Human Rights
Minority Rights Archive
MILITARY ENLISTMENT OF HISPANIC YOUTH: OBSTACLES AND OPPORTUNITIES. RAND Corporation. Beth J. Asch et al. January 2009.
Full Text [PDF format, 224 pages]
Lower high school graduation rates and higher rates of obesity are two of the reasons that many Hispanics are denied entry into the U.S. military, according to the study. Although Hispanics do well once in the military, they are underrepresented in all branches of the nation’s armed forces, primarily because they often fail to meet eligibility requirements. The U.S. Congress has said that the U.S. military should closely mirror the racial and ethnic makeup of the nation, creating the need to enlist more Hispanics. “Hispanics who do join the military tend to serve longer and be promoted faster than their white counterparts,” said Beth Asch.
[Note: contains copyrighted material]
LOCKED OUT: THE LACK OF GENDER AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY ON CABLE NEWS CONTINUES. Media Matters for America. May 7, 2007.
Full Text [html format, various pagings]
Media Matters analyzed the race/ethnicity and gender of the hosts and guests on major prime-time cable news programs during and after the Imus controversy (Monday, April 2 through Friday, April 27). This study demonstrates that during this brief period “cable news remains an overwhelmingly white and male preserve.” When an issue involves gender and/or race/ethnicity, the three major cable networks (CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC) bring a more diverse lineup of guests, but the rest of time the guest list are overwhelmingly white and male.
The conclusion reached is that “if the cable-news networks want their guests to represent the full spectrum of Americans, they have a long way to go.”
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Metaferia, Getachew CHINA: ETHNIC POLITICS, NATION BUILDING AND ITS GLOBAL ROLE (Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 29, No. 1, Fall 2005, pp. 36-60)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library
China has 55 classified ethnic minority groups that reside on 70-80 percent of the country's total land area. In the past, the government has tried to assimilate many of these minorities, leading to separatist sentiment in many border regions. The author believes that China could overcome the potential for disintegration by economic development in the ethnic regions, reducing the disparities and ensuring equality. In general, China's foreign policy is to realize its long-term strategic interests, avoiding hegemonic politics and pursuing low-key diplomacy. Improvements in living conditions can be seen around the country -- such as running water, electricity and phone service -- but millions of people are still living with inadequate resources. China is a superpower in its own right, but its future depends on how it balances its domestic economic needs and demands for democratic rights as well as regional disparities with the external pressure of globalization. If China can continue the trends it began in Africa, such as investing money and development programs, within its own borders and beyond, it will build up the future for its people, land and economy.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS AND LEGAL ACTIONS RELATED TO DISCRIMINATION AND AFRO-DESCENDANT POPULATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA. [2004 RACE REPORT]
Inter-American Dialogue. August 2004.
Download the document [pdf format, 16 pages]
This document summarizes legislation that affects African lineage in Latin America and the Caribbean, and reviews the international conventions and accords that governments have signed regarding racism, racial discrimination and social exclusion based on race.
The constitutions of all countries in the region guarantee equality for their citizens and almost all of them are signatories to the UN's 1965 international Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). But the authors of this report note that the constitutional provisions have been largely ineffective in addressing the problem of racial inequality and that the implementation of the CERD convention has been sporadic over the last 40 years and the, with various degrees of success.
The report includes a chart outlining constitutional provisions and other legal actions regarding discrimination in each country. There is also a review of the ongoing discussions between Latin American legislators and counterparts in the U.S. Congress.