NAACP Commends Concluding Observations from UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Issues of voting rights, felony disenfranchisement, racial disparities in incarceration, racial profiling among other NAACP Game Changers addressed by the UN CERD Committee’s Report

BALTIMORE, MD – The NAACP applauds the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’s (CERD) concluding observations. The report raises issues of voting rights, felony disenfranchisement, stand your ground laws, and education disparities among other crucial civil and human rights challenges. It also provides sound recommendations for addressing them. Read full report here. The NAACP has a long history of advocacy with the United Nations. In previous years, the NAACP has been involved with the United Nations from the years of founding member WEB Dubois’ involvement with its inception, to more recently taken multiple delegations to the Human Rights Council and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Most recently, the NAACP took a 3-person delegation to the 85th Session of the United Nations U.S. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) Review.

From Cornell William Brooks, President and CEO:
“We applaud the recommendations put forth by CERD. These concluding observations provide concrete steps to address continued racial discrimination and disparities across a number of areas. At the NAACP, where some of our priorities include racial profiling, criminal justice, the death penalty, excessive use of force by law enforcement and its disparate racial impacts on communities of color, we look forward to working with both the UN and the US government to implement these recommendations and achieve full racial equality.”

From Leon Russell, Vice Chairman, NAACP Board of Directors:
“The CERD’s recommendations are a positive step in the right direction. In particular, we are encouraged by the CERD committee’s recommendations on voting rights: federal legislation to prevent discriminatory laws following the U.S. Supreme Courts’ Shelby vs. Holder decision, call on states to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions who have served their time, and calls for full voting rights for DC residents.   These recommendations reinforce the policy principles of the UN and the NAACP, and must be enforced to eliminate racial discrimination and advance racial equity.”

From Hilary O. Shelton, Sr. Vice President for Policy and Advocacy; Washington Bureau Director:
“We are gratified and pleased that the UN CERD Committee has released these very important concluding observations that address the issues of voting rights, felony disenfranchisement, racial disparities in incarceration, racial profiling and other critical civil and human rights issues. These recommendations give us leverage in the United States to more assuredly address these issues of racial discrimination at home. The racial and ethnic disparities which permeate our criminal justice system, our education systems, our economic system, our environment and our access to the ballot box is of crucial importance and must be eradicated. We will continue to work with the UN and the US Government through the Congress, the Administration and the Courts to address these crucial challenges.”

From Jotaka Eaddy, NAACP Sr. Director for Voting Rights and Sr. Advisor to the President and CEO:
“The concluding observations set forth today by the UN CERD committee represent important steps our democracy must take to fulfill its promise of justice and equality for all.  Furthermore, the concluding observations provide concrete steps aimed at ending the continued racial discrimination we see pervading ballot boxes, classrooms and the American criminal justice systems. The UN CERD Committee’s recommendations on voting rights call for federal legislation to prevent discriminatory laws following the Shelby vs. Holder decision, calls on states to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions , and calls for full voting rights for DC residents. We at the NAACP believe that these concluding observations are a strong and encouraging step in the right direction, and we look forward to working with both the United Nations and the US Government to implement these recommendations.”

Read the NAACP shadow reports to the United Nations Committee here:
http://action.naacp.org/page/-/washington%20bureau/NAACP%20CERD%20Shadow%20Report.FINAL.doc
http://action.naacp.org/page/-/washington%20bureau/CERD%20LCCHR%20comprehensive%20shadow%20report.docx