By Stephanie Nebehay, Friends of the Congo
GENEVA (Reuters) - A special U.N. human rights investigator will visit the United States this month to probe racism, an issue that has forced its way into the race to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
The United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6 visit.
"The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday.
His three-week visit, at U.S. government invitation, will cover eight cities -- Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Race has become a central issue in the U.S. election cycle because Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner in the battle for the Democratic nomination battle, stands to become the country's first African American president.His campaign has increased turnout among black voters but has also turned off some white voters in a country with a history of slavery and racial segregation.
Diene, a Senegalese lawyer who has served in the independent post since 2002, will report his findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council next year.
However, the United Nations has almost no clout when it comes to U.S. domestic affairs and is widely perceived by many as interfering. The United States is not among the 47 member states of the Geneva-based forum, but has observer status.
In a report last year he said Islamophobia had grown worldwide since the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States, carried out by al-Qaeda militants.
DEATH PENALTY
A U.N. panel which examined the U.S. record on racial discrimination last March urged the United States to halt racial profiling of Americans of Arab, Muslim and South Asian descent and to ensure immigrants and non-nationals are not mistreated.It also said America should impose a moratorium on the death penalty and stop sentencing young offenders to life in prison until it can root out racial bias from its justice system.
Racial minorities were more likely than whites to be sentenced to death or to life without parole as juveniles, according to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It monitors compliance with an international treaty which Washington ratified in 1994.
U.S. officials told the body, made up of 18 independent experts, that they were combating hate crimes such as displays of hangman's nooses and police brutality against minorities.
Some 800 racially motivated incidents against people perceived to be Arab, Muslim, Sikh or South Asian had been investigated since the September 11 attacks, they said at the time.
Substantial progress had been made over the years in addressing disparities in housing, education, employment and health care, according to a U.S. report submitted to the talks.
(Additional reporting by Matt Bigg in Atlanta; Editing by Jonathan Lynn and Jon Boyle)
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14 comments:
interesting..
very interesting indeed.
Thats strange. UN checking on us?
The UN needs to regulate what is going on in the US. It's funny how the US thinks that we are the only ones above corruption, yet we want to take over other countries because we think their leaders are corrupt. What if someone came over here and took over America and told us that Bush was corrupt? That is just what we did to Saddam. It's fucked up.
Boy that last commenter really used logic and reason in his response. We did it, therefore we deserve it to happen to us? YOU are a GENIUS!!
Your sarcasm (previous comment) is unfounded. He / she wasn't saying 'we did it therefore it should happen to us'. They were asking the question 'what if' other countries behaved like the US? And I agree with their sentiment. In my mind the US behaves more like a rogue state than any of the countries it condemns. With great arrogance, the US government thinks that it's above the law. You only have to look at recent history - what happened in Central America with the Contras, the ridiculous attempts to kill Castro, and of course the illegal war in Iraq. Given the fact that the current administration takes absolutely no notice of the UN - I'm doubtful as to how much good it can do. Hopefully, with a new administration in the White House perhaps something positive will come out of it.
I agree with elrancho. He wasn't trying to say that it should happen to us, in the same way that a person who is killed in retaliation for another murder deserves to die. But the truth is that chickens do come home to roost. You have to be prepared for the consequences of your choices. America is a country that has no problem hurting others, but when the consequences come, they cry like little bitches. Deal with it! You brought this on yourself!
If other countries behaved like the US, we would't need the United Nations. There would be plenty of money to go around, since we definitely spread it all over, even to those that hate us, and say we are evil. Yes, the world would be much better it al the other countries were like us. And to the previous commenters, if you find another country on earth you really think is better to others than the "racist" US< wil you please go there, and don't go away mad, JUST GO AWAY!
I can't believe that the anonymous person before me really thinks that if other countries acted like the US, the world would be a better place. That's why your country got hit with 911- arrogance!
There are countless other countries 'on earth' I prefer to America, and as one of the previous commenters who was asked to 'go away', you'll be glad to hear that I have found another country to live in, where as a minority I am treated with fairness and respect. Although I have to visit the US quite often, I've reached the point where I would rather not be there at all. Sorry - but it's true.
You're right - nobody should be forced to leave - least of all African Americans who's ancestors were forced to go there and build the place! I can understand your anger. For me, I just can't live in that society. I know there is good and bad everywhere, and I don't condemn all white Americans but I cannot live in a country with so much blind ingnorance. And Fox News...??!! Watching it is like selling your soul to the devil. I just don't want to be there.
El Rancho, you need to get a grip, and nust go away and mind your own business. It seems you are envious of us Americans, I am sure of it. We(normal America loving Americans) are BORED WITH YOUR DRIVEL! You have no dog in this fight, and seem to be just a yes man for the author of this blog. "oh you are so great, you are so eloquent, your poopoo doesn't stink". You are sickening. Go away from hence and never come back, for you are a Yes-Troll!
Sorry, but there's nothing you have that I'm envious of. And no, I'm not keeping quiet for people like you. Of course that's what you would like since there's nothing that scares you more than white people who don't buy into your gutter-mentality. We're not all like you and wherever I see hate-filled minds, ignorance and injustice I'm going to speak up. Even though you say 'I have no dog in this fight' (nice) that's my right (remember free speach?) and my obligation as a human being with a conscience.
If you are a human being with a conscience, then help change your own country. Most carribean countries are third world, and I am sure they could use your services, much more than the hate you help re-enforce on this forum.
The only 'hate' on this website comes from those uneducated white people who for some reason, think that criticism = hate.
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