THE UN CERD COMMITTEE WILL REVIEW COMPLIANCE BY THE UNITED STATES

UPDATE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES:  THE UN COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (CERD) WILL REVIEW COMPLIANCE BY THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 11-12, 2022

 

National Day of Action and Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women,

May 5, 2022, City Hall, San Francisco California. Photo by Chris Tuite

 

June 10, 2022, Tucson Arizona:   On June 7, 2022, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) published a list of themes for its upcoming review of the United States of America (U.S.). The review will take place August 11-12, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland during the CERD’s 107th Session. An informal meeting with CERD members, Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society representatives will take place on August 9, 2022, also known as the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples.

 

As a State Party which has ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) the U.S. is obligated to submit periodic reports on its implementation of the Convention, including measures taken to eliminate racial discrimination in its policies and practices. In its past reviews of the U.S., the CERD expressed concerns and provided recommendations addressing environmental, economic, political, religious and social discrimination, disparities in access to justice, health care and education and shortfalls in implementing international standards including Nation to Nation Treaties and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

The U.S. was scheduled to submit its last periodic report in November 2019 but did not do so until June 2, 2021.

 

On May 16, 2022, the IITC submitted a list of recommended themes for the CERD to consider in its review of the U.S. report addressing a range of critical issues regarding racial discrimination due to government policies and practices impacting Indigenous Peoples in and outside the United States. These included: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, 2-Spirit, and Relatives; past and ongoing impacts of Boarding Schools including still-missing Indigenous children; environmental racism due to mining and other extractive industries carried out by corporations without Free Prior and Informed Consent as well as other sources of toxic contamination impacting Indigenous Peoples lands, waters and food systems in and outside the U.S.; destruction and threats to sacred sites and landscapes; U.S. border and immigration policies; Failure to implement and uphold the  Nation to Nations Treaties it concluded with Indigenous Nations; and racial discrimination resulting from colonization, including in current U.S. Insular Territories.

 

The CERD’s list of themes regarding Indigenous Peoples include: Free, Prior and Informed Consent; Protections of Indigenous Lands, Territories, Sacred Sites from Extractive Industry and Other Large-Scale Projects; Right to Peacefully Assemble, Excessive Use of Force by Law Enforcement and Private Security, Indigenous Women; and Corporate Accountability of Transnational Corporations and Their Activities Abroad.

 

Alternative or “Shadow” reports from Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society groups responding to the United States report and the CERD’s list of themes are due by July 15, 2022.


Reports can be submitted by individual Indigenous organizations, Tribal Nations, coalitions, or networks, or jointly in conjunction with others. Reports should be no longer than 20 pages. Attachments may be included in addition to the text of the report. Reports are requested to follow the same format as the U.S. report and must contain an executive summary that briefly summarizes the issues, key questions and recommendations contained in the full report. Failures or shortfalls by the U.S. to implement the CERD’s past recommendations can also be addressed in the reports. Reports should be submitted via email to: [email protected].

 

Prior to the last U.S. periodic review by the CERD in 2014, the IITC created a handbook for Indigenous Peoples with helpful information about making submissions to the CERD. There will also be an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to make brief statements based on their written submissions at the beginning of the U.S. review to highlight priority questions and recommendations for the consideration of the CERD. As in the past two CERD reviews of the U.S., IITC will assist the CERD Secretariat by coordinating the list of Indigenous Peoples presenters for the hour set aside specifically for Indigenous Peoples. IITC is currently determining with the CERD if both on-line and in-person presentations will be accommodated.

 

For further information, questions, or to be added to the list of Indigenous Peoples presenters, please contact Summer Blaze Aubrey, IITC Staff Attorney for Human Rights, at 509-823-6951 or via email: [email protected]. Please also log on to the CERD’s web page for more information on the work of this body and upcoming sessions.

THE UN CERD COMMITTEE WILL REVIEW COMPLIANCE BY THE UNITED STATES

UPDATE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES:  THE UN COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (CERD) WILL REVIEW COMPLIANCE BY THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 11-12, 2022

 

National Day of Action and Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women,

May 5, 2022, City Hall, San Francisco California. Photo by Chris Tuite

 

June 10, 2022, Tucson Arizona:   On June 7, 2022, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) published a list of themes for its upcoming review of the United States of America (U.S.). The review will take place August 11-12, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland during the CERD’s 107th Session. An informal meeting with CERD members, Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society representatives will take place on August 9, 2022, also known as the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples.

 

As a State Party which has ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) the U.S. is obligated to submit periodic reports on its implementation of the Convention, including measures taken to eliminate racial discrimination in its policies and practices. In its past reviews of the U.S., the CERD expressed concerns and provided recommendations addressing environmental, economic, political, religious and social discrimination, disparities in access to justice, health care and education and shortfalls in implementing international standards including Nation to Nation Treaties and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

The U.S. was scheduled to submit its last periodic report in November 2019 but did not do so until June 2, 2021.

 

On May 16, 2022, the IITC submitted a list of recommended themes for the CERD to consider in its review of the U.S. report addressing a range of critical issues regarding racial discrimination due to government policies and practices impacting Indigenous Peoples in and outside the United States. These included: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, 2-Spirit, and Relatives; past and ongoing impacts of Boarding Schools including still-missing Indigenous children; environmental racism due to mining and other extractive industries carried out by corporations without Free Prior and Informed Consent as well as other sources of toxic contamination impacting Indigenous Peoples lands, waters and food systems in and outside the U.S.; destruction and threats to sacred sites and landscapes; U.S. border and immigration policies; Failure to implement and uphold the  Nation to Nations Treaties it concluded with Indigenous Nations; and racial discrimination resulting from colonization, including in current U.S. Insular Territories.

 

The CERD’s list of themes regarding Indigenous Peoples include: Free, Prior and Informed Consent; Protections of Indigenous Lands, Territories, Sacred Sites from Extractive Industry and Other Large-Scale Projects; Right to Peacefully Assemble, Excessive Use of Force by Law Enforcement and Private Security, Indigenous Women; and Corporate Accountability of Transnational Corporations and Their Activities Abroad.

 

Alternative or “Shadow” reports from Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society groups responding to the United States report and the CERD’s list of themes are due by July 15, 2022.


Reports can be submitted by individual Indigenous organizations, Tribal Nations, coalitions, or networks, or jointly in conjunction with others. Reports should be no longer than 20 pages. Attachments may be included in addition to the text of the report. Reports are requested to follow the same format as the U.S. report and must contain an executive summary that briefly summarizes the issues, key questions and recommendations contained in the full report. Failures or shortfalls by the U.S. to implement the CERD’s past recommendations can also be addressed in the reports. Reports should be submitted via email to: [email protected].

 

Prior to the last U.S. periodic review by the CERD in 2014, the IITC created a handbook for Indigenous Peoples with helpful information about making submissions to the CERD. There will also be an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to make brief statements based on their written submissions at the beginning of the U.S. review to highlight priority questions and recommendations for the consideration of the CERD. As in the past two CERD reviews of the U.S., IITC will assist the CERD Secretariat by coordinating the list of Indigenous Peoples presenters for the hour set aside specifically for Indigenous Peoples. IITC is currently determining with the CERD if both on-line and in-person presentations will be accommodated.

 

For further information, questions, or to be added to the list of Indigenous Peoples presenters, please contact Summer Blaze Aubrey, IITC Staff Attorney for Human Rights, at 509-823-6951 or via email: [email protected]. Please also log on to the CERD’s web page for more information on the work of this body and upcoming sessions.

If you have any questions, please let us know.