SALT Signs Onto Civil Society Periodic Reports

The United Nations conducts a periodic review of signatory country’s compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Part of that process includes submission of reports by nonprofit organizations located in the signatory country, often contradicting or elaborating on that submitted officially by the government. 

SALT was asked to endorse several of these reports.  They range from civil rights, corporate accountability, death penalty, race & health, migrant workers, and reproductive choice.  We chose to focus on two: education and CERD, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 

The education report “focuses on the right to education in the United States and the current state of implementation of human rights commitments in this area. … This report focuses primarily on (a) school segregation and diversity, (b) school discipline and (c) the achievement gap.”

The education report is filled with statistical analysis, which might be quite helpful with teaching.

The CERD report focuses on “the reduction of racial disparities in poverty, education, health, and incarceration, which are essential to a healthy and vibrant democracy and will put the US on the path to eliminating racial discrimination.” 

The CERD report also has important analysis that will assist with classroom teaching. 

Read the Report submitted on August 20, 2010 by the United States government.

To access a compilation of the 26 NGO "shadow" reports, go to US Human Rights Network. 

US Human Rights Network website.