Recognizing people of African descent and Black Europeans.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 256 Recognizing people of African descent and Black Europeans. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 26, 2019 Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Ms. MOORE, Mr. LEWIS, and Mr. MEEKS) sub- mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Recognizing people of African descent and Black Europeans. Whereas the 109th Congress passed H. Con. Res. 60 and S. Con. Res. 90, recognizing African descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean, raising awareness of the rac- ism and discrimination faced by those communities, and leading to numerous public and private sector initiatives between the United States and Latin American and Car- ibbean countries to improve the situation of African de- scendants; Whereas the persistence of racism and discrimination in Eu- rope similarly necessitates congressional action to raise awareness and promote public and private sector initia- tives to stem this trend; Whereas the May 19, 2018, royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, raised awareness VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR256.IH HR256 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 256 IH of the long history and situation of African-descent popu- lations in Europe; Whereas the terms ‘‘Afro-European’’, ‘‘African European’’, or ‘‘Black European’’ refer to people of African ancestry or descent born in, citizens of, or living in Europe; Whereas an estimated 15,000,000 to 20,000,000 Black Euro- peans live in and have long had a presence in Europe, forming an influential part of the African diaspora; Whereas the story of Black Europeans remains widely untold, rendering many of their past and present contributions to the political and social life of Europe invisible or forgot- ten; Whereas unlike more contemporary figures, largely unknown Blacks have made significant contributions to European history and culture, including Spanish poet Juan Latino, Italian Duke Alessandro Medici, French novelist Alexandre Dumas, German scholar Anthony William Amo, French Composer Le Chevalier de St. George, Brit- ish abolitionist Oladuah Equiano, and Russian General and Governor Abram Hannibal, great-grandfather of Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin; Whereas the largest estimated populations of Black Euro- peans can be found in France (approximately 2,500,000), the United Kingdom (approximately 1,500,000), and the Netherlands (approximately 500,000), in addition to size- able populations in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and Austria; Whereas the presence of Blacks in Europe can be traced to voluntary and forced migration resulting from the geo- graphical proximity of Europe to Africa and the Middle VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR256.IH HR256 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 256 IH East, including the transatlantic slave trade, the coloniza- tion of Africa and the Caribbean, African and African- American military deployments, the movement of refu- gees and asylum seekers, and educational and other pro- fessional exchanges; Whereas although Black Europeans have made significant achievements in and contributions to European society, large numbers have and continue to be more likely than the general population to experience discrimination and be underrepresented in leadership roles in the public and private sector as a result of the color of their skin and ancestry; Whereas racism has long been, and continues to be, a prob- lem in Europe; Whereas, on April 29, 2008, before the Commission on Secu- rity and Cooperation in Europe, at a hearing entitled ‘‘The State of (In)visible Black Europe: Race, Rights, and Politics’’, Dr. Philomena Essed stated, ‘‘Probably the only common European experience among many, if not all, Afro-descendants is their exposure to [. . .] racism and systemic discrimination, regardless of country, socio- economic conditions, gender, age, or level of education.’’; Whereas, as early as 1997, the European Commission opinion poll entitled ‘‘Racism and Xenophobia in Europe’’ re- ported a ‘‘worrying level of racism and xenophobia in [European Union] member states, with nearly 33% of those interviewed openly describing themselves as ‘quite racist’ or ‘very racist’.’’; Whereas annual reports of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency (EUFRA) and both the 2009 and 2018 European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR256.IH HR256 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HRES 256 IH (EU–MIDIS I and II), the first European Union-wide surveys of ethnic minority and immigrant groups’ experi- ences of discrimination and victimization in everyday life in the 28 member states of the European Union, found that persons of African descent experience high incidents of discriminatory treatment, racist crime, and victimiza- tion, and lacked an awareness of their rights, often underreporting cases of hate crimes and other forms of discrimination to law enforcement and human rights agencies, and that the situation has not drastically im- proved in the years between the two reports; Whereas, in November 2018, the European Union Funda- mental Rights Agency (EUFRA) launched ‘‘Being Black in the EU: Second European Union Minorities and Dis- crimination Survey’’, and called for member states to de- velop specific solutions and guidance to address findings that 30 percent of respondents had been racially har- assed, 5 percent physically attacked, 25 percent discrimi- nated against at work or when looking for work, up to 76 percent faced unemployment in some countries, and were experiencing high rates of discrimination in housing and in the justice system, including profiling by law en- forcement; Whereas the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights’ (OSCE/ODIHR) most recent 2017 hate crimes report found more than 1,608 racist and xenophobic inci- dents, including a number targeting Black Europeans, while OSCE reports in previous years found a number of deaths and violent assaults against people of African ori- gin, and that persons of African descent are often targets of racist and antimigrant violence, especially in Eastern VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR256.IH HR256 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HRES 256 IH Europe, yet in many countries hate crimes are under- reported and, legal assistance and financial support for victims while recovering from violent attacks does not exist; Whereas prejudice and discrimination toward Black Euro- peans has also been linked to changes in immigration and asylum laws as a result of antiterrorism initiatives and the growth and mainstreaming of nationalist and anti-im- migrant political parties and groups, including neo-Nazis and skinheads; Whereas the Open Society Justice Initiative in an initial 2009 report, entitled ‘‘Ethnic Profiling in the European Union’’, and subsequent reports have found that police officers in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands routinely use racial profiling, includ- ing targeting African descendants, when deciding whom to target for stops, searches, raids, and surveillance, lead- ing to some of the first Europeanwide grassroots and legal efforts to end racial profiling in France, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, and over a decade of pan-Euro- pean antiracism and empowerment initiatives supported by Open Society Foundations; Whereas there have been numerous efforts by the public and private sector to address racial discrimination and in- equality in Europe, including the introduction of anti- discrimination and equality laws that include the legal support for special measures or positive (affirmative) ac- tion, creation of equality bodies, media campaigns, and efforts to increase minority political participation, and campaigns to end the use of stereotypes and derogatory terms to refer to Blacks in everyday language, the media, and textbooks; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR256.IH HR256 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HRES 256 IH Whereas these efforts include the United Nations designation of 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent and 2015–2024 the International Decade for People of African Descent in an effort to strengthen na- tional actions to ensure that people of African descent enjoy economic, cultural, social, civil, and political rights, as well as promote a greater knowledge of and respect for their diverse heritage and culture; Whereas these efforts also include the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s (PA) adoption of Resolutions: ‘‘A Call for OSCE Action to Address Violence and Discrimination’’ in 2016, ‘‘Addressing Racism and Xenophobia Affecting People of African Descent in the OSCE Region’’ in 2012, and ‘‘Strengthening Efforts to Combat Racism and Xen- ophobia and Foster Inclusion’’ in 2011 that included rec- ognition of the International Year for People of African Descent, and calling for the OSCE to implement several strategic initiatives to address racial and ethnic discrimi- nation in the OSCE region; Whereas, in 2011, OSCE/ODIHR held its first ‘‘Roundtable on the contemporary forms of racism and xenophobia af- fecting Peoples of African Descent in the OSCE region’’, and has since annually hosted antidiscrimination initia- tives focused on People of African Descent including fo- cused on hate crimes, women, political participation, strengthening civil society, and other issues; Whereas these efforts also include transatlantic meetings of Black and other diverse legislators held annually at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, and in the United States Congress in Washington, DC, including the April 17–19, 2009, ‘‘Black European Summit: Trans- atlantic Dialogue on Political Participation’’ and adoption VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR256.IH HR256 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HRES 256 IH of the Brussels Declaration on political participation; and subsequent ‘‘Transatlantic Minority Political Leadership Conferences’’; Whereas, as part of the March 24, 2011, Transatlantic Mi- nority Political Leadership Conference (TMPLC), legisla- tors and minority leaders from North America and Eu- rope held a Parliamentary Forum at the European Par- liament in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss a ‘‘Joint Action Plan on Racial and Ethnic Equality and Inclusion’’ be- tween the European Union and United States; Whereas, in 2011, Members of the Transatlantic Minority Political Leadership Conference worked in partnership with the German Marshall Fund, the Department of State, and other stakeholders to found the Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network (TILN) to increase diverse representation in policymaking; Whereas, in October 2013, European Parliamentarians in partnership with the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) held ‘‘(In)visible Diversity’’ a series of debates in the European Parliament, including a debate entitled, ‘‘People of African Descent and Black Europeans: Reali- ties of Afrophobia’’ and in 2015 released the first pan- European policy guide reviewing the current situation en- titled, ‘‘ENAR Anti-Racism in Focus 2 - InvisibleVisible Minority: Confronting Afrophobia and Advancing Equal- ity for People of African Descent and Black Europeans in Europe’’; Whereas, in January 2017, the European Network Against Racism published, ‘‘Towards an EU Framework for Na- tional Strategies to Combat Afrophobia and Promote In- clusion of People of African Descent and Black Euro- peans’’ to urge EU member states to adopt ‘‘strong and VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR256.IH HR256 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HRES 256 IH specific policies to address Afrophobia, including its structural dimensions and impact on economic and social outcomes for people of African descent and Black Euro- peans, including in employment, housing, education, health, political participation, criminal justice and other sectors’’; Whereas, on July 25, 2017, the Council of Europe Commis- sioner for Human Rights stated, ‘‘The position of Black people in Europe needs to be strengthened, irrespective of whether it concerns recent migrants from Africa or al- ready established Black communities [. . .] European states must first come to terms with their own past [in- cluding] publicly acknowledge that slavery, the slave trade and colonialism are among the major sources of current discrimination against Black people.’’, and rec- ommended European states implement strategies across health, education, justice, employment, and other sectors; Whereas, in October 2017, the United Kingdom Prime Min- ister released the Race Disparity Audit ‘‘examin[ing] how people of different backgrounds are treated across areas including health, education, employment and the criminal justice system’’, which found inequalities in education, housing, income and employment, justice, and health be- tween persons of African and Caribbean background and others, and has since published the findings online, ap- pointed a Special Advisor, created a Race Disparity Advi- sory Group, and announced 90 million British pounds to implement strategies to address disparities found by the audit; Whereas, in 2018, Polish Sejm member Killion Munyama, Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimina- VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR256.IH HR256 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HRES 256 IH tion authored measures that were adopted on ‘‘Promoting diversity and equality in politics’’ that identified chal- lenges to political participation faced by visible minorities and due to skin color; Whereas, on May 13 through 17, 2018, the European Par- liament and European Economic and Social Committee, under the leadership of European Parliamentarian Cecile Kyenge of Italy, hosted the inaugural People of African Descent Week (PAD Week) in Brussels, Belgium, in partnership with the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI), Transatlantic Minority Political Leadership Conference (TMPLC), Each One Teach One (EOTO), the European Network Against Rac- ism (ENAR), and supported by congressional Members of the United States Helsinki Commission; Whe [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]