From the Agence France Presse
US law enforcement is guilty of discrimination in its use of racial profiling to target Arabs and Muslims since the attacks of September 11, 2001, a United Nations report said Friday.

The UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination "is deeply concerned about the increase in racial profiling against Arabs, Muslims and South Asians in the wake of the 9/11 attacks," the report said.

It urged Washington to strengthen its efforts to combat the phenomenon at both a state and federal level.

"Measures taken in the fight against terrorism must not discriminate, in purpose or effect, on the grounds of race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin," the report said.

The US signed up to the Convention in 1994 but has been criticised by rights groups for failing to implement its provisions in full.

The report urged the US administration to "review the definition of racial discrimination used in the federal and state legislation and in court practice".

Black Americans and other minorities continue to suffer discrimination across all sections of society, from the education and justice systems to access to housing and healthcare, it said.

Minorities "are disproportionately concentrated in poor residential areas characterised by sub-standard housing conditions, limited employment opportunities, inadequate access to health-care facilities, under-resourced schools and high exposure to crime and violence," the report noted.

Police brutality is also a serious problem and a culture of impunity prevails despite some states' efforts to prosecute offenders for criminal misconduct.

Prior to the committee's report, an array of rights groups including Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union charged that the US is guilty of "persistent and systematic" racial discrimination.

ACLU spokesman Jamil Dakwar welcomed the report's findings, which he said showed that the US is "out of step with the rest of the world" in implementing the convention.

"We're hoping this message will resonate in Washington," he told AFP.

"The US can't just talk the talk, it must walk the walk" in actively implementing legislation to end racism, he added.

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