CONTACT:

In New York: Riptide Communications, +1 (212) 260-5000; info@riptideonline.com

In Geneva: Ajamu Baraka, US Human Rights Network, (001) 404-695-0475; Ramona Ortega, Ramona.Ortega@gmail.com

Press Statement on U.S. and Durban Review Conference

PARTICIPATE OR NOT OBAMA ADMINISTRATION MUST MEET ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW TO ELIMINATE RACISM 

April 20, 2009 - The US Human Rights Network (USHRN) represents over 300 non-governmental organizations that are calling on the Obama administration to participate in The Durban Review Conference (DRC). The summit will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, April 20-24, 2009, as a follow-up to the 2001 UN World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance.

The USHRN Executive Director, Ajamu Baraka, who will be in Geneva for the duration of the conference, issued the following statement:

 “We are concerned and saddened that the Obama Administration has decided to boycott the Durban Review Process. While, there is no doubt that the DRC process presents difficult policy issues, instead of honoring its policy of engagement, the Obama Administration issued numerous conditions for its participation, and now has decided to boycott the DRC entirely. We believe this clashes with the Administration’s commitment to eliminating racism.

 The DRC is part of a bigger picture; it’s a means to evaluate the progress of the InternationalConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). This international treaty, to which the U.S. is a signatory, holds the U.S. to a much higher standard than the domestic laws against racial discrimination, which have proven to be inadequate. Domestic laws have failed to protect Arab and Muslim men who have been rendered to countries to be tortured as terrorist suspects. They have not brought restitution for communities of color who must live in the shadow of industrial facilities that pollute their air and water. They have done little for Katrina victims who continue to suffer from the consequences of a government that did not meet its obligations to protect its citizens.  

While we cannot deny the historic implications of the election of an African-American President, that fact in and of itself does not close the chapter on racism in the U.S. Moreover, it doesn't end the U.S. obligation to challenge racism globally. On the contrary, the world is looking to the Obama Administration to take a leading role in this struggle for racial justice and human rights.  The DRC presented a unique opportunity for the Obama administration not only to prove its commitment to ending discrimination but also to truly depart from the arrogant unilateralism of its predecessor. By failing to participate the Administration has undermined its stated commitment to advancing the cause of human rights for all."

The Durban Review Conference seeks to promote the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The ICERD is an international treaty ratified by the U.S. in 1994, which carries the force of law in the United States. The USHRN has led the movement advocating for U.S. compliance with the ICERD, as a vehicle for battling racism domestically. Last year, the USHRN produced a 700-page Shadow Report on racial discrimination in response to the U.S. non-compliance with ICERD. They coordinated a delegation of over 100 U.S.-based human rights advocates to attend the February 2008 ICERD hearing in Geneva, where they critiqued Bush Administration officials for violating the terms of the treaty.