US needs to act to end discrimination

Original source:

The United Nations special rapporteur on racism has urged Washington to do more to address ‘ongoing issues of racism and ethnic discrimination’ in the US.

Offering recommendations before the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday, special rapporteur Githu Muigai said that, ‘for the US to lead by example, it should do more to address ongoing issues of racism and ethnic discrimination.’

At the invitation of the US government, former special rapporteur Doudou Diene toured the US in May and June 2008 to conduct an analysis of ongoing racism and ethnic discrimination.

Mr Diene’s report highlighted racism in the criminal justice system, the disparity between sentencing for crack and powder cocaine, abuses facing immigrant and black workers in the Gulf coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the overall vulnerability of immigrant workers and the need to meaningfully address the ‘school-to-prison pipeline,’ referring to an emphasis on punishment over rehabilitation in the school and prison systems.

The report also called on Congress to pass the End Racial Profiling Act and create a bipartisan commission to evaluate the fight against racism.