Whereas the 109th Congress passed H. Con. Res. 60 and S.
Con. Res. 90, recognizing African descendants in Latin America and the
Caribbean, raising awareness of the racism and discrimination faced by those
communities, and leading to numerous public and private sector initiatives
between the United States and Latin American and Caribbean countries to improve
the situation of African descendants;
Whereas the persistence of racism and discrimination in
Europe similarly necessitates congressional action to raise awareness and
promote public and private sector initiatives to stem this trend;
Whereas the terms Afro-European,
African European, or Black European refer to people
of African ancestry or descent born in, citizens of, or living in
Europe;
Whereas more than an estimated 7,000,000 individuals of
African descent currently live in and have long had a presence in Europe,
forming an influential part of the African diaspora;
Whereas this year the United Nations designated 2011 as
the International Year for People of African Descent whereby Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton remarked, In the 21st century, diversity,
openness, and tolerance, are vital national assets
;
Whereas the recognition of this year seeks to strengthen
national actions to ensure that people of African descent enjoy economic,
cultural, social, civil, and political rights, as well as promote a greater
knowledge of and respect for their diverse heritage and culture;
Whereas the story of Black Europeans remains untold,
rendering many of their past and present contributions to the political and
social life of Europe invisible or forgotten;
Whereas unlike more contemporary figures, largely unknown
Blacks have made significant contributions to European history and culture,
including Spanish poet Juan Latino, Italian Duke Alessandro Medici, French
novelist Alexandre Dumas, German scholar Anthony William Amo, French Composer
Le Chevalier de St. George, British abolitionist Oladuah Equiano, and Russian
General and Governor Abram Hannibal, great-grandfather of Russian poet
Aleksandr Pushkin;
Whereas the largest estimated populations of Black
Europeans can be found in France (approximately 2,500,000), the United Kingdom
(approximately 1,500,000), and the Netherlands (approximately 500,000), in
addition to sizeable populations in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Norway,
Ireland, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and Austria;
Whereas the presence of Blacks in Europe can be traced to
voluntary and forced migration resulting from the geographical proximity of
Europe to Africa and the Middle East, including the transatlantic slave trade,
the colonization of Africa and the Caribbean, African and African-American
military deployments, the movement of refugees and asylum seekers, and
educational and other professional exchanges;
Whereas, although Black Europeans have made significant
achievements in and contributions to European society, large numbers have and
continue to be more likely than the general population to experience
discrimination and be underrepresented in leadership roles in the public and
private sector as a result of the color of their skin and ancestry;
Whereas, on April 29, 2008, before the Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe, at a hearing entitled The State of
(In)visible Black Europe: Race, Rights, and Politics
, Dr. Philomena
Essed stated, Probably the only common European experience among many,
if not all, Afro-descendants is their exposure to […] racism and systemic
discrimination, regardless of country, socio-economic conditions, gender, age,
or level of education
;
Whereas racism has long been, and continues to be, a
problem in Europe;
Whereas the 1997 European Commission opinion poll entitled
Racism and Xenophobia in Europe
reported a worrying level
of racism and xenophobia in [European Union] Member States, with nearly 33% of
those interviewed openly describing themselves as quite racist
or very racist
;
Whereas the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency
(EUFRA), formerly the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, has
found in its annual report that racial and ethnic minorities are
disproportionately experiencing discrimination in housing, education, health
care, employment, the criminal justice system, and access to political
participation;
Whereas the 2009 European Union Minorities and
Discrimination Survey (EU–MIDIS), the first European Union-wide survey of
ethnic minority and immigrant groups' experiences of discrimination and
victimization in everyday life in the 27 member states of the European Union
found that persons of African descent experienced higher incidents than most
other minority groups of discriminatory treatment, racist crime, and
victimization, and lacked an awareness of their rights;
Whereas the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Annual Hate
Crimes report has found that persons of African descent are often targets of
racist violence, especially in eastern Europe, yet in many countries legal
assistance and financial support for victims while recovering from violent
attacks does not exist;
Whereas EU–MIDIS reports experiences of discrimination,
criminal victimization, and discriminatory policing are grossly underreported
due to a lack of rights awareness and incidents may be higher;
Whereas prejudice and discrimination towards Black
Europeans has also been linked to changes in immigration and asylum laws as a
result of antiterrorism initiatives and the growth and mainstreaming of
nationalist and anti-immigrant political parties and groups, including
neo-Nazis and skinheads, who believe Europe should be a monoracial society or
that other races are inferior;
Whereas the Open Society Justice Initiative 2009 report,
entitled Ethnic Profiling in the European Union
, found that
police officers in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and the
Netherlands routinely used racial profiling, including targeting Blacks, when
deciding whom to target for stops, searches, raids, and surveillance;
Whereas Black Europeans encounter everyday racism,
including denials that racism exists despite the blatant use of stereotypes and
derogatory terms to refer to Blacks in everyday language, the media, and
textbooks;
Whereas there have been numerous efforts by the public and
private sector to address racial discrimination and inequality in Europe,
including the introduction of antidiscrimination and equality laws that include
the legal support for special measures or positive (affirmative) action,
creation of equality bodies, media campaigns, and efforts to increase minority
political participation;
Whereas these efforts also include the September 9, 2008,
official launching of the Black European Women's Council at the European Union
headquarters and the September 27, 2007, to September 29, 2007, Vienna
Declaration of the Black European Women's Congress, which calls for Members of
the European Union to enforce and implement laws to eradicate all forms of
discrimination, provide anti-racist education and training for personnel
working in educational institutions and the civil service, increase political
representation, participation, and employment opportunities for Blacks, and
address racial health disparities, including by providing cultural competency
training to health professionals;
Whereas these efforts also include transatlantic meetings
of Black and minority legislators held at the European Parliament in Brussels,
Belgium, including the March 24, 2011, and June 1, 2010, through June 2, 2010,
Transatlantic Minority Political Leadership Conferences and April 15, 2009,
through April 16, 2009, Black European Summit: Transatlantic Dialogue on
Political Participation
and the adoption of the Brussels Declaration
calling for increased minority political inclusion;
Whereas, as part of the March 24, 2011, Transatlantic
Minority Political Leadership Conference legislators and minority leaders from
North America and Europe held a Parliamentary Forum at the European Parliament
in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss a Joint Action Plan on Racial and
Ethnic Equality and Inclusion
between the European Union and United
States;
Whereas these efforts also include the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly (PA) adoption of a Resolution on Strengthening Efforts to
Combat Racism and Xenophobia and Foster Inclusion
at the 2011 Annual
Session recognizing the international year for people of African descent and
calling for the OSCE to implement several strategic initiatives to address
racial and ethnic discrimination in the OSCE region;
Whereas these efforts also include the creation of the
European Network Against Racism (ENAR) Foundation, the first antiracist
foundation in Europe;
Whereas these efforts also include the August 18, 2011, to
August 21, 2011, World Summit of African Descendents which will include a focus
on Europe;
Whereas despite these efforts, international entities,
such as the OSCE Personal Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and
Discrimination, EUFRA, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance,
and the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Independent Expert on
minority issues, and Experts Working Group on People of African Descent, have
documented ongoing racism and xenophobia, and racial and ethnic discrimination,
and called for an increase in initiatives to combat racism and inequality;
and
Whereas throughout the history of the United States,
members of both the public and private sectors have exchanged information on
best practices for antidiscrimination measures and racial equality with
committed parties in other countries, including initiatives such as the 2008
Joint Action Plan Between the Government of the Federative Republic of
Brazil and the Government of the United States of America to Eliminate Racial
and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equality
, also known as the
United States-Brazil Joint Action Plan Against Racial Discrimination and the
more recent United States-Columbia Action Plan on Racial and Ethnic Equality:
Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)supports the goals and ideals of the
International Year for People of African Descent;
(2)encourages the
recognition and celebration of the collective history and achievements made by
people of African descent;
(3)reaffirms the
importance of inclusion and the full and equal participation of people of
African descent around the world in all aspects of political, economic, social,
and cultural life;
(4)recognizes that,
as a result of their skin color and ancestry, many Black Europeans have
wrongfully experienced injustices in the public and private sector;
(5)welcomes
parliamentary activities, including those of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, to engage in efforts to
promote racial equality and combat racial discrimination through efforts such
as introducing legislation, speaking out against racism, increasing the
political participation of racial minorities, and working with Black European
and other minority communities to develop relevant policies;
(6)urges European
governments and members of civil society and the private sector, in
consultation with Black European communities, to develop and implement
initiatives to combat racial discrimination and promote racial equality in
Europe, by—
(A)drafting and
implementing antidiscrimination, special measures, hate crimes, migration and
integration, and other laws and policies to address discrimination and
disparities and promote equality, noting the recommendations of the United
Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Experts
Working Group on People of African Descent (WGPAD), the European Commission
against Racism and Intolerance, the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency
(EUFRA), the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism
and Independent Expert on minority issues, and the OSCE Personal Representative
on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination;
(B)promoting and
funding research, including the collection of national census data on Black
Europeans and its inclusion in the annual reports of the EUFRA;
(C)providing
technical support, training, and funding to Black European civil society groups
working to combat racism, discrimination, and inequality, and uphold basic
human rights in Europe;
(D)introducing
national measures to counter stereotypical images of persons of African
descent, by revising textbooks, increasing efforts to include Black Europeans
in history and heritage institutions, and remembering victims of colonialism,
slavery, and other atrocities;
(E)developing or
increasing financial support for funds to assist victims of hate crimes with
legal assistance and compensation when incapacitated due to physical or
emotional injuries;
(F)developing
specific initiatives that address the special concerns of Black European women
and youth;
(G)actively promoting
racial and ethnic minority participation at all levels of national, regional,
and local government through the education of civil and political rights,
including the legislative process and advocacy of legislative issues relevant
to racial and ethnic minority communities, development of targeted professional
development and hiring strategies, increased youth and community outreach, and
self-organization and other empowerment initiatives; and
(H)recruiting,
training, and hiring Black Europeans for professional positions in support of
these initiatives;
(7)urges the
Secretary of State to—
(A)provide technical
assistance and other support for European governments and members of the civil
society and private sector to fulfill the initiatives outlined above;
and
(B)increase support
for the WGPAD; and
(8)supports the
adoption of a Joint Action Plan on Racial and Ethnic Equality and
Inclusion
between the European Union and United States and
implementation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly 2011 Resolution on
Strengthening Efforts to Combat Racism and Xenophobia and Foster Inclusion to
assist in fulfilling the initiatives above.