250 Civic groups slam U.S. for "abysmal" record on race

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Civic groups slam U.S. for "abysmal" record on race
By Matthew Bigg


COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) - The United States is rife with racial discrimination and the authorities have an "abysmal" record on promoting equality, according to a report by a coalition of 250 civic groups published on Monday.

The U.S. Human Rights Network, which groups non-profit organizations, released its report to counter the findings of a U.S. government report in April to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

The network said U.S. minorities including African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and Muslims face discrimination in a range of areas including voting, policing and education. Immigrants are often unfairly treated, as are women and children from ethnic minorities, it said.

A disproportionate number of minorities are arrested, charged, prosecuted and convicted compared with whites, and minorities are over-represented in U.S. prisons, said the report titled "Turning a blind eye to injustice".

Schools in areas with high concentrations of minorities often lack adequate resources and, as a result, students score poorly in federally mandated examinations, it said.

Minorities are "unfairly victimized" by racial profiling, a practice in which police can stop and frisk people based on their appearance. Muslims have been targeted particularly since the September 11 attacks by al Qaeda militants in 2001, it said.

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