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. JEFFER-
SON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 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; 
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•HRES 1496 IH 
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 Af-
rican descent currently live in and have long had a pres-
ence in Europe, forming an influential part of the Afri-
can diaspora; 
Whereas the story of Black Europeans remains untold, ren-
dering 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 
East, including the transatlantic slave trade, the coloniza-
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•HRES 1496 IH 
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, 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 racism has long been, and continues to be, a prob-
lem in Europe; 
Whereas the 1997 European Commission opinion poll entitled 
‘‘Racism and Xenophobia in Europe’’ reported a ‘‘wor-
rying level of racism and xenophobia in [European 
Union] Member States, with nearly 33% of those inter-
viewed 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 an-
nual reports that racial and ethnic minorities were dis-
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•HRES 1496 IH 
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 report-
ing 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 Euro-
peans 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, includ-
ing 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 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, efforts 
to increase minority political participation, and the Sep-
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•HRES 1496 IH 
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 Wom-
en’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 Rac-
ism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, EUFRA, the Euro-
pean Commission against Racism and Intolerance, and 
the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Ra-
cial 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, mem-
bers of both the public and private sectors have ex-
changed information on best practices for antidiscrimina-
tion measures and racial equality with committed parties 
in other countries, including recent initiatives such as the 
‘‘Joint Action Plan Between the Government of the Fed-
erative 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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•HRES 1496 IH 
the United States-Brazil Joint Action Plan Against Ra-
cial Discrimination: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) encourages the United States and the inter-
national community to recognize and honor the his-
torical and present-day contributions of Black Euro-
peans; 
(2) recognizes that, as a result of their skin 
color and ancestry, many Black Europeans have 
wrongfully experienced injustices in the public and 
private sector; 
(3) calls upon European parliamentarians, in-
cluding the Organization for Security and Coopera-
tion in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, to 
engage in efforts to promote racial equality and 
combat racial discrimination through efforts such as 
introducing legislation, speaking out in their par-
liaments against racism, and working with Black 
European and other minority communities to de-
velop relevant policies; 
(4) urges European governments and members 
of civil society and the private sector, in consultation 
with Black European communities, to develop and 
implement initiatives to combat racial discrimination 
and promote racial equality in Europe, by— 
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•HRES 1496 IH 
(A) 
drafting 
and 
implementing 
anti-
discrimination, special measures, hate crimes, 
migration and integration, and other laws and 
policies to address discrimination and dispari-
ties and promote equality, noting the rec-
ommendations of the United Nations Com-
mittee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimina-
tion, the Experts Working Group on People of 
African Descent (WGPAD), the European 
Commission against Racism and Intolerance, 
the European Union Fundamental Rights 
Agency (EUFRA), the United Nations Special 
Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism 
and Independent Expert on minority issues, the 
OSCE Personal Representative on Combating 
Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, and 
the Black European Women’s Council; 
(B) promoting and funding research, in-
cluding the collection of national census data on 
Black Europeans and their inclusion in the an-
nual reports of the EUFRA; 
(C) providing technical support, training, 
and funding to Black European civil society 
groups working to combat racism, discrimina-
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•HRES 1496 IH 
tion, and inequality, and uphold basic human 
rights in Europe; 
(D) introducing national measures to 
counter stereotypical images of persons of Afri-
can descent, by revising textbooks, increasing 
efforts to include Black Europeans in history 
and heritage institutions, and commemorating 
victims of colonialism, slavery and other atroc-
ities; 
(E) developing or increasing financial sup-
port for funds to assist victims of hate crimes 
with legal assistance and compensation when 
incapacitated due to physical or emotional inju-
ries; 
(F) developing specific initiatives that ad-
dress the special concerns of Black European 
women and youth; and 
(G) recruiting, training, and hiring Black 
Europeans for professional positions in support 
of these initiatives; and 
(5) urges the Secretary of State to— 
(A) provide technical assistance and other 
support for European governments and mem-
bers of the civil society and private sector to 
fulfill the initiatives outlined above; and 
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•HRES 1496 IH 
(B) increase support for the WGPAD. 
Æ 
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