November 15, 2014
Overcoming Racism: Cultivating Transformation
Workshop Time C: Saturday 10:30-12:00
OUTLINE OF MATERIALS
Fantasy or Vision?
The Struggle to Advance a Human Rights Agenda in the United States
I. Introduction/Historical Orientation
II. International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (ICERD) Materials
A. U.S. Civil Society 2014 Delegation Packet
B. Minnesota ICERD Shadow Reports (2014)
C. UN CERD Committee’s 2014 Concluding Observations (August 28, 2014)
III. Convention Against Torture Convention Against Torture and Other Forms
of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
Materials
A. U.S. Civil Society 2014 Delegation Packet
B.
Minnesota 2014 CAT Shadow Reports
C. OTHER 2014 CAT Shadow Reports of Note include . . .
D. UN CERD Committee’s Concluding Observations (November ??, 2014):
. . . anticipated to be issued in advance of the December 10 anniversary of the signing of the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights . . .
IV.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Materials
A. What is the ICCPR?
B. Shadow Reports Filed for the March 2014 Review
C. From Minnesota, one Shadow Report was filed
D. Concluding Observations from the March 2014 Review (April 23, 2014)
November 15, 2014
Overcoming Racism: Cultivating Transformation
Workshop Time C: Saturday 10:30-12:00
Fantasy or Vision?
The Struggle to Advance a Human Rights Agenda in the United States
Judge LaJune Lange (retired) Honorary Consul for South Africa for the State of Minnesota, President, International
Leadership Institute; Professor Rose Brewer, Ph.D., Department of African American & African Studies, University of
Minnesota, Chair, Rhonda Williams Award Committee of the International Association of Feminists; Peter W.
Brown, Attorney Minnesota Tenants Union, Member, US Human Rights Network's Task Force on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination
We need to expand the civil-rights struggle to a higher level —
to the level of human rights. --- Malcom X
In historical connection with efforts to invoke United Nations’ human rights framework
and mechanisms in the struggle for human dignity including petitions to the Unite
Nations by the National Negro Congress (1946), the NAACP (1947); and the Civil
Rights Congress (“We Charge Genocide!” – 1951), and more recent post-civil rights
movement efforts by the US Human Rights Network (2008-present), workshop
participants will

examine the distinction between civil rights and human rights and between the
United States’ civil rights agenda and statutory enforcement mechanisms and a
human rights vision, agenda, and mechanisms for advancement;

identify the historical context in which the conflation of human rights with civil
rights occurred, i.e., how this confusion became the status quo in the United
States, and compare those dynamics to current conditions so as not to repeat or
perpetuate this development;

explore what, if anything, is lost to us if we 1) do not incorporate into our
operations the difference between the civil rights and the human rights
frameworks, 2) limit our claims to civil rights, and 3) rely on the formalized civil
rights protections achieved in the civil rights movement;

identify reasons for the lack of societal awareness and utilization of human
rights standards and tools for advancing the human rights to education,
employment, housing, and health at the state and local levels of government;
learn about some of the human rights tools available, their relevance (current use
and potential application) to advance racial equity/health equity issues at the
Minnesota legislature, Minneapolis and St. Paul city councils, in connection with
concerted community action by and with those directly affected by the lack of
human rights awareness and implementation.
“Now is when vision matters most — a vision or visions that can carry people from the moment
to momentum, within which a movement can mature and grow and win.”
Agree? Disagree? Let’s discuss.
I.
Introduction/Historical Orientation
A. Carol Anderson video: Carol Anderson discusses the difference between Civil Rights and
Human Rights Segment 2 of 4 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pQtwOsHHV8 (2
minutes)
B. Carol Anderson, author of “Eyes Off the Prize” (http://www.amazon.com/Eyes-off-PrizeAmerican-1944-1955/dp/0521824311) and “Obtaining Civil Rights, Not Human Rights”,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VvE1jyFvMs (14 minutes)
C. See also: Salimah Hankins & Balthazar Becker, “A Different Lens: Applying a Human Rights
Framework to Disparities in the United States”, Poverty & Race, Vol. 23, No. 1 •
January/February 2014 at http://www.prrac.org/pdf/JanFeb2014PRRAC_Hankins-Becker.pdf
D. M Adams, Max and Rob Robinson: “Foreword From Ferguson”
http://thehexateron.com/uploads/documents/Forward_from_Ferguson.pdf
Now is when vision matters most — a vision or visions that can carry people from the moment to
momentum, within which a movement can mature and grow and win. That’s why we should be
discussing proposals like Forward from Ferguson, a new report by Max Rameau, M Adams and Rob
Robinson — all veterans of the influential housing-justice group Take Back the Land, now working as the
Center for Pan-African Development. The document, drawing on utterances of Malcolm X, calls for the
U.S. racial justice movement to turn from the framework of civil rights to human rights. This is Malcolm
speaking:
We need to expand the civil-rights struggle to a higher level — to the level of human rights.
Whenever you are in a civil-rights struggle, whether you know it or not, you are confining
yourself to the jurisdiction of Uncle Sam… All of our African brothers and our Asian brothers and
our Latin-American brothers cannot open their mouths and interfere in the domestic affairs of
the United States.
Civil rights keeps you under his restrictions, under his jurisdiction. Civil rights keeps you in his
pocket. Civil rights means you’re asking Uncle Sam to treat you right. Human rights are
something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights…
In addition to a different rhetoric, seeing the problems of racist policing and mass incarceration in light
of human rights means new strategies. For one thing, it means more opportunities for solidarity with
communities facing violations of other human rights all over the world. It also means not treating the
U.S. government as the ultimate arbiter, but also bringing rights violations before international
organizations like the United Nations. The authors suggest a variety of local, national and movementcentered demands for the movement growing out of Ferguson.
II.
International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (ICERD) Materials
A. U.S. Civil Society Delegation Packet Re:
The UN CERD Committee Review of United States’
Compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
August 2014
http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/ushrnetwork.org/files/cerd_civil_society_delegation_guide_2014_final.pdf
B. Minnesota ICERD Shadow Reports (2014)
1) Ad-Hoc Work Group – Minnesota Re: Implementation of Human Rights Treaties “A Human
Rights Perspective on The Land of 10,000 Lakes Disparities” online at http://www.cuapb.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/12/MN-Specific-ICERD-SR-2014-Final.pdf .
2) The Human Rights Advocates: “A Report on the Noncitizen Rights in the United States of
America”, a shadow report online at
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CERD/Shared%20Documents/USA/INT_CERD_NGO_USA_17814_E.pdf .
3) Southside Pride: “US Government’s Failure to Protect People of Color and American Indians
From Racist Practices of Mortgage Bankers in the Minneapolis St. Paul Metropolitan Area, 2008
to 2012 online at
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CERD/Shared%20Documents/USA/INT_CERD_NGO_USA_17571_E.pdf
C. UN CERD Committee’s 2014 Concluding Observations (August 28, 2014):
1)
Full text of the UN review committee’s Concluding Observations is attached. It is also
available online at http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CERD/Shared%20Documents/USA/CERD_C_USA_CO_79_18102_E.pdf. One of the committee’s recommendations was:
The Committee recommends that the State party create a permanent and effective coordinating mechanism, such
as a national human rights institution established in accordance with the principles relating to the status of
national institutions (the Paris Principles, General Assembly resolution 48/134, Annex), to ensure the effective
implementation of the Convention throughout the State party and territories under its effective control; monitor
compliance of domestic laws and policies with the provisions of the Convention; and systematically carry out antidiscrimination training and awareness-raising activities at the federal, state and local levels. Concluding
Observations, Paragraph 6.
Compare with USHRN’s Call for a National Plan of Action for Racial Justice: An action plan is needed for
the full implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial
Discrimination (ICERD). See more at
http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/ushrnetwork.org/files/national_plan_of_action_for_racial_justice_e
ducational_resource_march_21_2013.pdf.
2)
An audio of the news conference held by the UN review committee concurrent with
issuance of its Concluding Observations is available at
http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/httpPressConferences?ReadForm&expand=1.
3)
News Release, including summary of issues raised by Minnesotans that were
addressed in the CERD’s 2014 Concluding Observations. See attached WORD document:
“News Release re CERD Concluding Observations 8-29-2014.”
III.
Convention Against Torture Convention Against Torture and Other
Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
Materials
A. U.S. Civil Society 2014 Delegation Packet Re:
UN CAT Committee Review of United States’ Compliance with the
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(CAT)
November 2014
https://bay173.mail.live.com/mail/ViewOfficePreview.aspx?messageid=mgYixE0Bh5BGUwQAhWtm8wg2&folderid=flinbox&attindex=4&cp=-1&attdepth=4&n=76506067
Table of Contents
Calendar of Events……………………...…………………….……………………………………………..…………….……3-4
Preparing for Geneva ……………………………………………………………………………………………….………....5-7
Maps of Geneva/Directions……………….……...…………………….……………………………………………….….8-13
USHRN Leads Contacts & Listserv info………………………………………………………………………………….14-15
U.S. Civil Society Delegation Contact List…….…………………….……………………………………..............16-19
Working Groups…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..20-23
UN CAT Committee Member Information …………….………………………………………………….………....24
CAT Committee Proposed Programme of Work…………………………………………………………………….25
US Civil Society Consultation Invitation………………………………………………………………..…….…..…….26
USHRN Side Event & Informal Fliers…..…………………….…...…………………………………………..….….…….27-28
Social Media………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….29
US Government Delegation…………………………………………………………………………….……….…….……..30-31
B. Minnesota 2014 CAT Shadow Reports
1)
Ad-Hoc Work Group – Minnesota Re: US Compliance With Human Rights Treaties:
“Shadow Report from Minnesota: A Human Rights Perspective on “Prompt and
Independent” Investigations of Law Enforcement Misconduct Regarding Failures to
Implement the Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment at
http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/ushrnetwork.org/files/11-police-wgmn.pdf.
For the Addendum to this Shadow Report, see attached Word document “AddendumF”).
2)
The Advocates for Human Rights, Violations of Article 3 and 16 Rights of Refugees, Asylum
Seekers and Non-citizens, online at
http://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/uploads/united_states_cat_report_ahr_dwn.pdf.
C. OTHER 2014 CAT Shadow Reports of Note include . . .
1)
We Charge Genocide 2014 Report downloadable at http://report.wechargegenocide.org/.
We Charge Genocide is a grassroots, inter-generational, volunteer effort to center the voices and
experiences of young people disproportionately targeted by police and impacted by police
violence, in Chicago. We offer a vehicle for necessary organizing to resist police violence in
Chicago, aimed at social transformation. The name, We Charge Genocide, comes from a petition
filed to the United Nations in 1951 that documented 153 racial killings and other human rights
abuses across the United States, mostly by the local police. Today, police violence in Chicago
continues to violate human rights principles—seen in the daily harassment, abuse, and targeting
of youth of color by Chicago police.
Following the legacy of our name, We Charge Genocide has submitted a report to the United
Nations Committee Against Torture, "Police Violence Against Chicago’s Youth of Color." The
report reveals the disturbing and intolerable truth that police officers regularly engage in torture.
Specifically, the Chicago Police Department is in violation of Articles 2, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 of
the Convention of Torture, through the cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of youth of
color in Chicago.
To many an American the police are the government, certainly its most visible representative.
Our report will be presented to the Committee as part of their upcoming 53rd session, during
which the United States will be under review. Our delegation will urge the Committee to
recognize the Chicago Police Department’s treatment of young people of color as torture;
suggest federal intervention; and demand a response from the Chicago Police Department
regarding how its plans to end this treatment and compensate the communities impacted by
police violence. We also aim to draw international attention to our organizing efforts, to further
energize and support our various, local, ongoing efforts to enact police accountability.
[Note: “We Charge Genocide” has a delegation of seven at the Geneva review. Total members of the
grassroots presence in Geneva this year are 70, up from 13 in 2006.]
2)
INVISIBLE BETRAYAL: POLICE VIOLENCE AND THE RAPES OF BLACK WOMEN IN THE
UNITED STATES, submitted by Black Women’s Blueprint, Women’s All Points Bulletin (WAPB),
and Yolande Tomlinson, Ph.D., online at
http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/ushrnetwork.org/files/36-police-wapb.pdf.
3)
Statement on the Police Shooting of Michael Brown and Ensuing Police Violence
Against Protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, filed by the Family of Michael Brown, HandsUpUnited,
Organization for Black Struggle (OBS), & Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment
(MORE). Online at http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/ushrnetwork.org/files/17-policebrown_family.pdf.
Note that the parents of Michael Brown and the family attorney are part of the grass roots presence in
Geneva for the review of US compliance with the CAT. See Minneapolis Star Tribune November 4, 2014
article at http://www.startribune.com/nation/281406101.html.
D. UN CERD Committee’s Concluding Observations (November ??, 2014):
. . . anticipated to be issued in advance of the December 10 anniversary of the signing of the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights . . .
IV.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Materials
A. What is the ICCPR?
The ICCPR is a human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16,
1966, and put into force on March 23, 1976. This important treaty outlines some broad and fundamental
civil and political rights that we should all enjoy, including the rights to self-determination, to life, to
found a family, to participate in the electoral process, and to due process and a fair trial. It also provides
freedoms from torture, slavery, genocide, and freedoms of movement, speech, expression, conscience,
and religion. In addition to many more rights and freedoms, it provides for equal protection and
enjoyment of these rights by women, men, children, and minorities. The United States signed the
Covenant on October 5, 1977, and ratified it on June 8, 1992. Based on the Supremacy Clause of the U.S.
Constitution, the ICCPR has the status of federal law, and the United States is, therefore, obligated to
adhere to this treaty.
See more at: http://www.ushrnetwork.org/our-work/project/iccpr-international-covenant-civil-politicalrights#sthash.mxe5POWJ.dpuf.
B. Shadow Reports Filed for the March 2014 Review
For a summary of and individual copies of 30 Shadow Reports filed by the US Human Rights Network
(USHRN) on behalf of its members and partners, see http://www.ushrnetwork.org/resourcesmedia/iccpr-newsletter-no-5-updates-executive-summary-shadow-reports and
http://www.ushrnetwork.org/iccpr-newsletter-4#overlay-context=resources-media/iccpr-newsletterno-5-updates-executive-summary-shadow-reports .
1) From Minnesota, one Shadow Report was filed: Violations of the Rights of Refugees,
Asylum Seekers and Other Non-citizens: The Advocates for Human Rights’ “Violations of the
Rights of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Other Non-citizens” at
http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/ushrnetwork.org/files/20_page_271292_rights_of_noncitizens_adv_for_hr.pdf.
C. UN Review: The U.S. Government was reviewed on March 13-14, 2014 in Geneva, on its
compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, or the
Covenant). Social justice groups and activists had an opportunity to be a part of this review
process. The USHRN delegation was in Geneva and conducted many activities over the course of
the week to make sure UN and USG officials learned the human rights realities of communities
across the country. - See more at: http://www.ushrnetwork.org/our-work/project/iccprinternational-covenant-civil-political-rights#sthash.mxe5POWJ.dpuf
D. Concluding Observations from the March 2014 Review (April 23, 2014)
Issues addressed by the UN committee reviewing US compliance with the ICCPR included: 1)
applicability of the Covenant at national level; 2) accountability for past human rights violations; 3)
Racial disparities in the criminal justice system; 4) racial profiling; 5) death penalty; 6) Targeted killings
using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones); 7) gun violence; 8) excessive use of force by law enforcement
officials; 9) Legislation prohibiting torture; 10) non-refoulement; 11) trafficking and forced labor; 12)
immigrants; 13) domestic violence; 14) corporal punishment; 15) non-consensual psychiatric treatment;
and criminalization of homelessness.
Full text of the UN review committee’s 4/23/14 Concluding Observations on ICCPR issues is available
online at http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/ushrnetwork.org/files/iccpr_concluding_obs_2014.pdf.
Some Other Even More Submerged Human Rights Treaties (signed but not ratified):

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cescr.aspx
Status: signed October 5, 1977; not ratified.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/cedaw.pdf
Status: signed July 17, 1980; not ratified.

Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://www.ohchr.org/documents/professionalinterest/crc.pdf
Status: signed February 16, 1995; not ratified.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/ConventionRightsPersonsWithDisabilities.aspx
Status: signed July 30, 2009; not ratified.