IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1496 

Recognizing persons of African descent in Europe. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. 

CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, and Mr. JEFFERSON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing persons of African descent in Europe. 

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 racism and discrimination faced by those communities, and 

leading to numerous public and private sector initiatives 

between the United States and Latin American and Caribbean countries to improve the situation of African descendants; 

Whereas the persistence of racism and discrimination in Europe similarly necessitates congressional action to raise 

awareness and promote public and private sector initiatives to stem this trend; 


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Whereas the terms ‘‘Afro-European’’, ‘‘African European’’, 

or ‘‘Black European’’ refers to people of African ancestry 

or descent born in, citizens of, or living in Europe; 

Whereas more than an estimated 7,000,000 individuals of African descent currently 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 untold, rendering many of their past and present contributions to 

the political and social life of Europe invisible or forgotten; 

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, British abolitionist Oladuah Equiano, and Russian General 

and Governor Abram Hannibal, great-grandfather of 

Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin; 

Whereas the largest estimated populations of Black Europeans 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 sizeable 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 geographical proximity of Europe to Africa and the Middle 

East, including the transatlantic slave trade, the colonizaVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:01 Sep 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1496.IH HR1496

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tion of Africa and the Caribbean, African and AfricanAmerican military deployments, the movement of refugees and asylum seekers, and educational and other professional 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, on April 29, 2008, before the Commission on Security 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, socioeconomic conditions, gender, age, or level of education’’; 

Whereas racism has long been, and continues to be, a problem in Europe; 

Whereas the 1997 European Commission opinion poll entitled 

‘‘Racism and Xenophobia in Europe’’ reported 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 the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency 

(EUFRA), formerly the European Monitoring Center on 

Racism and Xenophobia, found in its 2008 and 2007 annual reports that racial and ethnic minorities were disVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:01 Sep 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1496.IH HR1496

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proportionately experiencing discrimination in housing, 

education, healthcare, employment, the criminal justice 

system, and access to political participation; 

Whereas the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 

Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and 

Human Rights reported that racist violence and crime or 

hate crimes are also a continuing problem, with EUFRA 

reporting increases in 8 European Union countries, and 

Russia’s SOVA Center and Human Rights First reporting over 100 racist murders and 100 violent attacks in 

Russia and Ukraine in 2007 and 2008, yet in many 

countries funds to assist victims with legal assistance and 

financial support while recovering from violent attacks do 

not exist; 

Whereas prejudice and discrimination towards Black Europeans has also been linked to changes in immigration and 

asylum laws as a result of the growth and mainstreaming 

of nationalist and anti-immigrant political parties and 

groups, including neo-Nazis and skinheads, who believe 

Europe should be a monoracial society or that other races 

are inferior; 

Whereas Black Europeans encounter everyday racism, including denials that racism exists despite the blatant use of 

stereotypes and derogatory terms to refer to Blacks in 

everyday language, the media, and textbooks; 

Whereas there have been numerous efforts by the public and 

private sector to address racial discrimination and inequality in Europe, including the introduction of antidiscrimination and equality laws that include the legal 

support for special measures or positive (affirmative) action, creation of equality bodies, media campaigns, efforts 

to increase minority political participation, and the SepVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:01 Sep 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1496.IH HR1496

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tember 9, 2008, official launching of the Black European 

Women’s Council at the European Union headquarters; 

Whereas these efforts also include the September 27–29, 

2007, Vienna Declaration of the Black European Women’s Congress, which calls for Members of the European 

Union to enforce and implement laws to eradicate all 

forms of discrimination, provide anti-racist education and 

training for personnel working in educational institutions 

and the civil service, increase political representation, 

participation, and employment opportunities for Blacks, 

and provide mental health services for Black’s impacted 

by racism; 

Whereas, despite these efforts, international entities, such as 

the OSCE Personal Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, EUFRA, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, and 

the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Special Rapporteur on Contemporary 

Forms of Racism, and Experts Working Group on People 

of African Descent, have documented ongoing racism and 

xenophobia, and racial and ethnic discrimination, and 

called for an increase in initiatives to combat racism and 

inequality; and 

Whereas, throughout the history of the United States, members of both the public and private sectors have exchanged information on best practices for antidiscrimination measures and racial equality with committed parties 

in other countries, including recent initiatives such as the 

‘‘Joint Action Plan Between the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Government of the 

United States of America to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic 

Discrimination and Promote Equality’’, also known as 


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the United States-Brazil Joint Action Plan Against Racial Discrimination: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) encourages the United States and the inter3 national community to recognize and honor the his4 torical and present-day contributions of Black Euro5 peans; 

6 (2) recognizes that, as a result of their skin 

7 color and ancestry, many Black Europeans have 

8 wrongfully experienced injustices in the public and 

9 private sector; 

10 (3) calls upon European parliamentarians, in11 cluding the Organization for Security and Coopera12 tion in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, to 

13 engage in efforts to promote racial equality and 

14 combat racial discrimination through efforts such as 

15 introducing legislation, speaking out in their par16 liaments against racism, and working with Black 

17 European and other minority communities to de18 velop relevant policies; 

19 (4) urges European governments and members 

20 of civil society and the private sector, in consultation 

21 with Black European communities, to develop and 

22 implement initiatives to combat racial discrimination 

23 and promote racial equality in Europe, by— 


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1 (A) drafting and implementing anti2 discrimination, special measures, hate crimes, 

3 migration and integration, and other laws and 

4 policies to address discrimination and dispari5 ties and promote equality, noting the rec6 ommendations of the United Nations Com7 mittee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimina8 tion, the Experts Working Group on People of 

9 African Descent (WGPAD), the European 

10 Commission against Racism and Intolerance, 

11 the European Union Fundamental Rights 

12 Agency (EUFRA), the United Nations Special 

13 Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism 

14 and Independent Expert on minority issues, the 

15 OSCE Personal Representative on Combating 

16 Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, and 

17 the Black European Women’s Council; 

18 (B) promoting and funding research, in19 cluding the collection of national census data on 

20 Black Europeans and their inclusion in the an21 nual reports of the EUFRA; 

22 (C) providing technical support, training, 

23 and funding to Black European civil society 

24 groups working to combat racism, discriminaVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:01 Sep 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1496.IH HR1496

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1 tion, and inequality, and uphold basic human 

2 rights in Europe; 

3 (D) introducing national measures to 

4 counter stereotypical images of persons of Afri5 can descent, by revising textbooks, increasing 

6 efforts to include Black Europeans in history 

7 and heritage institutions, and commemorating 

8 victims of colonialism, slavery and other atroc9 ities; 

10 (E) developing or increasing financial sup11 port for funds to assist victims of hate crimes 

12 with legal assistance and compensation when 

13 incapacitated due to physical or emotional inju14 ries; 

15 (F) developing specific initiatives that ad16 dress the special concerns of Black European 

17 women and youth; and 

18 (G) recruiting, training, and hiring Black 

19 Europeans for professional positions in support 

20 of these initiatives; and 

21 (5) urges the Secretary of State to— 

22 (A) provide technical assistance and other 

23 support for European governments and mem24 bers of the civil society and private sector to 

25 fulfill the initiatives outlined above; and 


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1 (B) increase support for the WGPAD. 

Æ 


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