IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1592 

Recognizing persons of African descent in Europe. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2010 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida 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 Mar 15 2010 04:04 Jul 31, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1592.IH HR1592

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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 2007 through 2010 

annual reports that racial and ethnic minorities were disVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:04 Jul 31, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1592.IH HR1592

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proportionately experiencing discrimination in housing, 

education, healthcare, employment, the criminal justice 

system, and access to political participation; 

Whereas the 2009 European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU–MIDIS), the first European Unionwide survey of ethnic minority and immigrant groups’ experiences of discrimination and victimization in everyday 

life in the 27 Member States of the European Union 

found that persons of African descent experienced higher 

incidents than most other minority groups of discriminatory treatment, racist crime, and victimization, and 

lacked an awareness of their rights; 

Whereas the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 

Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and 

Human Rights annual report on Hate Crimes in the 

OSCE region has identified racist violence and crime or 

hate crimes a continuing problem, the EUFRA has found 

an ‘‘upward trend in recorded racist crime within the European Union’’, and the SOVA Center recorded over 70 

racist murders and 300 violent attacks in Russia in 

2009, yet in many countries adequate data collection on 

hate crimes and funds to assist victims with legal assistance and financial support while recovering from violent 

attacks does not exist; 

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

asylum laws as a result of anti-terrorism initiatives and 

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; 


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Whereas the Open Society Justice Initiative 2009 report, entitled ‘‘Ethnic Profiling in the European Union’’, found 

that police officers in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, 

Germany, and the Netherlands routinely use racial 

profiling, including targeting Blacks, when deciding 

whom to target for stops, searches, raids, and surveillance; 

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, and 

efforts to increase minority political participation; 

Whereas these efforts also include the June 1–2 Transatlantic Minority Political Leadership Conference in 

Brussels following the successful April 15–16, 2009, 

‘‘Black European Summit: Transatlantic Dialogue on Political Participation’’ held in Brussels at which the Brussels Declaration called for increased minority political inclusion; 

Whereas these efforts also include the September 9, 2008, official launching of the Black European Women’s Council 

at the European Union headquarters and 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 


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and training for personnel working in educational institutions and the civil service, increase political representation, participation, and employment opportunities for 

Blacks, and address racial health disparities, including by 

providing cultural competency training to health professionals; 

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, Independent Expert on minority 

issues, 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 

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

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


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1 (1) encourages the United States and the inter2 national community to recognize and honor the his3 torical and present-day contributions of Black Euro4 peans; 

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

6 color and ancestry, many Black Europeans have 

7 wrongfully experienced injustices in the public and 

8 private sector; 

9 (3) calls upon European parliamentarians, in10 cluding the Organization for Security and Coopera11 tion in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, to 

12 engage in efforts to promote racial equality and 

13 combat racial discrimination through efforts such as 

14 introducing legislation, speaking out in their par15 liaments against racism, increasing the political par16 ticipation of racial minorities, and working with 

17 Black European and other minority communities to 

18 develop 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— 

24 (A) drafting and implementing anti25 discrimination, special measures, hate crimes, 


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1 migration and integration, and other laws and 

2 policies to address discrimination and dispari3 ties and promote equality, noting the rec4 ommendations of the United Nations Com5 mittee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimina6 tion, the Experts Working Group on People of 

7 African Descent (WGPAD), the European 

8 Commission against Racism and Intolerance, 

9 the European Union Fundamental Rights 

10 Agency (EUFRA), the United Nations Special 

11 Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism 

12 and Independent Expert on minority issues, the 

13 OSCE Personal Representative on Combating 

14 Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, and 

15 the Black European Women’s Council; 

16 (B) promoting and funding research, in17 cluding the collection of national census data on 

18 Black Europeans and their inclusion in the an19 nual reports of the EUFRA; 

20 (C) providing technical support, training, 

21 and funding to Black European civil society 

22 groups working to combat racism, discrimina23 tion, and inequality, and uphold basic human 

24 rights in Europe; 


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1 (D) introducing national measures to 

2 counter stereotypical images of persons of Afri3 can descent, by revising textbooks, increasing 

4 efforts to include Black Europeans in history 

5 and heritage institutions, and remembering vic6 tims of colonialism, slavery and other atrocities; 

7 (E) developing or increasing financial sup8 port for funds to assist victims of hate crimes 

9 with legal assistance and compensation when 

10 incapacitated due to physical or emotional inju11 ries; 

12 (F) developing specific initiatives that ad13 dress the special concerns of Black European 

14 women and youth; 

15 (G) actively promoting racial and ethnic 

16 minority participation at all levels of national, 

17 regional, and local government through the edu18 cation of civil and political rights, including the 

19 legislative process and advocacy of legislative 

20 issues relevant to racial and ethnic minority 

21 communities, development of targeted profes22 sional development and hiring strategies, in23 creased youth and community outreach, and 

24 self-organization and other empowerment initia25 tives; and 


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1 (H) recruiting, training, and hiring Black 

2 Europeans for professional positions in support 

3 of these initiatives; and 

4 (5) urges the Secretary of State to— 

5 (A) provide technical assistance and other 

6 support for European governments and mem7 bers of the civil society and private sector to 

8 fulfill the initiatives outlined above; and 

9 (B) increase support for the WGPAD. 

Æ 


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