[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 421 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 421
Recognizing people of African Descent and Black Europeans.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 19, 2013
Mr. Hastings of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing people of African Descent and Black Europeans.
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 an estimated 7,000,000 to 10,000,000 individuals of African descent
currently live in and have long had a presence in Europe, forming an
influential part of the African diaspora;
Whereas the story of Black Europeans remains widely 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 racism has long been, and continues to be, a problem in Europe;
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 as early as 1997, the 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 annual reports of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency (EUFRA),
including 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, have found
that persons of African descent experience high incidents of
discriminatory treatment, racist crime, and victimization, and lacked an
awareness of their rights, often underreporting cases of discrimination
to law enforcement and human rights agencies;
Whereas the 2013 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) Annual Hate Crimes
report included findings that there were more than 16 deaths and violent
assaults against people of African origin, and that persons of African
descent are often targets of racist and anti-migrant 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 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;
Whereas the Open Society Justice Initiative in an initial 2009 report, entitled
``Ethnic Profiling in the European Union'', and subsequent reports has
found that police officers in the United Kingdom, France, Italy,
Germany, and the Netherlands routinely use racial profiling, including
targeting Blacks, when deciding whom to target for stops, searches,
raids, and surveillance, leading to some of the first nationwide
grassroots and legal efforts to end racial profiling in France, Germany,
and elsewhere in Europe;
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, and campaigns to end the use of
stereotypes and derogatory terms to refer to Blacks in everyday
language, the media, and textbooks;
Whereas these efforts include the United Nations designation of 2011 as the
International Year for People of African Descent in an effort 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 these efforts also include the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's (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
OSCE to implement several strategic initiatives to address racial and
ethnic discrimination in the OSCE region;
Whereas in 2011, OSCE/ODIHR held its first ``Roundtable on the contemporary
forms of racism and xenophobia affecting Peoples of African Descent in
the OSCE region'', and in 2012 a hate crimes training for the people of
African descent, and in 2013 an exchange with European and United States
civil rights leaders of African descent and other public and private
sector entities combating discrimination and inequality;
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 in October 2013, European Parliamentarians in partnership with the
European Network Against Racism (ENAR) held ``(In)visible Diversity a
series of debates in the European Parliament'', including, a debate
entitled, ``People of African descent and Black Europeans: Realities of
Afrophobia'';
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 ongoing
implementation of 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-
Colombia Action Plan on Racial and Ethnic Equality: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) encourages the recognition and celebration of the
collective history and achievements made by people of African
descent;
(2) 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;
(3) recognizes that, as a result of their skin color and
ancestry, many Black Europeans have wrongfully experienced
injustices in the public and private sector;
(4) 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;
(5) 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;
(6) 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;
(B) increase support for the WGPAD; and
(C) appoint a Senior Advisor on Afro-descent
peoples at the Department of State and create a Fund
for the Inclusion of Racial and Ethnic minorities
modeled after the Department's International Fund for
Women and Girls and LGBT Global Equality Funds; and
(7) 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.
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