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US Police Brutality Concerns UN Panel


By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS
Associated Press Writer

August 14, 2001


GENEVA -- The U. N. panel that oversees global compliance with a treaty against racial discrimination expressed concern over police brutality toward minorities in the United States.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination noted \"with concern the incidents of police violence and brutality, including cases of deaths, which affected minority groups and foreigners in particular.\"

The group said Monday there was also a disturbing correlation between race and the imposition of the death penalty.

U.S. officials in Geneva had no immediate reaction to the report but said it was being sent to Washington for review.

But the panel praised the United States for steps taken in recent years \"to redress racial and ethnic discrimination\" in industry.

It commended the 1997 Initiative on Race, the establishment of the Minority Business Development Agency in the Commerce Department, and efforts to eliminate the practice of racial profiling.

But it rejected the U.S. government\'s assertion that \"affirmative action\" was only an option and not a requirement under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The committee also rejected the U.S. argument that \"purely private\" acts of racism were beyond \"the scope of government regulation.\"

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On the Net:

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_icerd.htm
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