News / Human Rights

UN committee criticizes US government for ‘failing to reject racist violent events’

Wednesday, 23 August 2017 2:40 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 23 August 2017 4:03 PM ]

This image taken in Boston, Ma. on August 19, 2017 shows protesters marching against racism. (Photo by AFP)

UN human rights experts have urged the US government to "unequivocally and unconditionally" condemn racist speech and hate crimes, warning that a failure to do so could fuel further violent clashes by white supremacist groups.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), issued an "early warning and urgent action" statement on Wednesday, which is reserved for serious situations, saying that “there should be no place in the world for racist white supremacist ideas or any similar ideologies that reject the core human rights principles of human dignity and equality.”

The warning specifically noted the August 12 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where deadly clashes broke out between white supremacists and counter-protesters

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The UN experts asked US politicians and public officials to undertake concrete measures “to address the root causes of the proliferation of such racist manifestations,” although they stopped short of criticizing US President Donald Trump by name.

This image shows white supremacists armed with combat weapons arrive at the "Unite the Right" rally which was declared an unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police on August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by AFP)

Trump has been widely criticized for his response to the Charlottesville rally after he said "both sides" were to blame for the violence.

A 32-year-old woman was killed and 19 others were injured when a 20-year-old Nazi sympathizer plowed his car into a crowd taking part in a counter-protest.

"We are alarmed by the racist demonstrations, with overtly racist slogans, chants and salutes by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan, promoting white supremacy and inciting racial discrimination and hatred," said CERD Chairperson Anastasia Crickley.

“We call on the US Government to investigate thoroughly the phenomenon of racial discrimination targeting, in particular, people of African descent, ethnic or ethno-religious minorities, and migrants,” added Crickley.

The committee monitors compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which the US ratified in 1994.

The UN warning marks the seventh such alert issued in the past decade.

Last week, three UN human rights experts denounced the rising racism and xenophobia in the United States, citing the Charlottesville rally as the latest example.

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