.S.
government's claim that more black children get life without parole
because they commit more crimes and held that the U.N. criticism of
the justice system was fair.

"Once again, the Bush administration has been told by a major human
rights body that it is not above the law," said Parker in of the
indefinite detention of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo prison.

Other rights activists also held similar views about the outcome of
the CERD hearings in Geneva.

"[It has] exposed to the world the extent to which racial
discrimination has been normalised and effectively made permissible in
many areas of American life," said Ajamu Baraka of the Human Rights
Network, an umbrella group representing more than 250 rights advocacy
organisations.

As part of its recommendations, the Committee has asked the U.S.
government to consider the establishment of an independent human
rights body that could help eliminate widespread racial disparities.

Lenny Foster, Diné (Navajo) and representative of the Native America
Prisoners Rights Coalition, was a member of the indigenous delegation
to the CERD. He observed during the examination that the United States
was "in denial".

"Spiritual wellness and spiritual healing is paramount to the very
survival of the indigenous nations," he said. "There are efforts to
prohibit and impede the spiritual access. Corporations cannot be
allowed to prohibit access and to destroy and pollute and desecrate
the sacred lands."

Bill Larsen of the Western Shoshone Defence Project delegation also
testified before the Committee, making a strong case concerning
environmental racism and the deadly pollution caused by mining on
their ancestral lands.

In March 2006, the Western Shoshone leaders had received a favourable
response from the Committee to its complaint about the U.S.
exploitation of their sacred lands. The U.S. is obligated "to freeze,
desist and stop further harmful activities on their lands", but failed
to take any action.

Indigenous leaders said they welcomed the Committee's decision to ask
the U.S. to submit its report on compliance within one.year.

"It is important that all Native Peoples within the U.S. know that
they have rights that are recognized by international law even if the
United States refuses to recognise them or act upon them," said
Alberto Saldamando, one of the indigenous delegates attending the
Geneva meeting.

"Now it is not just us," he continued, "but the international
community that has recognised that indigenous peoples within the
United States are subject to racism on many levels and has called for
effective steps by the U.S. to remedy this situation."

(END/2008)