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	Demand for International Criminal Court’s work unprecedented amid record high threats by UN News, ICC, OHCHR, agencies   10 July 2025   UN calls for reversal of US sanctions on Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. (UN News)   Top UN human rights officials have voiced serious concern over the imposition of sanctions by the United States targeting Francesca Albanese, a UN-appointed independent expert on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.   They’re calling for the decision to be reversed, warning it could undermine the wider international human rights system.   The sanctions were announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday under a Presidential Executive Order.   Mr. Rubio alleged that Ms. Albanese had “directly engaged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries,” which he claimed was a “gross infringement” on national sovereignty.   The US and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC.   Reacting to the announcement, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that the imposition of sanctions on Special Rapporteurs sets a “dangerous precedent.”   “The use of unilateral sanctions against Special Rapporteurs or any other UN expert or official is unacceptable,” he told journalists on Thursday at his regular news briefing in New York.   He also highlighted the independent mandate and role of the Special Rapporteurs, noting that Member States “are perfectly entitled to their views and to disagree with” the experts’ reports. “But we encourage them to engage with the UN’s human rights architecture,” he added.   In a statement issued on Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for the “prompt reversal” of the sanctions against the Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur “in response to work she has undertaken under the mandate” she is tasked with.   “Even in face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures,” he said.   The UN rights chief also called for an end to attacks and threats against mandate holders appointed by the council, as well as key institutions like the ICC.   “The solution is not less, but more, debate and dialogue on the very real human rights concerns they address,” Mr. Türk urged.   Jurg Lauber, President of the UN Human Rights Council, also voiced regret over the punitive move by the US. In a statement, he highlighted that Special Rapporteurs “are an essential instrument” in fulfilling the Council’s mandate and urged all nations to “fully cooperate” with them.   “I call on all UN Member States… to refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal against them,” he said.   * Independent Special Rapporteurs:   Special Rapporteurs are appointed under what is known as the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. They are independent experts appointed to monitor and report on human rights issues worldwide. These experts serve in their personal capacity, are not UN staff and receive no financial remuneration for their work.   They regularly report to the Geneva-based council as well as to the UN General Assembly in New York. In addition to the mandate on the occupied Palestinian territory, mandates exist to monitor human rights in countries such as Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Afghanistan. In all there are 46 thematic and 14 different country-based mandates.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165359 http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/comment-un-high-commissioner-human-rights-volker-turk-us-sanctions-against http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/07/statement-ambassador-jurg-lauber-president-united-nations-human http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/silence-not-option-un-special-procedures-coordination-committee-condemns-us http://spinternet.ohchr.org/ViewAllCountryMandates.aspx?Type=TM http://spinternet.ohchr.org/ViewAllCountryMandates.aspx http://www.ohchr.org/en/media-centre/news-situation-occupied-palestinian-territory-israel-and-lebanon http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-children-killed-during http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165365 http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-delivers-food-inside-gaza-amid-restrictions-and-growing-insecurity   6 June 2025   US decision to sanction ICC judges ‘deeply corrosive’ to justice: UN rights chief. (UN News)   The US Government’s announcement of sanctions against four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday has been condemned by Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as “deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice.”   Mr. Turk was responding to an announcement by Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, on Thursday, of measures targeting the judges, who are overseeing a 2020 case of alleged war crime committed in Afghanistan by US and Afghan military forces, and the 2024 ICC arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former Defence Minister.   “I am profoundly disturbed by the decision of the Government of the United States of America to sanction judges of the International Criminal Court – specifically four women judges, from Benin, Peru, Slovenia and Uganda – who had been part of rulings in the situations in Afghanistan or in the State of Palestine,” said Turk, who called for the prompt reconsideration and withdrawal of the measures.   The sanctions, the statement continues, attack the judges for performing their judicial functions, an act which, he said, runs “directly counter to respect for the rule of law and the equal protection of the law.”   The statement by Mr. Turk follows the ICC’s strongly worded press release on Thursday, describing the sanctions as “a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all corners of the globe.”   The ICC reinforced its position on Friday with a release from the Assembly of State Parties –the management oversight and legislative body of the court – rejecting the US sanctions which, it declared, “risk undermining global efforts to ensure accountability for the gravest crimes of concern to the international community and erode the shared commitment to the rule of law, the fight against impunity, and the preservation of a rules-based international order.”   http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164136 http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/international-criminal-court-deplores-new-sanctions-us-administration-against-icc-officials http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/presidency-assembly-states-parties-expresses-deep-concern-and-rejects-us-measures-targeting http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/06/comment-un-human-rights-chief-volker-turk-us-imposition-sanctions   7 Feb. 2025   Statement of ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane following the issuance of US Executive Order seeking to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court:   I note with deep regret the issuance by the United States of an Executive Order seeking to impose sanctions on the officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC, Court), harm the Court’s independence and its impartiality and deprive millions of innocent victims of atrocities of justice and hope.   The ICC is a judicial body which performs functions that align with the interests of the international community by enforcing and promoting universally recognised rules of international law, including the law of armed conflicts and human rights law.   As atrocities continue to plague the globe affecting the lives of millions of innocent children, women and men, the Court has become indispensable. It represents the most significant legacy of the immense suffering inflicted on civilians by the world wars, the Holocaust, genocides, violence and persecutions.When most of the States of the world gathered to draft the Rome Statute, they made the dream of many women and men come true. Today, the ICC is dealing with proceedings arising from different Situations across the world, in strict adherence to the provisions of the Rome Statute.   The announced Executive Order is only the latest in a series of unprecedented and escalatory attacks aiming to undermine the Court’s ability to administer justice in all Situations. Such threats and coercive measures constitute serious attacks against the Court’s States Parties, the rule of law based international order and millions of victims.   The ICC and its officials from all over the world realise daily its judicial mandate to determine whether certain individual conducts, within its legitimate jurisdiction, give rise to responsibility for international crimes.   We firmly reject any attempt to influence the independence and the impartiality of the Court or to politicise our judicial function. We have and always will comply only with the law, under all circumstances.   The ICC stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all Situations before it, in the sole interest of human dignity.   I call upon all those who share the values enshrined in the Statute to stand united in the Court’s defence: our 125 States Parties, civil society and all nations of the world.   23 Jan. 2025   Statement by the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties in support of the independence and impartiality of the International Criminal Court:   The Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute expresses its deep concern over sanctions measures against the International Criminal Court (“the Court”) and its personnel, as well as individuals and entities who assist it in investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting certain individuals.   Sanctions can severely hamper ongoing investigations in all situations and other activities of the Court and affect the safety of victims, witnesses and sanctioned individuals.   The Bureau regrets any attempts to undermine the Court’s independence, integrity and impartiality. We reiterate our firm commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute and to preserve its integrity undeterred by any threats or measures against the Court, its officials, its personnel and those cooperating with it.   The Rome Statute represents an international commitment to end impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. Safeguarding the Court’s integrity, including its judicial and prosecutorial independence, is fundamental to the successful discharge of its mandate to ensure accountability for such crimes and deliver justice to victims equally.   The Bureau emphasizes that the Assembly of States Parties stands firmly by the International Criminal Court, its elected officials, its personnel, and those cooperating with the Court. We stress the importance of the International Criminal Court in defending international justice and call on all States, international organizations and civil society to respect its independence and impartiality.   * The Bureau of the Assembly consists of a President, two Vice-Presidents and 18 members elected by the Assembly for three-year terms. The Bureau has a representative character and assists the Assembly in the discharge of its responsibilities.   http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-president-judge-tomoko-akane-following-issuance-us-executive-order-seeking http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-bureau-assembly-states-parties-support-independence-and-impartiality-international http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/icc-statement-occasion-80th-anniversary-auschwitz-liberation http://buildingtrust.si/79-states-parties-in-support-of-the-icc/   http://www.washingtonicc.org/2025-open-letter-regarding-sanctions-on-icc http://coalitionfortheicc.org/oppose-sanctions-against-ICC-safeguard-victims-access-justice http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/cicc-urges-states-parties-defend-icc http://humanrightsfirst.org/library/sanctioning-the-icc-sets-back-justice-promoting-efforts-around-the-world/ http://www.justsecurity.org/110266/no-immunity-icc-respect/ http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/01/1158896 http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/01/un-experts-urge-us-senate-reject-international-criminal-court-sanctions-bill http://www.ohchr.org/en/opinion-editorial/2025/01/antisemitism   1 Feb. 2025   Uproar in Italy over release of Libyan police chief with ICC arrest warrant, by Angela Giuffrida for Guardian News.   After stepping off an aircraft belonging to the Italian secret services, Osama Najim was triumphantly carried on the shoulders of the crowd of supporters awaiting his arrival at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport.   Najim, also called Almasri, was not a footballer bringing home a trophy but a police chief wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including alleged murder, torture, enslavement, rape and sexual violence.   Two days earlier, Najim had been arrested by Italian police after the ICC had issued an arrest warrant. But the Italian government failed to validate the warrant and instead provided a government plane to fly him home from Turin.   As Tripoli celebrated, in Rome there was outrage and dismay. Opposition leaders demanded answers from Giorgia Meloni’s government, as critics accused Italy’s leadership of pandering to Libya because of its reliance on the north African country to stem the flow of migration towards Italy’s southern shores.   Human rights activists accused Italy of complicity in the long-documented mistreatment of migrants and refugees held in Libyan detention camps, while those most profoundly affected – the victims of Najim’s alleged crimes during their detention at the notorious Mitiga prison, one of the facilities under his watch – spoke of their pain at Italy “crushing” their already fragile hope of justice.   As the controversy raged on, Luigi Li Gotti, a lawyer and former justice ministry undersecretary, submitted a legal complaint that led to Meloni being placed under investigation for aiding and abetting a crime in connection with the Najim case. Meloni revealed the existence of the case against her – which includes interior minister Matteo Piantedosi, justice minister Carlo Nordio and Alfredo Mantovano, an interior ministry undersecretary – in a video message last week.   “I was appalled by everything that was happening,” Li Gotti told the Observer. “Why did we give back this [alleged] criminal who did all these things using such vicious methods, now allowing him to carry on doing those things?”   Najim, who also has Turkish and Dominican Republic citizenship, arrived in Europe from Tripoli on 6 January, making a stopover at Rome’s Fiumicino airport before travelling to London. A week later, he went by train to Brussels, before moving on to Germany, where he hired a car – using a Turkish driving licence – that he intended to drop off at Fiumicino.   The ICC arrest warrant was issued in six EU states, including Italy, on 18 January, the day Najim arrived in Turin. He went to a Juventus-AC Milan football match that evening and was arrested in a hotel room the next day by Italian police after a tip-off from Interpol.   The news of his arrest first circulated on Libyan social media networks before it was reported by Nello Scavo, a journalist on the Italian newspaper Avvenire, via Italian sources.   Italy’s justice ministry issued a vague statement regarding the ICC warrant but the arrest was only officially confirmed once Najim had been released and repatriated.   Amid lingering questions over why Italy did not validate the warrant, as it is obliged to under the ICC’s Rome statute, Meloni said Najim had been swiftly deported because he had been considered a risk to Italy’s national security.   “That we expelled him because he was deemed to be a highly dangerous character was even more mind-­blowing,” said Li Gotti.   In her video message, Meloni took issue with Li Gotti and Rome’s chief prosecutor, Francesco Lo Voi, insinuating that the investigation was part of a leftwing vendetta against her. “I am not blackmailable, I am not intimidated. Onwards and upwards,” Meloni told her social media followers.   On the contrary, critics believe the Italian government might have been blackmailed by Libya, its former colony. Apart from a deal that involves Italy paying the Libyan coastguard to stop migrant boats from leaving, the country has wide-ranging political and business interests in Libya.   The country is also important for the success of Meloni’s much-touted Mattei plan, aimed at increasing European cooperation on the African continent in return for curbs on irregular migration.   “In the absence of a precise explanation from the authorities, we only have a few theories,” said Scavo, who wrote about Najim in a book, Le Mani sulla Guardia Costiera, in which he describes the police chief as being “among the figures capable of blackmailing Italy and Europe with boats”.   Scavo added: “We know there was a lot of agitation in Libya over the arrest. So a danger was certainly perceived, a threat also for the Italians and the Italian companies who are in Libya. However, I believe this also represents an element of weakness for Italy, a G7 country, which felt threatened by Libya. If anything, this reflects greater strength from Libya’s power system.”   Meloni has long been at war with Italy’s judiciary, with her allies claiming she is being persecuted in a similar way to the late former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Relations are especially bitter as a result of judges having disrupted Italy’s controversial migrant scheme with Albania.   Moreover, it is unlikely that Meloni will face trial, especially given that it would need approval from parliament, where her government has a majority.   “Everybody knows that the investigation will not result in anything,” said Christopher Hein, a professor of immigration law and policy at Luiss University in Rome. “But this risks reducing the attention on what really happened in this scandalous Najim case.”   http://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/01/why-did-we-give-back-this-alleged-criminal-pressure-grows-on-meloni-after-italy-releases-wanted-libyan-police-chief http://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/world/europe/italy-libya-migrants-international-criminal-court.html http://www.justsecurity.org/107175/italy-libya-icc-cooperation-elmasry-arrest http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-libya-icc-arrest-warrant-against-osama-elmasry-njeem-alleged-crimes-against-humanity   http://reliefweb.int/report/libya/iom-deeply-alarmed-mass-graves-found-libya-urges-action http://www.msf.org/libya-migrants-face-extreme-violence-and-exclusion-healthcare http://www.msf.org/people-are-beaten-sexually-abused-and-killed-libyan-detention-centres   28 Oct. 2024   Demand for International Criminal Court’s work unprecedented amid record high threats, coercive measures worldwide, ICC President tells UN General Assembly. (UN News)   Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), said the past year has been marked by an unparalleled increase in demand for the Court’s work, along with unprecedented levels of threats, pressures and coercive measures which pose a serious threat to administering justice.   “Let me be very clear on this. We cannot give up. We will not give up,” Ms. Akane told delegates. Presenting the criminal tribunal’s annual report of its activities from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024, she said, it is “sadly” becoming increasingly more relevant in today’s world. “I say sadly, because this reflects a painful reality that countless innocent civilians live in pain and misery in all regions of the globe,” she added.   Stressing the Court is not a political institution, she said its judges will always be fully independent and impartial in carrying out their duties. “We are only bound by the law and we do not change the course of our actions due to threats, be them political or of another nature,” she said, adding: “We will continue abiding by our mandate undeterred, with integrity, determination, impartiality and independence at all times.”   The number of States parties to the Court will reach 125 — about two-thirds of the international community — on 1 January 2025, when Ukraine officially becomes a member after having deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute, the Court’s founding treaty, on 25 October.   Detailing the Court’s “extraordinarily busy period” for the past 12 months, she said there were outstanding arrest warrants against 20 individuals, including four arrest warrants issued concerning the Ukraine situation in 2024, when the report was submitted.   On 4 October 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber I unsealed six arrest warrants in the Libya situation, bringing the total to 26. This does not include many other warrants issued under seal and the enormous work done by the different Pre-Trial Chambers, she said.   While continuing to enhance its tracking capabilities, arrest warrants cannot be executed without States’ cooperation. “Again, the Court urges all UN Member States to assist the Court by cooperating on the arrest and transfer of individuals subject to outstanding ICC arrest warrants,” she said.   The Court’s first in absentia confirmation case is being held regarding the situation in Uganda on the charges against Joseph Kony. The victims of his alleged crimes have been awaiting justice for over 18 years.   At the trial level, Trial Chamber X convicted Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed between 2 April 2012 and 29 January 2013 in Timbuktu, northern Mali, in the context of control by Ansar Dine and Al-Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, known as AQIM. The Chamber’s sentencing decision is scheduled for 20 November.   Hearings continued in the Yekatom and Ngaïssona and the Said cases from the situation in the Central African Republic and in the Abd-Al-Rahman case from the situation in Darfur.   During the reporting period, the Chambers issued 532 written decisions, in addition to oral and email decisions, and 158 hearings were held, she said. In 2023, 14 arrest warrants were issued, including those under seal.   Turning to the Court’s mandate towards victims of mass atrocities, she said reparations are an integral part of the tribunal’s proceedings. Reparations proceedings in the Katanga case concluded in April, with a closing ceremony held in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, marking a historic milestone.   Reparations orders in several other cases are being implemented and about 24,000 individuals, 53 per cent more than in 2023, are directly benefiting from medical treatment, psychological rehabilitation, socioeconomic support, education and peacebuilding activities through the Trust Fund for Victims. Sixty-nine per cent of the beneficiaries are women.   “We are truly at a turning point in history. The rule-based approach to the conduct of hostilities and global affairs and the very notion of international criminal justice is under significant threat,” she said. “It is up to the international community to decide whether the rule of law at the international level should be defended or whether we ought to revert to the rule of power”.   Cooperation with United Nations crucial for advancing Global Justice   Philemon Yang, UN General Assembly President said that while the Court is separate from the United Nations, cooperation between the two institutions is crucial to advance global justice and promote international peace and security.   At the heart of the Rome Statute is the principle of complementarity, which recognizes that the Court functions as a court of last resort, only exercising its jurisdiction where national courts fail to do so.   “Accordingly, strengthening justice systems at the national level, including through capacity-building initiatives should be a priority for us all,” he said.   Noting the conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan have seen the potential commission of heinous crimes, he said it is vital that impunity in these situations is not tolerated.   “States must prioritize accountability, ensure justice for victims and restore a sense of security within affected communities,” he stressed. 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	Why history lessons are so threatening to those with power by OHCHR, Harvard University, NYT, agencies USA   June 2025   Political interference in US education undermines academic freedom and equitable access to education: UN expert. (OHCHR)   The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Farida Shaheed, has expressed deep concern over escalating political interference across the US education system, warning that recent developments, including the contested decision to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students, are part of a wider trend threatening academic freedom, student rights and democratic integrity.   “While the Harvard case has drawn global attention, it is emblematic of a much broader pattern of coercive assault on academic freedom and institutional autonomy: from book and subject bans in schools to discriminatory censorship laws and punitive measures against universities, their students and faculty,” Shaheed said.   She warned against the authoritarian encroachment on universities, where state power is increasingly used to penalise dissent, shape curricula and restrict open inquiry.   In her country visit report presented to the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur documented discriminatory policies targeting curricula, teaching and student activism. “As observed during my visit and in the year that followed, political interference has increasingly restricted access to diverse perspectives and critical inquiry,” she said.   “Many interlocutors described a pervasive ‘chilling effect’ on educators and institutions. At the same time, student protests are met with criminalisation, deportations, surveillance and disproportionate disciplinary actions.”   Shaheed called on the US to uphold academic freedom as a cornerstone of scientific progress and democracy. “This includes respecting institutional autonomy, resisting censorship and ensuring pluralism in educational content,” she said. “As a party to the ICCPR, the United States must guarantee that universities, whether public or private, operating on its territory and subordinate to its legislation, protect, and not punish, peaceful protest.”   She expressed strong support for more than 200 universities resisting what has been described as a coordinated pressure campaign involving threats to withdraw federal funding or tax privileges, weaponisation of accreditation, politically motivated investigations and demands to censor content, restrict hiring or discipline students.   “I commend those institutions that are standing firm in defence of the core values of education. Upholding academic freedom and freedom of expression is not only lawful, it is necessary to preserve the democratic role of education.”   Shaheed urged authorities at all levels to:   Recognise education as a fundamental human right; Treat education as a public good and address inequities in funding; End censorship and politicisation of content across all levels of education; Prioritise mental health and restorative approaches over punitive discipline; Protect tenure and institutional governance from external interference.   “Without structural reforms, these trends will continue to erode equitable access to education and diminish its role in sustaining democratic society,” she warned, adding that the Principles for implementing the right to academic freedom can provide useful guidance in creating policies aimed at shielding academic activities from political and commercial interests.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/political-interference-us-education-undermines-academic-freedom-and http://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2025/the-promise-of-american-higher-education/ http://www.harvard.edu/president/category/news/ http://app.frame.io/presentations/58d800e6-d749-4066-beab-605912c037aa http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/04/harvard-wont-comply-with-demands-from-trump-administration/ http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/01/trump-harvard-authoritarianism-democracy http://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/may/26/former-harvard-president-drew-gilpin-faust-threats-to-democracy http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/23/us/harvard-trump-lawsuit.html http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/26/trumps-revenge-spree-on-harvard-echoes-well-beyond-education http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/21/us-university-presidents-trump-administration   http://www.aaup.org/news/harvard-aaup-and-national-aaup-sue-trump-administration-block-unlawful-funding-cuts http://sites.google.com/view/yalefacultyletter2025/home http://www.aaup.org/ http://president.mit.edu/writing-speeches/further-responses-federal-actions http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr/our-work/carr-commentary/indigenous-rights-part-alleged-woke-agenda-historical http://knightcolumbia.org/content/knight-institute-condemns-trump-administrations-effort-to-subjugate-universities-to-official-power   Feb. 2025   Why history lessons are so threatening to those with power, by Chana Teeger. (Columbia University Press)   If students are taught that the racism of the past is done and dusted, then it follows that there is nothing left to do – no policies left to enact. But if the playing field today is not equal – if the past still affects the present – then ignoring these legacies allows inequities to continue unchecked, writes Chana Teeger.   "History education is on the agenda internationally. Across the United States, interest groups are working to outlaw discussions of how racism underpins the country’s history by banning books and regulating school curricula. In India, the Hindu nationalist government has been accused of rewriting history as it deletes the Mughal past from textbooks. And in the United Kingdom, teachers’ unions protest that national guidelines on “political impartiality” are silencing conversations about racism and the British Empire in schools.   But erasure and denial of the past are not the only ways to suppress historical claims and reproduce privilege. In fact, such overt strategies are often easy to identify and critique. In contrast, my research in two racially diverse South African schools shows how the past can be recalled while its legacies are ignored.   Apartheid is very much on the curriculum in South Africa. Across the country, grade 9 students (aged 14-15) confront their country’s history of legalised racism in a mandatory high school module. But, as I sat in on hundreds of hours of classes and spoke with 170 students and teachers, I learned that the past was taught in ways that distanced it from young people’s everyday lives.   Much has changed since the days of apartheid. Yet, even as a democracy, South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world. And that inequality remains highly racialised – so much so that whites’ average earnings are more than three times those of black Africans.   But learning about apartheid in school did not help students make connections between the racist past and present. Instead, history lessons taught them that the past is over and that the present is all about equality of opportunity.   Why did this historical distancing form such a core part of the lessons? My research shows that this had to do with teachers’ hopes of avoiding conflict and difficult feelings – like guilt and anger – in their classrooms. As one teacher explained, “you want to use the wrongs of the past to try unite the kids.”   By teaching students that the past was done and dusted, teachers aimed to create a sense of unity where students could contrast then (the apartheid past) to now (their multiracial classrooms). They wanted to steer clear of racial boundaries that students might draw between us and them.   Why does this matter? Well, if teachers’ messages are correct, if racism has indeed been dealt with – if it is over – then there is nothing left to do, no policies left to enact. But if the playing field is not equal – if the past still affects the present – then ignoring these legacies means that inequities can continue unchecked. In other words, these history lessons taught students lessons that undermine political action aimed at undoing the legacies of the past.   By teaching students that racism is in the past, these lessons also taught black students not to talk about the racism they experience in the present.   A teacher told me how she drove home this message when a student accused her of being racist. Connecting the student’s claims about current racism to the apartheid past, the teacher recalled bluntly telling the student: “You have no right to claim what happened because you didn’t go through it. It’s not your hurt that you’re carrying.”   As monuments to slaveholders topple across the globe, while lawmakers work to regulate the content of history curricula, we are reminded that the past is not really history. Instead, the past makes demands on the present and can be used to mobilise for justice.   This is why so much is at stake in teaching about histories of oppression. In the short run, teachers can create an illusion of racial harmony, as students learn not to talk about racism in the present. But, in the long run, these lessons reproduce unequal power relations and block efforts at real equality.   Righting historical wrongs means looking squarely at past injustices – including how these continue into the present. Erasure and denial will not make inequality disappear.   Indeed, they will allow it to continue without challenge. For the past to truly become history, we must first recognise all the ways that it is still present".   * Chana Teeger is associate professor in the department of Methodology at the London School of Economics and the author of Distancing the Past: Racism as History in South African Schools.   Each February, the United States celebrates Black History Month and honors the innumerable achievements, contributions, and the history of African Americans.   Distorting the past is a powerful political tool for creating an alternative social reality, says Hajar Yazdiha - Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California.   "This year we welcome Black History Month amid the onslaught of “shock and awe” executive orders including rolling back long-established civil rights protections, banning DEI initiatives, and challenging birthright citizenship. In this landscape, it is not entirely clear if Black History Month itself is still allowed. (It is, though the administration has ordered it be “downplayed”).   The dawn of this political era has been likened to the rise of European fascism a century ago. Yet, it is Black history itself that shows us that our answers to how we got here and why this is happening are rooted right here, in the histories of the United States.   More critically, our answers lie in understanding how and why political elites have ensured we remain willfully ignorant to these histories. As Dr. King once warned, "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."   In my book The Struggle for the People’s King, I document the right wing’s long game of sanitizing, distorting, and misusing memories of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement to render White Americans the “true” victims of the Civil Rights era.   The danger of distorting the past is not only that it is untrue. As we see, playing out in real time today across the globe, distorting the past is a powerful political tool for creating an alternative social reality that justifies everything from re-segregation to genocide.   Distorting the past ensures we do not learn the histories of everyday people of all stripes, coming together, organizing, struggling, and resisting. Instead, we remain helpless and scared, atomized and pitted against one another.   More than ever, Black history is vital not only for understanding the past that led us here. Black history is vital because it affords us the vision and will for a collective path forward".   Our nation’s inability to reconcile with the legacies of slavery and colonialism, by Willie Mack - Assistant Professor in the Black Studies Department at the University of Missouri-Columbia   "Efforts by conservative and racist politicians and activists to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT), diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in schools, government offices, and businesses, and books that discuss race and sexuality, have proliferated in states like Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas, just to name a few.   Conservative lawmakers and activists claim that the banning of CRT, DEI, and books that deal with race and sexuality is crucial because they are too “woke.” However, what these conservative and racist activists are doing is endeavoring to erase the long history of racism and white supremacy in this country, a symptom of our nation’s inability to reconcile with the legacies of slavery and colonialism".   In 1926, amongst a period of virulent racial violence against Black people, Black historian Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week in the second week of February. Carter chose February to coincide with Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’s birthdays. However, Carter established the holiday as a year-round celebration, not simply one month. It was not until 1986, amongst the punitive War on Drugs and rise of mass incarceration that disproportionally targeted Black communities, that U.S. Congress designated February as National Black History Month.   Regardless, Black History Month was established as a celebration of resistance against white supremacy and the erasure of Black history. It is now more important than ever that we carry on Woodson’s life goal of celebrating and preserving Black history year-round, year after year".   Coming to terms with the origins of U.S. history, by Michael McEachrane - Rapporteur of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and a Racial Justice Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.   "In this age of "Make America Great Again," "America First," "White Pride over Civil Rights," and "Profit for the Few over Welfare for the Many and our Planet," Black History Month may be more important than ever. At its core, it is about social equality and justice.   It is about fairly including people in the grand narrative of U.S. history who may otherwise be sidelined. It is about coming to terms with the origins of U.S. history in colonialism, genocide, enslavement and racism. And it is about struggles for the equal dignity, freedom, rights, opportunities, and voice of all Americans.   At its very best, Black History Month is also about global history. The transnational and fleeting nature, rich diversity and ingenuity of human culture, including the pioneering civilization of Ancient Egypt and its roots in Black Africa. The global impact of European colonialism, enslavement and racism, including on the unequal formation of the global economy. The similar situations and struggles of Africans and people of African descent across the world.   And even the possibilities of a social, economic, and environmentally sustainable development that leaves no one behind, to speak the language of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development".   As Trump Attacks Diversity, a Racist undercurrent Surfaces, by Erica L. Green - White House correspondent for the New York Times.   As Navy divers searched the Potomac River for bodies from the worst air crash in the United States in 20 years, President Trump zeroed in on what he saw as the cause: hiring programs that promote diversity.   The meaning behind his words was clear, that diversity equals incompetence. And for many historians, civil rights leaders, scholars and citizens, it was an unmistakable message of racism in plain sight at the highest levels of American government.   “His attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion aren’t about a particular program or some acronym — they’re just a sanitized substitute for the racist comments that can no longer be spoken openly,” Margaret Huang, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s president and chief executive, said during a call with civil rights leaders after Mr. Trump’s remarks.   “But the message is the same, that women, ​Black and brown communities are inherently less capable, and if they hold positions of power or authority in government or business, it must be because the standards were lowered.​”   In the weeks since he took office, Mr. Trump has made a point of purging the federal government of D.E.I. initiatives in order to usher in what he called a “colorblind and merit-based” society. He even said his executive order eliminating the programs was “the most important federal civil rights measure in decades.”   In his actions, Mr. Trump has aligned himself with those who are brandishing the term D.E.I. as a catchall for discrimination against white people, and using it as a pejorative to attack nonwhite and female leaders as unqualified for their positions.   After some of Mr. Trump’s allies in Congress disparagingly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as a “D.E.I. hire” during the 2024 campaign, Mr. Trump refused to disavow the remarks.   The issue plays into deep tensions among Americans about the role of race in society and helped supercharge Mr. Trump’s political comeback. Many voters, conservative and not, hoped to see a correction to what they saw as progressive politics gone too far. D.E.I., in effect, became an all-purpose target for society’s ills.   “It’s the latest term that serves as a proxy for race, and it’s used as a politically expedient slur, as a way to stoke white grievances and to give a convenient scapegoat to whatever ails our nation,” said Timothy Welbeck, the director of Temple University’s Center for Anti-Racism.   A Pew Research Center survey published in November found that the percentage of American workers who viewed D.E.I. programs negatively was on the rise, though a majority of workers still believed that it was a good thing for their employers to focus on.   A White House spokesman, Harrison Fields, said Democrats’ focus on D.E.I. undermined “decades of progress toward true equality.”   “The Trump administration rejects this backward thinking and will pursue an agenda that lifts everyone up with the chance to achieve the American dream,” he said in a statement.   In Mr. Trump’s remarks last week on the plane crash, he cited no evidence that diversity programs had anything to do with the fatal accident. When asked how he could say that diversity hiring was to blame, he said, “I have common sense.”   In a misleading claim, Mr. Trump insinuated that the administration of President Barack Obama — the first Black president — had stocked the Federal Aviation Administration with people who could not do their jobs.   “They actually came out with a directive: ‘too white,’” Mr. Trump said. His administration will be different, he went on. “We want the people that are competent.”   (Asked for details on the “too white” claim, the White House cited a lawsuit filed in 2015 by a conservative legal organization accusing the Obama administration of hiring practices that were “engineered to favor racial minorities.” That lawsuit is pending in court.)   The concept behind the federal government’s diversity programs is not new; it developed as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The goal is to remove discriminatory barriers for women, minority groups and people with disabilities from jobs. The earliest beneficiaries were white women, white people in rural areas and disabled veterans, Mr. Welbeck said.   The idea was that qualified people were being overlooked.   “It wasn’t discriminatory, because it was always about offering qualified people an opportunity to have a seat at the table,” Mr. Welbeck said. “They weren’t supplanting people, it was more so an opportunity for access.”   Critics of D.E.I. say an emphasis on diversity means that hiring standards are compromised and that the focus on race and gender is a distraction from more urgent goals and the overall mission. “When you don’t focus on safety and you focus on social justice or the environment, bad things happen,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on CNN on Sunday, speaking about the Washington plane crash. The Trump administration, Mr. Duffy said, wants “the best and the brightest.”   But in the F.A.A. and elsewhere, officials say, the programs follow the same aptitude, medical and security standards for all hires.   Melik Abdul, a Republican strategist who was a part of the group Black Americans for Trump during the 2024 campaign, said the president’s stated commitment to merit was contradicted by some of his actions. He noted that Mr. Trump’s cabinet, which is predominantly white and male, is packed with loyalists.   “If it was all about merit, then we wouldn’t have Pete Hegseth,” said Mr. Abdul, referring to Mr. Trump’s defense secretary. Mr. Hegseth, a veteran and former Fox News host, took over the job of overseeing the Defense Department and its three million employees with little management experience beyond running veterans groups that he was accused of mismanaging.   “You can’t argue merit and say that is our most merit-based hire,” said Mr. Abdul, who has not broken with the president over the D.E.I. issue but says he is frustrated by Mr. Trump’s “obsession” with it.   For many, Mr. Trump’s attacks on D.E.I. point to his long history of inflaming racial tensions using dog whistles — from a campaign dating back to the 1980s against five Black men who were wrongfully convicted and ultimately exonerated of assaulting and raping a white woman, to his attempt to paint the first Black president as a noncitizen.   But now, they say, the dog whistle is a bullhorn. The attacks on D.E.I. are part of a broad backlash against policies that Republicans denounce as left-wing politics run amok. One of Mr. Trump’s most aired ads about Ms. Harris during the presidential race ended with a tagline that took direct aim at transgender people: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”   Conservatives seized on what they describe as “woke” policies taking over American culture, particularly after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, 46-year-old Black man, by a Minneapolis police officer. The killing spurred schools, institutions and companies to adopt policies and training that sought to acknowledge and reverse systemic inequities.   In the process, they alienated some people. “The oppressiveness of D.E.I. in the common culture, workplaces and in schools started to sink in,” said Dan Lennington, deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which has sought to wipe out diversity programs. “People being told they have white privilege and they ought to read a book about it is not the way to make friends and have influence.”   The uproar over D.E.I. is similar to the one over critical race theory a few years ago, in which conservative activists alleged that schools were indoctrinating students to become radical race warriors, and shaming students by teaching them about the history of slavery.   Critical race theory, a graduate-level concept that explores systemic racism in America, was rarely taught in K-12 schools. But some of its conceptual underpinnings, including that racism is embedded in societal systems like courts and schools, were a part of discussions on race more broadly.   The architect of the movement to turn critical race theory into a Republican rallying cry, Christopher F. Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, laid out a blueprint for Mr. Trump in December to eliminate “left-wing racialism” from the federal government.   In a post he called the “Counterrevolution Blueprint,” he wrote: “Trump can end these programs under his executive authority and replace D.E.I. with a policy of strict colorblind equality. This action would deliver an immediate shock to the bureaucracy.”   In an emailed response to an inquiry from The New York Times last week, Mr. Rufo said that he had been in touch with members of the Trump policy team since the summer of 2020, when the fight against critical race theory began. He said Mr. Trump’s D.E.I. fight had been years in the making by several conservative groups whose staff members have now joined the administration. He called the administration’s execution of their plans “phenomenal.”   “For an activist, there is no greater thrill than seeing a blueprint turn into reality,” he wrote. “It’s a new day in America.”   Civil rights groups say that it may be a new day, but that the themes have clear echoes, including the years after Reconstruction, which were marked by a violent backlash against Black people, and the tenure of President Woodrow Wilson, who resegregated the federal work force.   Samuel Spital, the associate director-counsel of the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund, said Mr. Trump’s dismantling of D.E.I. was an attempt to “remake our society.” It is an effort, he said, to “collectively gaslight the American people” about the real victims of discrimination in the United States.   Jan. 2025   Joint Center Responds to Removal of EEOC Commissioners   In response to President Donald Trump’s decision to fire two commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies issues the following statement.   “This unprecedented action to dismiss EEOC Commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels directly threatens workplace civil rights protections and the EEOC’s independence as a bipartisan agency,” said Joint Center President Dedrick Asante-Muhammad.   “The EEOC was established under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect workers from discrimination based on race, gender, disability, religion, age, and other characteristics.   Bringing to an end the racial inequalities and discrimination still found in the workplace is not discriminatory nor unlawful, it is the right of every individual to have the ability to be protected within their workplace and to have the ability to provide for themselves or their families.”   Joint Center Workforce Policy Director Dr. Kayla Elliott said, “The EEOC is an independent, bipartisan agency that exists to protect employees, not serve the political agenda of any administration. We are deeply concerned that the EEOC’s new priority will be to uproot employers with perfectly legal employment practices rather than upholding protections against discrimination.”   * In the United States, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are organizational frameworks that seek to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination.   DEI policy emerged from Affirmative action in the United States. The legal term "affirmative action" was first used in "Executive Order No. 10925", signed by President John F. Kennedy on 6 March 1961, which included a provision that government contractors "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated fairly during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin".   In September 1965, President Lyndon Johnson issued Executive Order 11246 which required government employers to "hire without regard to race, religion and national origin" and "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex or national origin." The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.   An estimated 48.3 million people in the U.S. identified as Black in 2023 according to the Pew Center, in the US the Hispanic population reached 62.1 million in 2020. The US Female Population aged 15-64 was reported at 106 million in 2017. 1 in 4—over 70 million—adults in the United States reported having a disability in 2022. DEI policies have sought to bring greater equality and justice to what is in fact the majority of the U.S. population.   http://cupblog.org/2024/07/24/why-history-lessons-are-so-threatening-to-those-with-power-chana-teeger/ http://www.splcenter.org/presscenter/trump-rolls-back-six-decades-workplace-discrimination-protections/ http://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/magazine/trump-civil-rights-law-discrimination.html http://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/us/politics/trump-diversity-racism.html http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/trump-attacks-dei/681772/ http://humanrightsfirst.org/library/mlk-legacy-trumps-hatred/ http://blog.ucsusa.org/precious-tshabalala/celebrating-black-history-while-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-are-under-attack/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/06/civil-rights-watchdog-under-assault-trump-administration http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/04/10/trump-administrations-assaults-black-history http://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-epa-zeldin-environmental-rollback-rcna196056 http://otherwords.org/black-history-is-every-day-with-or-without-the-white-house/ http://otherwords.org/why-politicians-keep-blaming-dei-for-disasters-even-when-its-laughably-untrue/ http://www.idea.int/theme/gender-and-inclusion   http://www.philanthropy.com/blogs/letters-to-the-editor/anonymity-isnt-possible http://www.philanthropy.com/article/these-346-foundations-are-candidates-for-a-trump-dei-investigation http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/pressreleases/statement-diane-yentel-president-ceo-national-council-nonprofits-denouncing-house-gop http://www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org/20250421_ngo-statement-advisory/ http://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01192-y http://www.unsdsn.org/news/why-2025-must-be-the-year-of-leaving-no-one-behind/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/03/usa-businesses-must-stand-firm-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-say-experts   http://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/08/stockholm-rejects-us-letter-urging-city-to-reverse-diversity-initiatives http://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/trumps-newspeak-threatens-us-all-8343/ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/31/politicians-criticise-us-efforts-to-make-eu-firms-reverse-diversity-initiatives http://www.france24.com/en/europe/20250329-trump-diversity-equity-inclusion-dei-france-companies-executive-order-usa-europe-ban http://genevasolutions.news/global-news/surreal-us-questionnaire-stuns-international-geneva http://www.passblue.com/2025/03/25/the-trump-officials-who-sent-loyalty-questions-to-un-geneva-agencies/ http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2025/05/trump-white-south-africans-afrikaners-cyril-ramaphosa http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/23/trump-ramaphosa-south-africa-meeting   http://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/trumps-attack-on-the-department-of-education-explained http://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/medicaid-is-a-lifeline-for-people-with-disabilities-congress-must-act-to-save-it http://www.aclu.org/podcast/know-your-disability-rights-with-zoe-brennan-krohn-and-nicole-jorwic http://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-department-of-education-cuts-could-hurt-resources-for-students-with-disabilities http://childrensdefense.org/rev-dr-starsky-wilson-on-dept-of-education-executive-order-education-is-still-the-path-to-freedom-and-fairness/ http://childrensdefense.org/blog/100-days-and-counting/ http://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/federal-cuts-threaten-babies-and-preschoolers-with-disabilities-from-all-angles http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2025/03/18/ed-department-cuts-may-leave-students-with-disabilities-little-to-no-recourse/31362/
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