Dismantle Structural Racism in the US: Daily Brief

In a new report released today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch are calling on the UN to help push the US to take immediate, tangible measures to dismantle structural racism. The call comes ahead of a formal review later this week by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of US compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which the country ratified in 1994. “Decades after the US committed to end racial discrimination, systemic racism continues to infect our institutions,” said Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s Human Rights Program. “The Biden administration has shown it can name the problem, but the time has come to take bolder action to radically transform these abusive systems and fully implement US human rights obligations.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken should publicly promote free and fair elections, respect for human rights, and anti-corruption efforts during his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo this week, 17 US and Congolese organizations and experts said today. Blinken’s visit comes as the abusive M23 armed group has expanded its control in eastern Congo, attacking villages and summarily killing civilians. The UN Group of Experts on Congo recently confirmed renewed support for the M23 from the Rwandan military. (And yes, we’re asking Blinken to address similar issues when he visits Rwanda, too.)

The head of Burundi’s ruling political party gave an appalling speech at a public event commemorating Lt. Gen. Adolphe Nshimirimina, who, before he was killed seven years ago, oversaw human rights violations including the killing, torture, and arbitrary arrest of suspected political opponents. The speech by Révérien Ndikuriyo was a slap in the face for Nshimirimana’s victims. Then, Ndikuriyo launched a shocking attack on international human rights organizations documenting abuses in Burundi today, including by members of the ruling party’s notorious youth league.

The Japanese government should press Cambodian authorities to stop using Japan-funded public buses to forcibly remove striking workers from picket lines in Phnom Penh. The Cambodian government’s actions against workers have violated their basic rights to strike and to freedom of association and expression. Since the NagaWorld Casino laid off 1,329 workers in April 2021, former employees have been protesting outside the casino in central Phnom Penh and went on strike in December. Local authorities have arrested dozens of striking union activists and forcibly removed them from the strike site in Japan-funded public buses, transporting them to the outskirts of the capital city or to Covid-19 quarantine sites.

Sri Lanka’s economic turmoil has become a full-blown political crisis and humanitarian emergency. The government defaulted on its debt in May, for the first time in its history, after years of economic mismanagement that has enriched a small number of elites and emptied the public coffers. Since then, protesters have driven President Gotabaya Rajapaksafrom power, demanding an end to the corruption and misgovernance that has left millions of people facing acute shortages of food, fuel, and medicine. As the new government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe negotiates a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the conditions the IMF places on this loan could either exacerbate the political and economic hardship or provide desperately needed relief while addressing underlying causes.

This morning, Europe time, renowned artist Ai Weiwei and HRW’s executive director Ken Roth discussed art and activism in the context of the global human rights movement in a Twitter Space. It’s part of the “Exit Interviews” series with Ken, as he prepares to leave the organization after three decades at its helm.