ARTICLE 4

As a nation, the American people reject all theories of the superiority of one race or group of persons of one color or ethnic origin or theories which attempt to justify or promote racial hatred and discrimination. It is government policy to condemn such theories, and none is espoused at any level of government.

The Convention requires more however. States Parties must "undertake to adopt immediate and positive measures designed to eradicate all incitement to, or acts of, such discrimination." More specifically, Article 4(a) obliges States Parties to penalize four categories of misconduct:

all dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred,

incitement to racial hatred,

all acts of violence or incitement to violence against any race or group of persons of another color or ethnic origin, and

the provision of any assistance to racist activities, including the financing

thereof.

The Committee has stressed the importance with which it views these obligations, as reflected, for example, in General Recommendation VII adopted in 1985 in which the Committee stressed the mandatory character of Article 4, and General Recommendation XV of 1993 in which the Committee stated its opinion that "the prohibition of the dissemination of all ideas based on racial superiority or hatred is compatible with the right to freedom of opinion and expression." Article 4(b) requires States Parties to declare illegal and prohibit organizations which promote and incite racial discrimination, to prohibit their propaganda activities, and to make participation in such organizations and activities an offense punishable by law. Article 4(c) imposes an obligation to forbid public authorities and institutions from promoting or inciting racial discrimination.

Constitutional Limitations. For the reasons described earlier, the ability of the United States to give effect to these requirements is circumscribed by Constitutional protections of individual freedom of speech, expression and association. Accordingly, the United States took a reservation to this article, and to the corresponding provisions of Article 7, to make clear that it cannot accept any obligation to restrict those rights, through the adoption of legislation or any other measures, to the extent that they are protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Nonetheless, there remains a substantial area in which the United States can, and does, give effect to this article.

Hate Crimes (Federal Law). U.S. law has long provided criminal penalties for certain violations of civil rights, including in particular acts of violence motivated by racism. See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. sec. 245(b)(2); 18 U.S.C. sec. 247(c); 42 U.S.C. sec. 3631. Federal "hate crimes" law makes "an offense punishable by law" acts of violence or incitement to such acts, including the provision of assistance for such acts, including financing. In some instances, harsher penalties have been available when ordinary crimes are committed with racist intent. The Clinton Administration strongly supports legislation to expand the protections under federal hate crimes statutes.

In recent years, the federal government has undertaken a number of initiatives to combat hate crimes and violence. Central to these efforts has been the undertaking to gather information. The Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-275, 28 U.S.C. sec. 534, directs the Attorney General to collect data from state and local law enforcement agencies about crimes that "manifest evidence of prejudice based upon race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity." The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report Program is the central repository for hate crime statistics. Subsequent efforts have been directed at youth who commit hate crimes, including the development of a school-based curriculum to address prevention and treatment of hate crimes by juveniles.

Despite these efforts, it is a disturbing element of life in the United States that hate crimes are prevalent and wide-spread. In 1998, a total of 7,755 bias-motivated criminal incidents were reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program by 10,730 law enforcement agencies in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Of these incidents, racial bias motivated 4,321; religious bias accounted for 1,390; sexual-orientation bias was the cause of 1,260;

ethnicity/national origin bias represented 754; disability bias was associated with 25; and the remaining 5 incidents were the result of multiple biases. Sixty-eight percent of the offenses reported were crimes against persons. Indeed, thirteen persons were murdered in incidents motivated by hate. The United States continually reevaluates its laws, policies and practices in light of statistics like these in its efforts both to punish and to prevent bias-motivated crimes.

Hate Crimes (State and Local Action). Forty-seven jurisdictions in the United States have enacted some form of legislation designed to combat hate crimes. A number of states, including California, Florida and Ohio, have adopted laws prohibiting specific activities at specific places, for example, vandalism and intentional disturbances at places of worship. Florida and the District of Columbia have prohibited such acts as burning a cross or placing a swastika or other symbol on another's property with intent to intimidate. Thirty-nine states have enacted laws against bias- motivated violence and intimidation; for example, a New York statute prohibits bias-motivated discrimination or harassment. Other states (e.g., Wisconsin) provide for enhanced penalties when the motivation for an otherwise criminal act is bias. Nineteen states mandate the collection of hate crime statistics.

Racial and Ethnic Conflict and Violence. The Community Relations Service (CRS), created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, is a specialized federal conciliation service available to State and local officials to help resolve and prevent racial and ethnic conflict, violence and civil disorder. It sends experienced mediators to assist local communities' efforts to settle destructive conflicts and disturbances relating to race, color or national origin.

CRS lends its services when requested or when it believes peaceful community relations may be threatened. It relies solely on impartial mediation practices and established conflict resolution procedures to help local leaders resolve problems and restore community stability. CRS has no law enforcement authority and does not impose solutions, investigate or prosecute cases, or assign blame or fault. CRS mediators are required by law to conduct their activities in confidence and without publicity; and are prohibited from disclosing confidential information. Working in partnership with the Civil Rights Division, local United States Attorneys' offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, CRS plays a critical role in easing tensions in the aftermath of hate crimes and allegations of misconduct by law enforcement officers, especially where the race of the victim is alleged to have played a role in the officers' misconduct.

CRS race relations skills were called upon to restore stability and order in the civil unrest in Los Angeles following the Rodney King case (where four White Los Angeles police officers were caught on videotape beating Mr. King, a Black motorist), and countless other civil disturbances across the country. In response to President Clinton's call for a comprehensive response by federal agencies to address church burnings, CRS staff worked directly with more than 180 rural, suburban and urban governments in seventeen states to help eliminate racial distrust and polarization, promote multiracial construction of new buildings, conduct race relations training for community leaders and law enforcement officers, and provide technical assistance in ways to bring together law enforcement agencies and minority neighborhoods.

Other areas of CRS involvement include the prevention and resolution of racial conflicts

arising from the integration of public and private housing. CRS works with community leaders and local law enforcement officials to coordinate responses to issues raised by integration activities. CRS also assists in disputes between tribal nations and outside communities and addresses federal, state and local government concerns over tribal jurisdiction, housing, schools, environmental, gaming, and tax issues.

Racism on the Internet. The Supreme Court has made it clear that communications on the Internet receive the same constitutional protections under the First Amendment that communications in other media enjoy. Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844 (1997). Thus, material that can be proscribed or punished in print and voice media can be proscribed or punished if published on the Internet. In the past several years, the United States has investigated and prosecuted allegations of racially- motivated threats over the Internet. For example, in 1996, a California man sent death threats by email to numerous Asian-American students at the University of California at Irvine indicating his hatred of Asians, accusing Asians of being responsible for all crime on campus, and threatening to "hunt down" and "kill" the individuals if they did not leave the school. The sender of these messages was federally prosecuted and convicted by a jury of using racially-motivated threats of force to interfere with the victims' rights to attend public college in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 245. Similarly, in February of 1999, another California defendant pleaded guilty to violating the same statute by sending racially-threatening e-mails through the Internet to numerous Hispanic individuals at various governmental and educational institutions across the country.