U.N. Racism Committee slams U.S. for "racial and ethnic discrimination...in all areas of life"

On August 29, 2014 the UN's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) slammed the United States for "racial and ethnic discrimination". The Committee is composed of 18 supposedly "independent" experts who monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by state parties, of which the U.S. is one. During its latest assessment of U.S. compliance with the treaty, the Committee issued "concluding observations" that accuse the U.S. of "racial profiling of racial or ethnic minorities by law enforcement officials, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Transportation Security Administration, border enforcement officials and local police."

Heading the Committee's assessment of the U.S. record on racial discrimination was Committee member, and Vice-Chair, Noureddine Amir of Algeria, who acted as "rapporteur" on the U.S. report. Amir held a news conference on August 29, 2014, in which he made the outrageous claim that "racial and ethnic discrimination remains a serious and persistent problem in all areas of life" in the United States.

Amir said: "The excessive use of force by law enforcement officials against racial and ethnic minorities is an ongoing issue of concern and particularly in light of the shooting of Michael Brown...This is not an isolated event and illustrates a bigger problem in the United States, such as racial bias among law enforcement officials, the lack of proper implementation of rules and regulations governing the use of force, and the inadequacy of training of law enforcement officials. Racial and ethnic discrimination remains a serious and persistent problem in all areas of life from de facto school segregation, access to health care and housing."

So who are these human rights "experts"?

The Committee members judging the United States included "experts" from countries with atrocious records of the rights they were supposed to examine, like Algeria (Vice-Chair), Russia (Vice-Chair), China, Pakistan and Lebanon. For example, according to the latest U.S. State Department country report, "excessive use of force by police" and "impunity for police and security officials" remained "a problem" and one of the major "human rights concerns" in Algeria. In Russia, there was "a pattern of beatings, arrests, and extortion by police when dealing with persons who appeared to be of Caucasus, Central Asian, African, or Romani ethnicity." In China "Security forces committed human rights abuses. Repression and coercion, particularly against ...ethnic minorities... were routine." In Pakistan "societal discrimination against national, ethnic, and racial minorities persisted as did discrimination based on caste." And in Lebanon there was "a widespread pattern of discrimination against individuals who did not appear ethnically Lebanese...Arab, African, and Asian students, professionals, and tourists reported being denied access to bars, clubs, restaurants, and private beaches."