Universal Period Review 2015

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Treaties and International human Rights Mechanisms Addressing Racial Discrimination

The U.S. has made some efforts to address human rights violations but many of the factors that
contribute or result in racial discrimination and racial disparities in the U.S. have not been
adequately addressed. Consequently, women of African descent continue to face
disproportionately high rates of poverty and are subjected to sexual violence.
As a party to the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial
Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other human rights
treaties, the U.S. is bound by the provisions of the Conventions. Under Article 2 of the ICCPR,
the U.S. must respect and ensure the rights recognized in the Convention without distinctions
based on race, color, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth or other status. 1 In signing and ratifying CERD, it must condemn racial discrimination
and undertake to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating racial
discrimination in all its forms.2 In addition, the U.S. must guarantee the right to equal treatment
before the law, to security of the person from violence whether at the hand of the state or a
private individual, and to equality in such areas as employment, housing and schooling.3
To ensure that state actors are also held accountable and policies combat discrimination, it must
review governmental, national and local policies, and . . . amend, rescind or nullify any laws
and regulations which have the effect of creating or perpetuating racial discrimination wherever
it exists. 4 Unfortunately, the United States has failed to identify and eliminate public policies
and practices that have an unjustifiable racially disparate impact, regardless of whether they are
accompanied by racist intent.
1

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 3, Dec. 16, 1966, S. Treaty Doc. No. 95-20, 6 I.L.M. 368 (1967), 999
U.N.T.S. 171.
2
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 2, Mar. 7, 1966, 660 U.N.T.S. 195
3
Ibid, art. 5.
4
Ibid, art. 2.

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The most striking examples of our country's failure to satisfy ICERD and ICCPR include 1) the
alarming rates of intimate partner violence and sexual assault against black women, 2) the
discriminatory operation of the criminal justice system and 3) economic vulnerability due to
structural racism are.
The Human Rights Situation for Black Women of African Descent in the United States
1. Sexual violence
Black women of African descent suffer disproportionately high levels of rape and sexual
violence but are less likely to have their cases prosecuted and perpetrators of sexual assaults are
more likely to escape punishment, especially if the perpetrator is a state official. USDOJ data
indicates that Black women are 35% more likely than their white counterparts to be victims of
violence and account for a full third of intimate partner homicides.5 However, they comprise
only 8% of the U.S. population.
Where sexual assault is concerned, while it is standard knowledge that 70% of cases of sexual
assault are underreported each year, this number is higher within Black communities. Black
women experience rape at a rate of 22% higher than white women and mixed women experience
sexual assault at a rate 50% higher than white women.6 According to research by The National
Black Womens Health Imperative in 2003, 40% of Black women reported coercive contact of a
sexual nature by the age of 18. An initial review of an anonymous survey in progress since 2011,
administered by Black Womens Blueprint indicates that number may be closer to 60%.
The U.S. criminal justice system is not stopping sexual violence. Its not making our
communities safer from violence, especially communities of color. We are not eradicating sexual
violence in communities of color with tougher crime bills and laws. Even more troubling, is the
difficulty we have in relying on the official data. A thorough analysis of federal data published in
2014 by Corey Rayburn Yung, associate professor at the University of Kansas School of Law,
concludes that between 1995 and 2012, police departments across the country systematically
under-counted and under-reported sexual assaults. After nearly two years of work, he estimates
conservatively that between 796,213 and 1,145,309 sexual assault cases never made it into
national FBI counts during the studied period.7

Department of Justice, Domestic Violence: Communities of Color,

http://www.doj.state.or.us/victims/pdf/women_of_color_network_facts_domestic_violence_2006.pdf (last visited February 12,
2015).
6
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2010 Summary Report,
http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf (last visited February 12, 2015).
7
Chemaly, Soraya, How Did the FBI Miss Over 1 Million Rapes?: Systematic undercounting of sexual assaults in the US
disguises a hidden rape crisis, http://www.thenation.com/article/180441/how-did-fbi-miss-over-1-million-rapes (last visited June
27, 2014).

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This even more troubling when we take into consideration that U.S. compliance with ICERD
requires more than the presence of laws prohibiting racial discrimination and sexual violence. It
requires an examination of whether the non-discrimination and equality guaranteed by law are
actually enjoyed in practice. It is the clear that black women do not enjoy full equality under the
law. If it is to satisfy its treaty obligations, the United States must take greater responsibility for
the role it plays--and has played--in creating and perpetuating racial discrimination and
inequality.
2. My Brothers Keeper Initiative (MBKI)
A recent racial justice initiative by the White House, My Brother's Keeper, created in February
2014, will provide opportunities for young men of color in education, employment, criminal
justice, violence reduction, mentoring, and ensuring access to basic health, nutrition, and to
high-quality early education to get these kids reading and ready for school at the youngest age. 8
While necessary and laudable, My Brothers Keeper does not purport to tackle the deteriorating
conditions and alarming circumstances facing women and girls of color. The Initiative warrants
closer examination and revision in order to ensure the U.S. is meeting its obligation to ensure
non-discrimination for all persons of color including women and girls.
In the economic sector, racial barriers and economic inequality abound for African-American
women and girls abound. A National Womens Law Center study found in July, 2013,
Unemployment rates have declined for most subgroups of women since the start of the
recovery, but not for adult African-American women. 9 Black/African American women suffer
disproportionately high rates of un- and under-employment and have a wider gender pay gap
than white women and other women of color.
Research shows an undeniable, complex and often cyclical connection between violence against
women in Black communities and poverty. Violence can jeopardize womens economic
wellbeing, often leading to homelessness, unemployment, interrupted education and health,
mental health, and other daily stressors and struggles.10 In turn, poverty increases the risk of
domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual violence; it can make women and
children more dependent on others for survival and, therefore, less able to control their safety, to
consent to sex, and to meaningfully address their own victimization.

The White House Office of the Press Secretary, Opportunity for all: President Obama Launches My Brothers Keeper
Initiative to Build Ladders of Opportunity For Boys and Young Men of Color, http://www.whitehouse.gov/thepressoffice/2014/02/27/fact-sheet-opportunity-all-president-obama-launches-my-brother-s-keeper- (last visited February 12,
2015).
9
National Womens Law Center, Fourth Anniversary of the Recovery Shows Job Gains for WomenBut a Long Road to a Full
Recovery, http://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/4thanniversaryrecovery.pdf (last visited February 10).
10
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, Poverty and Sexual Violence, http://www.pcar.org/sites/default/files/pagespdf/poverty_and_sexual_violence.pdf (last visited February 10, 2015).

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The U.S. continues to negate obligations that are linked to economic, social and cultural rights.
The data discussed above clearly indicates that the U.S. has not fulfilled its obligations to protect
the right to non-discrimination in the enjoyment of rights articulated under Article 5.
3. Criminal Justice System
Racial injustices abound in the criminal justice system as women and girls of color have almost
single-handedly expanded the prison industrial complex. Women of color are three times more
likely than white women, to be jailed. During the period of 1997-2007, the womens prison
population grew by 832%, while during that same year, the male prison population grew 416%.11
The case of Marissa Alexander in Florida is one extreme example, where the 33-year-old woman
faced a 60-year sentence for firing a warning shot in the direction of the man who physically
abused her even though no one was hurt. Though the conviction was later reduced to three years,
she has already served over 1,000 days in prison and will have to serve a year on house arrest,
for simply firing a warning shot against her attacker.12 Tanya McDowell, a homeless woman
who used a babysitters address to send her child to a better school, was arrested and charged
with first degree larceny, an extreme reaction and another example of this disturbing pattern.13
Recommendations
1. In its 2013 Government repose to the CERD Committee, the U.S. reiterated its
commitment to ensure that response to violence against women empower survivors and
hold offenders accountable is a response driven and defined by the community itself.
We commend the U.S. for its commitment and strongly urge the government to provide
adequate funding to community driven responses to sexual violence.
2. Request that the Department of Justice launch a federal investigation into the Officer
Holtzclaw and other under-reported but systematic violations by police officers against
black women.
3. Enact federal legislation that requires the federal government to record complaints of
police violence and misconduct, including excessive use of force, rape and racial
profiling.
4. Revamp MBK as a My Brothers and Sisters Keeper Initiative, and expand the
program to focus on the structural conditions that negatively impact all Black youth,
5. Address racial discrimination against victims of sexual assault and all people of color by
providing specific training for those working within the criminal justice system, including
police officers, lawyers, prosecutors and judges, and medical personnel.
11

Institute on Women and Criminal Justice, Quick Fact: Criminal Justice - 2009, http://www.wpaonline.org/resources/quickfacts
(last visited February 12, 2015).
12
Hsieh, Steven, Marissa Alexander Now Faces 60 Years in Prison for Firing a Warning Shot in Self Defense ,
http://www.thenation.com/blog/178641/marissa-alexander-now-faces-60-years-prison-firing-warning-shot-self-defense (last
visited February 12, 2015).
13
Huffington Post, Tanya McDowell, Homeless Woman, Arrested For Sending Son To School Using Babysitter's Address,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/18/tanya-mcdowell-homeless-w_n_850571.html (last visited June 26, 2015).

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6. The U.S. definition of racial discrimination which is narrow and requires intent is
contrary to ICERD. In order to comply with ICERD, the U.S. should adopt the ICERD
disparate impact standard of discrimination which offers broad protections against
modern forms of discrimination such as implicit bias and structural racism
7. Adopt a Plan of Action to track and measure progress in reducing racial discrimination
and racial disparities.
8. Adopt Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.