Human Rights Now!

Report on Racism in The U.S.

At the invitation of the U.S. government, the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Doudou Diène, visited the U.S. (May - June 2008). He visited several major cities, and New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. He held meetings with state officials, members of the Supreme Court, and orgs. active against racism.

Diène noted the problems of re-segregation in housing and education, and the overlapping nature of poverty and race/ethnicity. He recommended strengthening enforcement of existing civil rights laws and encouraged the government to clarify to law enforcement officials the obligation of equal treatment, and no racial profiling. For a copy of the report, see: ohcr.org.