ACLU To Testify At Helsinki Commission Briefing On Racial And Ethnic Profiling

WASHINGTON – Jamil Dakwar, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Human Rights Program, will participate in a briefing held by the U.S. Helsinki Commission this Monday, March 22 on racial and ethnic profiling. He will be available to reporters for comment. Also speaking at the briefing will be Rachel Neild of the Open Society Justice Initiative and Rosalind Williams, a victim of racial profiling by Spanish police whose case resulted in the U.N. Human Rights Committee declaring Spain’s racial profiling policies to be contrary to international law.

What:
U.S. Helsinki Commission Briefing on Ethnic and Racial Profiling in the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Region. The U.S. Helsinki Commission is an independent government agency that monitors compliance with the Helsinki Accords by promoting human rights,democracy, and economic, environmental and military cooperation throughout the 56 nations of the OSCE. The commission is made up of members of Congress and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.

The ACLU has pushed for legislation to end the practice of racial profiling in the U.S., and remains concerned about policies that target immigrants and minorities based on their racial and ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs. Such policies are unconstitutional, and contrary to international treaties to which the U.S. is a party, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which the U.S. ratified in 1994.

Who:
Hosted by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of U.S. Helsinki Commission and Co-Chairman Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL)

Featuring testimony by Jamil Dakwar, Director, ACLU Human Rights Program and editor of the ACLU and Rights Working Group report The Persistence of Racial and Ethnic Profiling in the United States; Rosalind Williams, a Spanish citizen who took her case to court after being racially profiled by Spanish police in 1992, culminating in a landmark decision by the U.N. Human Rights Committee in 2009; and Rachel Neild, Open Society Justice Initiative, Senior Advisor on ethnic profiling and police reform with the Equality and Citizenship Program

WHEN:
Monday, March 22, 2010
2:00-3:30 p.m. EST

WHERE:
U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, North Congressional Meeting Room

CONTACT: Robyn Shepherd, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org