Law Enforcement must be Held Accountable for Crimes against People of African Descent
GENEVA (12 JULY 2021) Read the full press release High Commissioner to Human Rights Council: Law Enforcement Officials must be Held Accountable for Crimes against People of African Descent and Alternative Approaches to Policing should be Applied
Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Systemic Racism
The Council has before it the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/47/53) on the promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers.
Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, today told the Human Rights Council that law enforcement officials must be held accountable for crimes against people of African descent. Ms. Bachelet said that data in her report showed:
- that children of African descent are often subjected to racial discrimination in schools
- systemic racism is heightened by intersectionality
- women of African descent are forced to endure multiple forms of discrimination
Ms. Bachelet presented recommendations for the four interconnected pillars of action:
- States should acknowledge the systemic nature of racism, in every part of life;
- law enforcement officials must be held accountable for crimes against people of African descent & alternative approaches to policing should be applied;
- States should uphold the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and
- States should ensure the effective participation of people of African descent; and
- States should create and fully fund comprehensive processes to share the truth about what was done, and the harms it continued to inflict.
In closing, The High Commissioner called on States to translate this agenda into action plans and concrete measures through national dialogues.
The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s forty-seventh regular session can be found here.
