For Immediate Release:
November 10, 2021

NAPABA Welcomes Dialogue with the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Minority Issues

WASHINGTON- The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) met yesterday with the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, during his official visit to the United States, in a warm and welcome exchange. The Special Rapporteur’s mission is to examine legislation, programs, policies, and practices that affect people belonging to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities including the effect on their political participation, access to justice, and the administration of criminal justice.  

“NAPABA is grateful to the Special Rapporteur for seeking out the perspective of organizations that represent AAPI viewpoints,” said Sidney Kanazawa, president of NAPABA. “In my dialogue with the Special Rapporteur, we discussed, among other things, hate crimes and hate speech; Asian American history in the U.S.; Jon Meachum’s Soul of America and Jon Ozaki’s new film Not Your Model Minority; educational programs initiated by State of Illinois, the Korematsu Institute, the Go For Broke Education Center, and the Matsunaga Institute for Peace; bystander training for kids in school initiated by Asian Americans Advancing Justice AAJC and Hollaback; restorative justice programs keeping kids in schools; language impediments facing one in three Asian Americans that limit their full participation in our political and justice systems; the need for a disaggregated look at the Asian American community which has 50 ethnicities, more than 100 languages, and the largest income gap disparities within it; and the three Asian American attorney mayors elected in Boston, Cincinnati, and Seattle.

 “I also noted NAPABA’s longstanding commitment to these issues, as embodied in its groundbreaking reports on progress and challenges on language access in the American judicial system issued in 2007 and 2017.

“Our message was that we are not all the same and we will not always agree but with a little curiosity, humility, and empathy, we can find a way to collaborate toward building a more perfect union.

“We applaud the Special Rapporteur’s work and look forward to his preliminary findings and recommendations from this visit.”

During his 15-day mission, the Special Rapporteur will travel to Washington D.C., Guam, California, Texas, and Puerto Rico, and will meet government officials at the federal, state, and territorial levels, representatives of civil society including NAPABA, and members of minorities. 

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting APA communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.