In a non-binding decision issued this week, the UN‘s committee on the elimination of racial discrimination (CERD) called on the US to uphold its obligations as a signatory to the international convention on combating racism and discrimination.
The panel of 18 independent experts said it was deeply disturbed by the growing use of derogatory and dehumanising language as well as harmful stereotypes being used to target migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers.
“Portraying them as criminals or as a burden, by politicians and influential public figures at the highest level, particularly the president, may incite racial discrimination and hate crimes,” it said, in what appeared to be an unprecedented singling out of comments made by a US president.
— “Trump’s ‘racist hate speech’ and migration crackdowns violate human rights, UN panel says,” The Guardian
What Cloning Taught Us About the Next Apocalypse
In 1996, the world panicked over a cloned sheep and vowed to regulate the technology before it was too late. Nearly thirty years later, that effort has mostly failed. Now we’re making the same promises about AI.