IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 595 

Recognizing persons of African descent in Europe. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 26, 2009 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. 

PAYNE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. CORRINE

BROWN of Florida, Mr. RUSH, Ms. CLARKE, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) 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 Nov 24 2008 06:36 Jun 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR595.IH HR595

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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 and 2008 annual reports that racial and ethnic minorities were disVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:36 Jun 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR595.IH HR595

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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 reported that racist violence and crime or 

hate crimes are also a continuing problem, with EUFRA 

in 2008 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 and 

similar trends for 2009, 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 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; 

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


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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 April 15–16, 2009, 

‘‘Black European Summit: Transatlantic Dialogue on Political Participation’’ held in Brussels and the adoption of 

the Brussels Declaration calling 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 

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 


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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— 

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; 


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

2 color and ancestry, many Black Europeans have 

3 wrongfully experienced injustices in the public and 

4 private sector; 

5 (3) calls upon European parliamentarians, in6 cluding the Organization for Security and Coopera7 tion in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, to 

8 engage in efforts to promote racial equality and 

9 combat racial discrimination through efforts such as 

10 introducing legislation, speaking out in their par11 liaments against racism, increasing the political par12 ticipation of racial minorities, and working with 

13 Black European and other minority communities to 

14 develop relevant policies; 

15 (4) urges European governments and members 

16 of civil society and the private sector, in consultation 

17 with Black European communities, to develop and 

18 implement initiatives to combat racial discrimination 

19 and promote racial equality in Europe, by— 

20 (A) drafting and implementing anti21 discrimination, special measures, hate crimes, 

22 migration and integration, and other laws and 

23 policies to address discrimination and dispari24 ties and promote equality, noting the rec25 ommendations of the United Nations ComVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:36 Jun 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR595.IH HR595

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1 mittee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimina2 tion, the Experts Working Group on People of 

3 African Descent (WGPAD), the European 

4 Commission against Racism and Intolerance, 

5 the European Union Fundamental Rights 

6 Agency (EUFRA), the United Nations Special 

7 Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism 

8 and Independent Expert on minority issues, the 

9 OSCE Personal Representative on Combating 

10 Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, and 

11 the Black European Women’s Council; 

12 (B) promoting and funding research, in13 cluding the collection of national census data on 

14 Black Europeans and their inclusion in the an15 nual reports of the EUFRA; 

16 (C) providing technical support, training, 

17 and funding to Black European civil society 

18 groups working to combat racism, discrimina19 tion, and inequality, and uphold basic human 

20 rights in Europe; 

21 (D) introducing national measures to 

22 counter stereotypical images of persons of Afri23 can descent, by revising textbooks, increasing 

24 efforts to include Black Europeans in history 


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1 and heritage institutions, and remembering vic2 tims of colonialism, slavery and other atrocities; 

3 (E) developing or increasing financial sup4 port for funds to assist victims of hate crimes 

5 with legal assistance and compensation when 

6 incapacitated due to physical or emotional inju7 ries; 

8 (F) developing specific initiatives that ad9 dress the special concerns of Black European 

10 women and youth; 

11 (G) actively promoting racial and ethnic 

12 minority participation at all levels of national, 

13 regional, and local government through the edu14 cation of civil and political rights, including the 

15 legislative process and advocacy of legislative 

16 issues relevant to racial and ethnic minority 

17 communities, development of targeted profes18 sional development and hiring strategies, in19 creased youth and community outreach, and 

20 self-organization and other empowerment initia21 tives; and 

22 (H) recruiting, training, and hiring Black 

23 Europeans for professional positions in support 

24 of these initiatives; and 

25 (5) urges the Secretary of State to— 


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1 (A) provide technical assistance and other 

2 support for European governments and mem3 bers of the civil society and private sector to 

4 fulfill the initiatives outlined above; and 

5 (B) increase support for the WGPAD. 

Æ 


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