News: UN Special Rapporteur on Racism Issues Statement Following United States Visit

The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Ashwini K.P, has issued her official statement following her two-week visit to the United States this past month. She visited Washington D.C., Detroit, MI, Flint, MI, Los Angeles CA, Baton Rouge, LA, and Atlanta, GA, where she met with federal and state authorities, individuals from racial and ethnic groups, civil society organizations, service providers, academics, and other stakeholders to get a full picture of the state of racism in the United States.

In her press conference on November 14, 2023, Ashwini implored the U.S. government to “increase its efforts to address enduring systemic racism,” and expressed shock at how deeply the system of racism runs in every state she visited, and how these systems continue to reinforce themselves. She cited testimonies she received from members of racially marginalized groups, which detailed voter disenfranchisement, homelessness, environmental racism, racially discriminatory food systems, inequitable healthcare and health outcomes and discriminatory migration governance systems. Ashwani warned that the U.S. needs to increase and improve its anti-racism efforts, and further address white supremacy, underlying power imbalances, and historical drivers of racism and racial discrimination.

Read the UN’s press release here. Read the Special Rapporteur’s full statement here.