Background and objectives

As requested by operative paragraph 15 of Human Rights Council resolution 47/21, the International Independent Expert Mechanism to advance racial justice and equality for Africans and people of African descent in the context of law enforcement (the “Expert Mechanism”) will present its first report at the fifty-first session of the Human Rights Council in September 2022 and transmit the report to the General Assembly.

In its first report, the Expert Mechanism will look at areas covered by its mandate (operative paragraphs 11-12). It has also decided to focus on the issue of data disaggregated by race or ethnic origin in law enforcement and the criminal justice system as it relates to Africans and people of African descent, in light of operative paragraph 11(d) which requests it to advance racial justice and equality in the context of law enforcement in all parts of the world by, inter alia, “making recommendations on the collection and publication of data, with strict safeguards and in line with international law, disaggregated by victims’ race or ethnic origin, on deaths and serious injuries by law enforcement officials and related prosecutions and convictions, as well as any disciplinary actions, to drive and assess responses to systemic racism in the area of law enforcement and the criminal justice system”.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

In order to inform the preparation of this report, the Expert Mechanism would welcome information related to its mandate in Human Rights Council resolution 47/21 as detailed in operative paragraphs 11-12.

The Expert Mechanism would also welcome information on the following areas in light of the focus of its report:

• Systems of collection and publication of disaggregated data on deaths and serious injuries of Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement officials – and related arrests, detention, investigations, prosecutions, convictions, sentences and disciplinary actions - based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin of the victim and the perpetrator, as well as type of offence, age and sex/gender of the victim, taking an intersectional approach into account. Where such information is not available, please indicate reasons why.
• Good practices, challenges and lessons learned with regard to such systems of collection, disaggregation and publication of such data, including ensuring compliance with strict safeguards and in line with international human rights law.
• Processes for the analysis of such data to drive and assess responses to systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
• Good practices, challenges and lessons learned with regard to the analysis and use of such data.
• Mechanisms in place to ensure that Africans and people of African descent and their representatives participate in processes to collect, disaggregate, publish and analyse such data, including decision making processes to drive and assess responses to systemic racism faced by Africans and people of African descent in relation to law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

Download the call for inputs (Word): English | Français | Español

How inputs will be used

Unless otherwise specified, all contributions will be made available in full and as received on the public website of the Expert Mechanism. It should be noted that not all information shared will necessarily be reflected in the final report and that information falling outside the mandate will not be considered.