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AS OBAMA REJOINS UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, FIRST UN REPORT HIGHLIGHTS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION FOR KATRINA VICTIMS

US Human Rights Network Expresses Outrage at Mass Homelessness and Revictimization as Biloxi, Mississippi Votes to Evict Trailers

Geneva, June 15, 2009 – The first report to reach the United Nations Human Rights Council since the US decision to rejoin the UN body last April will highlight the discriminatory treatment of Katrina victims who have still not received permanent housing. The United Nations report, submitted by the Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination and Xenophobia Doudou Diene, presents an overview of the United States compliance with international norms governing racial equality. It sets out several areas where the US has failed to protect its citizens from racially discriminatory practices.

The report will be presented to the UN tomorrow just as the city of Biloxi, Mississippi holds a vote to unilaterally decide whether to expel Hurricane Katrina survivors who reside in trailers within its city limits. The decision stands in stark contrast to President Obama’s recent order to reverse FEMA’s threats to confiscate the temporary dwellings of thousands of people displaced by Katrina and unable to secure permanent housing.

Ajamu Baraka, head of the US Human Rights Network, notes that Biloxi’s municipal vote has implications on a much broader, international level, “As Biloxi prepares to exercise a civic vote with grave implications for a group of people already traumatized by internal displacement, the United Nations will on the same day present a report to the UN Human Rights Council that links the treatment of Katrina survivors to America’s failure to protect its citizens from racial discrimination. The Katrina evictions have attracted the attention of the world body, reminding us that they are not simply a matter of civic discretion but rather a question of fundamental human rights.”

The report of the Special Rapporteur on Racism holds particular significance as the Obama administration moves to rejoin the UN Human Rights Council this autumn after years of boycotts by the Bush Administration. The report cites among its recommendations:

“The Federal Government and the States of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi should increase its assistance to the persons displaced by Hurricane Katrina, particularly in the realm of housing. The principle that ‘competent authorities have the primary duty and responsibility to establish conditions, as well as provide the means, which allow internally displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes or places of habitual residence’ should be respected.”

The issue of housing for internally displaced persons in America is certain to continue to figure in discussions before the UN Human Rights Council. Ajamu Baraka said: “We welcome the decision by President Obama to rejoin the UN Human Rights Council after years of isolation by the Bush administration. This policy of engagement should guide the US in all of its treaty obligations, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, also known as ICERD, for which the US has yet to commit to a program of action.”

The US Human Rights Network continues to press the US for engagement in this and all international treaties that elevate US law and policy to meet international standards.