Right now, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is meeting in Switzerland -- and two Bay Area activists are there to advocate for the rights of transwomen of color in the U.S.

Miss Major and Melenie Eleneke are there representing the San Francisco-based Transgender, Gender-Variant and Intersex Justice Project. They've testified about "employment discrimination against transgender women of color, law enforcement abuse of transgender women, and how the lack of meaningful employment can lead to high rates of poverty and imprisonment among transgender communities" in the United States, according to the blog "Demanding Our Human Rights," where you can read more about Miss Major's and Melenie Eleneke's actions at the UN.

TGIJP, along with Justice Now and WILD for Human Rights, recently released a report to the UN documenting rampant human-rights abuses against women of color in California prisons, in the U.S. agricultural industry, and in the communities where transgender, gender variant and intersex people live.

(Thanks to Vanessa Huang at Justice Now for the link!)