Posted on August 15, 2008

U.N. Watchdog Urges Germany, Swiss to Combat Racism

AP, August 15, 2008

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The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also voiced concern at a rise in racist-related incidents in Germany against members of the Jewish, Muslim and Roma/Sinti communities, and asylum-seekers of African origin.

In Switzerland, it noted a lack of substantial progress in combating racist and xenophobic attitudes towards some minorities, including blacks, Muslims, immigrants and asylum seekers.

Another concern in Switzerland—a country of 7.5 million where one in five people is a foreigner—was racial profiling, including at airports, as well as allegations of excessive use of force by the police, according to the U.N. watchdog.

The committee, composed of 18 independent experts, examined eight countries’ compliance with a U.N. treaty banning racial discrimination.

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