US says progress made on fighting racism

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2001

Amid threats that the United States may back out of an upcoming conference on racism, government officials on Monday told an international panel that progress has been made on fighting discrimination against minorities in America.

There is "good news" for which the United States can take credit, said Ralph Boyd, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice. The days of slavery are long gone and the government has taken numerous steps over the past few decades to reduce discrimination, he said.

But as he finished presenting the United States' first report on racial discrimination to a United Nations panel in Geneva, Switzerland, Boyd sidestepped questions about the treatment of indigenous peoples. He was pushed on Alaska Native issues and treaty rights as critics blasted the United States for failing to live up to its obligations to Native Americans.

"Of course our nation can do better," acknowledged Boyd. "The fight to eradicate racism requires continued and constant vigilance."

To counter Boyd and the 104-page document he presented, a number of human rights leaders made their views known to the 18-member UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Among them was Carrie Dann, an elderly Western Shoshone woman who has been locked in a two-decade battle over grazing rights in Nevada.

In addition to protesting 23.6 million acres of land ceded by the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, Dann called on the US to end mining and nuclear activities on traditional Shoshone lands throughout the West. Shoshone leaders are opposing a plan which would bring highly radioactive nuclear waste to a site called Yucca Mountain in Nevada, an issue which has quickly become controversial as the Bush administration seeks to produce more nuclear power.

To assess claims of Dann and others, the UN panel will be reviewing the United States' compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Clinton administration signed the agreement in 1994, which requires the government to provide a report on discrimination.

The State Department authored the report, with the aid of other federal agencies. A draft was completed by the Clinton administration in September of last year and presented over two days by Boyd and Michael E. Parmly, the State Department's director of human rights.

Among the gains the draft cites are federal laws designed to uphold tribal self-determination. Executive orders on religious freedom, Indian education, the government-to-government relationship and tribal consultation are also given as examples of progress in the treatment of Alaska Natives and American Indians.

While the draft points out the destructive nature of allotment, it does not mention termination of more than 100 tribes during the 1950s and 1960s.

The UN panel will issue an opinion on the report within several weeks.

The United States is still considering whether to send State Department representatives to the UN World Conference on Racism. The Bush administration said it will not attend if slavery reparations and Zionism as racism are discussed.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that progress had been made on the agenda for the conference, which takes place at the end of the month in South Africa.

Get the Draft Report:
INITIAL REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (State Dept September 2000)

Relevant Links:
Human Rights Issues, State Department - http://www.state.gov/g/drl/hr
World Conference Against Racism, UN - http://www.un.org/WCAR