United Nations committee on race: CERD

An unprecedented number of NGOs descended in Geneva, Switzerland for the UK's 18th, 19th and 20th periodic report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination.

Many NGOs lobbied UN Committee members to put pressure on the Government to effectively deal with long standing issues of race discrimination such as disproportionate levels of ‘Stop and Search’, the underachievement of Black boys and Pakistanis at school and the continued high levels of unemployment which many BME communities, particularly Bangladeshi, Pakistani, African and Caribbean communities still face. Along with demanding that the Government deal with the persistent inequalities, new and urgent areas were raised by NGOs to the Committee, including the recent sharp rise of Black men dying in police custody.

It was argued that this area demands urgent attention, not least because the peaceful protest following the death of Mark Duggan in Tottenham was the spark that began the civil disturbances throughout the UK. The imminent eviction of the Irish travellers on Dale Farm, Essex, was also an issue that demanded urgent attention.

The UN’s Rapporteur opening statement to members of the Committee left no doubt that the Government still has much to do to bridge the race inequality gap: "...as the racial undertones of the recent riots and vandalism in the UK have shown, race and ethnicity, entangled with structural economic disadvantage, remain an inflammable part of the Witch’s Cauldron of social and economic discontent."

He went on to question the Government's commitment to effectively tackle race inequality whilst undertaking budgetary cuts without comprehensive "impact assessments to identify areas where such cut will have the most adverse effect on racial equality outcomes".

The UN will finalise its report to the Government in the next few weeks.

I was at the UN on behalf of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, presenting our submission. I’m writing this piece however on behalf of OBV

Simon Woolley

Picture: UN logo