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CHILDREN'S RIGHTS PROGRAM The Status of Compliance by the US government with the International These are the summaries of the chapters that Minnesota Advocates authored or contributed to. For additional information on this topic go to www.woatusa.org, where the executive summary of the NGO shadow report is available. The Impact of Discrimination in Health Care, Housing, Education and Prepared by Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights The most fundamental of all human rights is the right to survive. For infants of color in the United States this fundamental human right is consistently violated. African-American and American Indian communities have the highest infant mortality rates. While white infants continually have the lowest infant mortality rates. Racial disparities in infant mortality rates have been documented from the 1940s through the late 1990s. During this time, these racial disparities have worsened. In the late 1990s, African American infants died at more than two times the rate of white infants. American Indian infants die at 1.6 times the rate of white infants. The disproportionate death rates of minority infants is the result of discrimination by the federal government in the provision of a wide range of services which leads to extreme poverty and inequitable access to economic and social resources. What this means in concrete terms is that minority infants in the United States are dying at a disproportionately high rate as a result of racial discrimination in medical care, housing, education and employment. Racial disparities in infant mortality rates reflect the discrimination that exists in the overall health status of people of color in the United States. The World Health Organization defines health broadly as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. This broad definition recognizes that health is dependent on a range of social and economic factors in addition to the provision of medical or health care. Economic, social and cultural rights create the pre-conditions necessary to maintain and achieve a state of health as comprehensively defined. Thus, reductions in racial disparities in infant mortality rates require changes in the larger societal institutions and structures that determine exposure to conditions that compromise good health. For additional information on this topic go to www.woatusa.org, where the executive summary of the NGO shadow report is available. The Elimination of Affirmative Action As a Method for Overcoming the Consequences of Past Discrimination With contributions from Minnesota Advocates Equality of opportunity is a fundamental principle of International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (The Race Convention), and The Race Convention recognizes that equality cannot be achieved merely by preventing future discrimination. True equality requires that special efforts be made to overcome the highly negative and ingrained consequences of past inequalities that have been imposed for long periods of time on people and communities of color. Governments are required to take special and concrete measures to ensure the adequate development and protection of certain racial groups&for the purpose of guaranteeing them the full equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms The Race Convention indicates that these special affirmative action measures, taken to overcome the consequences of long-standing past discrimination, shall not be deemed discriminatory so long as they are not continued after the objectives for which they are taken to have been abolished (Article 1 (4)). Despite this mandate to take affirmative action to eliminate discrimination, the United States has been taking the reverse course, reducing or ending previous commitments to end the effects of racism in education, employment and other areas where the negative impact of long standing bias have been most apparent. The recent rollback of affirmative action efforts in the area of higher education provides an instructive case in point. For additional information on this topic go to www.woatusa.org, where the executive summary of the NGO shadow report is available.
HomelessnessWith Contributions from Minnesota Advocates The majority and disproportionate number of those subjected to homelessness are people of color. A 1999 U.S. conference of mayors reported that 50% of the homeless population is African American, 13% is Latino, 4% is Native American, and 2% is Asian. Meaning that a total of 69% of homeless people are people of color. It is noteworthy that the governments compliance report on the Race Convention, gives attention to economic, social and cultural rights issues, it did not focus on homelessness as a special issue of importance to people of color. The government report did however, deal with housing discrimination concerns. For additional information on this topic go to www.woatusa.org, where the executive summary of the NGO shadow report is available. Children's Program Volunteer Opportunities Children's Program Publications |