Special UN group visiting Canada to study anti-black racism

A special United Nations working group is inCanada this week to study racism against black people in the country.

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The five-member team is making its first official visit to the country and spent some time in Ottawa.

TheAfrican Canadian Legal Clinic helped to host a panel discussion with the working group at the Catholic Immigration Centre on Monday night,moderated byEwartWalters, the former editor and publisher of Ottawa's black newspaper, the Spectrum, which ended in 2013.

"Essentially, our aim is to study the human rights situation of people of African descent and to consider issues of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobiaandAfrophobiaagainst people of Africandescent in Canada,"said Ricardo Sunga, who heads the expert group.

"The fact that theCanadiangovernmentofficially invited us is anexpressionof its intent and desire to co-operate with us."

Studying Canadian practices, conflicts

"We're hoping that bybringinglight to some of the issues that are impactingthe black community,the UN working group can have something to work on, in terms of a solution," saidLaviniaLatham, a lawyer with the African Canadian Legal Clinic, which addresses anti-black racism.

"This is the first time that this fact-finding mission has actually found its way into Canada and that is a really fundamentally important moment for us Canadians," she said.

"I feel really good about it."

Sunga said the working group willstudy Canadian best practicesbut also consider instances where conflict may have had a racial dimension.

Racial profiling

Specifically, the chair said his working group wouldlook at random police checks, or what issometimes called policecarding.

He said the teamwould also studypossible issues of racial profiling in Canadaand instances wherepolice violence has ended in the death of people of Africandescent.

Dahabo Ahmed Omer a co-chair of the groupJustice forAbdirahman came to the event to make a short presentation to the panel on access to justice.

Justice for Abdirahman formed in the summer shortlyafter aSomali-Canadian namedAbdirahman Abdilost vital signs during an Ottawa police arrest in Hintonburg and later died. Ontario's police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, is probing the death.

'I want a better oversight'

"I want a betteroversightof the police services," said Ahmed Omer.

"The Special Investigations Unit isn't living up to its standard or its mandate and it's losing its credibility and its transparency."

David Onyalo of theCanadian Labour Congress also presented on the topic of employment and migrant workers.

What I would say in Ottawa is that, for the black community, there's too many underemployed black people.- DavidOnyalo, Canadian Labour Congress

"What I would say in Ottawa is that, for the black community, there's too many underemployed black people," said Onyalo.

"They have all kinds of credentials: they're professionals, they're engineers, they're professors. They come here, there's no jobs," he said."It's very important.If you can't work, if you can't feed your kids, if you have no money coming in, your sense of self-worth diminishes very rapidly."

The UN group will travel next toToronto, Halifax and Montreal to meet with politicians,organizations and peopleworking on issues of racism anddiscrimination.

Thedelegation will share itspreliminary findings Friday on Parliament Hill.