Environmental Racism in the United States and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Abstract

This article examines the problem of environmental racism in the United States through the human rights lens of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The article describes the nature of environmental racism and probes the inadequacy of US environmental and civil right laws in dealing with the problem. The article assesses the situation with reference to the US Government's obligations under the CERD and reaches the conclusion that the lack of effective protection against environmental racism and the absence of effective remedies in US law demonstrate a failure by the US Government to live up to its international legal responsibilities. The article suggests that notwithstanding substantial legal and political obstacles, the US Government's 1994 ratification of the CERD provides a potentially powerful weapon in the pursuit of environmental justice.