International Human Rights Bodies Condemn Violations of Native, Minority, and Immigrant Women's Rights in the U.S.

On the eve of the celebration of the 98th Annual International Women's Day, the international human rights community is sending a clear message to the United States government that it needs to step up and put an end to violence against and exploitation of immigrant women, Native American women, and women of color.

Today in Geneva, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, Dr. Jorge Bustamente, both issued reports denouncing the U.S.'s record on human rights and highlighting numerous egregious violations. Both CERD and the Special Rapporteur issued a number of recommendations pertaining specifically to women, recognizing the compound forms of discrimination faced by women who are racial and ethnic minorities, undocumented immigrants, live in marginalized communities, and work in undervalued professions.

Of particular concern to CERD were the extraordinary rate of sexual violence against Native American women and female migrant workers, especially domestic workers, and the U.S.'s denial of justice to these women. In its concluding recommendations [PDF], the Committee outlined specific actions for the government to take, on which it must report the next time it appears before the committee. The Committee censured the government for its failure to address workplace discrimination faced by undocumented migrant women -- who are routinely subjected to dangerous working conditions, excessive work hours, and wage violations -- noting with concern that recent Supreme Court decisions have further eroded protections for vulnerable workers. The committee also drew attention to the racial disparities in access to health care, as evidenced by the elevated rates of HIV infection and maternal mortality rates among women of color, and similar disparities in the criminal justice system.

In his report, the Special Rapporteur expressed concern about the employment and health abuses suffered by migrant workers, including domestic workers, whose advocates he met with during his fact-finding mission to the U.S. in 2007. The Special Rapporteur denounced the U.S.'s immigrant detention policies and facilities and called for the implementation of "gender-specific detention standards that address the medical and mental health concerns of migrant women who have survived mental, physical, emotional or sexual violence." Both the Special Rapporteur and CERD made reference to the plight of victims of human trafficking, among the most vulnerable of whom are domestic workers employed by diplomats.

The ACLU and other organizations have participated in reviews of the U.S. by international human rights mechanisms in order to shine a spotlight on the ways in which the U.S. government has repeatedly refused to acknowledge and address systemic racism, sexism, and discrimination against immigrants. In December, the ACLU published a report entitled, Race & Ethnicity in America: Turning a Blind Eye to Injustice, in response to the U.S. government's whitewash report to CERD, which swept under the rug the dramatic effects of widespread racial and ethnic discrimination in this country.

We applaud CERD and the Special Rapporteur for drawing attention to critical women's rights issues on the eve of International Women's Day and at the outset of Women's History Month, and urge the U.S. government to pay heed to the recommendations of these international experts.

Comments

[afrozashrafi]

Celebrating the international womans day is like any other celebration that comes and goes as rainfall . The so called women empowerment around the globe is the biggest hoax as stories of exploitation and harrassment of women keep surfacing from the world around . The international human rights commission keeps blaring at the top its voice for a life of respect and dignity for women . Even the most developed of the countries like USA, UK , are equally guilty of gender discrimination and the measures initiated have not sufficed to enthuse the placid saga of womans suppression . The ancient society was ridiculous in terms of treating women and the islamic world of yore also abused the position of women and used them for regaling the mens bastion by adoring them , treating them as an object of pleasure and viewing them as sex bomb and even today there is no perceptible change in the general mans behaviour towards women .
To a very considerable extent the women are themselves to blame for this malady as they are most susceptible to exploitation . Over the years they have been to the forefront of every society and they have gained in stature also but the traditional image of a woman remains the woman of Jane Austen rather than to be the woman of George Eliot and Virginia Wolf and in the wake of all moderation and the access to the modern education the women even those who have gained economic independence do not find themselves placed on a safe saddle for they are exploited by their employers , and they succumb to a self espoused cause of flourishing by compromising their integrity . The western women are supposed to have dismantled or challenged the community of sex seekers and asserted their authorities in ways more than one . But the overall picture remains bleak particularly the African women, up against the brunt of a pre -eminently phallic society where a woman does not look beyond being an object of male satisfaction . The proverbial HARAM is still in vogue . The women in middleeast face the same predicament and the women in Asia are the butt of all ridicule . If women are not granted the rights due to them for being an equal partner in life even in the west then i suspect there is no point screaming about those living in the quagmire of a secterian society .

[neworleanslady68]

What you fail to understand, ProudNeoCon, is that women the world over face the same abuses by mere virtue of having been born female. When you add racial issues and immigrant status to gender, you get intersections of vulnerability.

Kudos to these international bodies for being honest about the abuse that is either unique to to disproportionately affecting female persons, even in the wealthy United States.

Thank heavens someone is interested in telling women's stories. They don't call it HIStory for nothing!

[ProudNeoCon]

I do not disagree with anything you have said. The problem I have is with this "conference" attacking US where women have one of the best lifes in the world... I do nto see condemnation of countries where women face much worse problems...

[ProudNeoCon]

Sure. This is a biggest problems for women today. It is not massive rapes in Africa civil wars, it is not being considered property in many Islamic countries. It is not being sold at 12 as prostitutes in Asia. It is that bad US at it again... What do you get when you put together self-important "human rights activists" and UN on any topics, including UFO's - a tirade against US....

[1will]

Well said.