U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement on the deadly protests in Charlottesville, at the White House in Washington, U.S. August 14, 2017. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
GENEVA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on Wednesday issued a statement, calling on the United States and its high-level politicians to "unequivocally and unconditionally" reject and condemn racist hate speech and crimes in Charlottesville and throughout the country.
"There should be no place in the world for racist white supremacist ideas or any similar ideologies that reject the core human rights principles of human dignity and equality," the statement said.
"We are alarmed by the racist demonstrations, with overtly racist slogans, chants and salutes by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan, promoting white supremacy and inciting racial discrimination and hatred," said CERD Chairperson Anastasia Crickley.
In addition to the criminal investigation of the individual who ploughed his car into a crowd of peaceful protesters and killed a woman, the UN Committee asked the U.S. authorities to undertake concrete measures "to address the root causes of the proliferation of such racist manifestations."
"We call on the U.S. government to investigate thoroughly the phenomenon of racial discrimination targeting, in particular, people of African descent, ethnic or ethno-religious minorities, and migrants," added Crickley.
The UN Committee, supposed to monitor implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, also called on the U.S. to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly are not exercised with the aim of destroying or denying the rights and freedoms of others.
It also stressed that the U.S. should provide the necessary guarantees so that such rights are not misused to promote racist hate speech and racist crimes.
On Aug. 12, thousands of white nationalists, neo-Confederates and right-wing protesters clashed with groups that oppose them during demonstrations in Charlottesville, home of Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia. The clash left dozens wounded and several killed
U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to the incident by denouncing the violence "on many sides," failing to mention white supremacists. The White House later said that Trump's condemnation included the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups.
