Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance Ms. E. Tendayi Achiume
Delivered by Ambassador Michèle Taylor
Statement by the Delegation of the United States of America
Human Rights Council – 50th Session
Thank you, Madam Vice President.
And thank you, Madame Special Rapporteur, for today’s update.
The global rise in racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism is alarming and should motivate all of us to counter racism. We must redouble our efforts to address the root causes of racism and its intersections with gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, disability, ethnicity, religion, and national origin.
You have highlighted the linkages between attaining sustainable development goals and eliminating racial inequality. We are committed to working with civil society and other stakeholders to achieve equity throughout our society. The United States is committed to doing this work.
We remain deeply concerned by persistent violence around the world motivated by racism and xenophobia. In my own country, the recent tragic killing of ten Black Americans in Buffalo, New York and increase in hate crimes against Americans of Asian descent are reminders of the continued human cost of racism.
Like you, the United States condemns the Russian Federation’s cynical manipulation of “Nazism” in an attempt to justify its illegal invasion of Ukraine. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, I find it not only abhorrent but also personally offensive.
My question to you is: What methods can we use to effectively eradicate systemic racism at its roots in order to address the dire consequences?
I thank you.
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