Systemic racism and use of force in policing and justice

Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Colleagues,

I am pleased to present the second High Commissioner’s report pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 47/21.

Once again, the report highlights the ongoing and pervasive nature of the multiple, intersecting and interconnected manifestations of systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent in different regions, and in every area of life.

And once again, the report raises the disproportionate impact on Africans and people of African descent of use-of-force violations by law enforcement officials, racial profiling, and racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

Updates in the illustrative cases first described in the High Commissioner’s 2021 report (A/HRC/47/53, A/HRC/47/CRP.1) are provided. I thank all States concerned for their engagement on these cases.

After the report was finalized, there were further developments in several of them.

In the United States, all four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd have been sentenced to prison terms by state and federal courts.

In the United Kingdom, following its reinvestigation in connection with the death of Kevin Clarke in 2018, the Independent Office for Police Conduct announced that two police officers will face proceedings for gross misconduct and one police officer for gross incompetence. It also decided not to send a file of evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service to consider criminal charges.

In France, the judges investigating the circumstances of the death of Adama Traoré in 2016 decided there was no ground for prosecution (non-lieu) regarding the gendarmes.

In Brazil, the Superior Court of Justice ruled to reinstate aggravating circumstances to the criminal charge of homicide with regards to the death of Luana Barbosa dos Reis Santos in 2016.

It remains clear that in the vast majority of deaths of people of African descent after an interaction with law enforcement, progress towards accountability and redress is severely lacking. In their struggle for justice, families continue to endure protracted and emotionally and financially draining processes – with inadequate State support.

We will surely hear more about these issues from our esteemed panelists – Dayana Blanco and Marcia Rigg  - and I urge that we take heed of what they have to say.

Excellencies,

This year’s report focuses on the immense challenges and barriers to effective, meaningful, inclusive and safe participation of people of African descent.  

It highlights surveillance, harassment, intimidation, arrest, unlawful killings and violence against civil society actors of African descent in many countries.

As it does the disproportionate impact of measures and practices that restrict the exercise of the right to vote; the fact that politicians of African descent, including women, are subjected to racial abuse and violence, online and offline.

Processes for participation in decision-making processes are often tokenistic, one-off or cursory, and do not lend themselves to meaningful consultation.

Frequently, the outcomes of processes do not take into account the expertise and the lived experiences of those people of African descent who have actually participated.

This results in frustration, fatigue and further erosion of trust in institutions. It is also a major impediment to societies if they are  able to inclusively confront challenges and agree on ways forward without actually leaving people behind.

It is clear what steps States and other stakeholders must take to bring about a long overdue transformative change. Some States have taken such steps to facilitate participation. In Brazil, for example, a March 2023 decree established that 30 per cent of senior positions in the federal public administration should be allocated to Indigenous Peoples and people of African descent by 2026.

In the United States, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights sought to put community experiences at the centre in its investigation into the Police Department and the City of Minneapolis, through interviews with community organizations and directly affected individuals, that could inform the design of and negotiations on a court-enforceable settlement agreement  to address racial discrimination in policing.

Annexed to this report, is our guidance note on how to effectively implement the right to participate in public affairs in non-electoral contexts. It can, hopefully, it should provide new impetus to States to guarantee that people of African descent are further empowered to influence and shape their futures. 

Mr. President,

As we have repeatedly alerted this Council, listening to people of African descent and acting upon their concerns is crucial if we are to break the cycles of discrimination, abuse and violence that have persisted over generations.

States must acknowledge and end the long-standing marginalization and exclusion of Africans and people of African descent and ensure everyone’s equal access to opportunities, resources and power.

We reiterate our calls for transformative change for racial justice and equality, as also made by UN human rights mechanisms, civil society organizations and, most importantly, by people of African descent themselves.  It is high time that we dismantle systemic racism, including by confronting the legacies of enslavement and colonialism and achieving reparatory justice.

When Emile Saint Lot, the first Haitian Ambassador to the UN, reportedly presented the final draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the General Assembly in 1948, he was quoted as saying that it was “the greatest effort yet made by mankind to give society new legal and moral foundations”.

As we mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration, we call upon you all to take decisive and urgent actions towards ending racism and upholding dignity and rights for everyone, everywhere.

Thank you.