Thank you, Madam Chair.
The United States welcomes the concluding recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), following presentation of the U.S. report in Geneva on August 11th and 12th and submission of additional written information.
The U.S. delegation is led by Ambassador Michèle Taylor and Special Representative Desirée Cormier Smith and comprised of more than 30 delegates from 10 federal departments and agencies, as well as the mayor of Atlanta and the California Attorney General’s Office. The delegation responded to extensive questions about racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States, including on the situation of Indigenous peoples; access to education; racial profiling; excessive use of force; hate speech and hate crimes; criminal justice and access to justice; access to health care; disproportionate impacts of environmental pollution and hazardous waste on minority and Indigenous communities; and the rights of non-citizens and stateless persons. The U.S. presentation demonstrated our ongoing commitment to tackling racial equity and justice issues at home and abroad, and to upholding our treaty obligations under the Convention.
We recognize the diversity, vibrancy, and robust engagement of civil society. We are deeply grateful for their impactful work on issues related to racial equity, justice, accessibility, and inclusivity. Prior to arriving in Geneva, we hosted four in-depth consultations with civil society in preparation for the presentation to the Committee. Over 150 civil society representatives participated in a fifth hybrid consultation at the U.S. Mission in Geneva one day before the presentation. Many had traveled from the United States to Geneva to advocate on behalf of their communities. They shared powerful and personal testimonies about the systemic and ongoing impact of racial discrimination on their communities and emphasized the urgency of tangible progress.
We are committed to ongoing dialogue and partnership with civil society to address the cross-cutting and intersectional issues highlighted in the U.S. report. We are making progress at the federal, state, and local levels to comprehensively address racism, racial discrimination, and inequity in the United States, but there is still more promising work to do.
We must confront our challenges and actively do the hard work necessary to continue making concrete progress to achieve racial justice and equality.
Thank you.
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