High Commissioner Türk : “An intersectional approach to systemic racism facing Africans and people of African descent can be a game changer”

Report on “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 through transformative change for racial justice and equality” (A/HRC/57/67)

Mr. Vice-President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,

Across the globe, the scourge of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance continues to fester. 

For Africans and people of African descent in many places, we know that – appallingly – this can seep into every corner of daily life.

Informed by wide consultations, mostly with people of African descent, in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and North America, the report in front of you today focuses on intersectionality. 

Intersectionality – coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw – describes the combined effects of practices which discriminate based on race, and based on sex, which can result in experiences of discrimination “as Black women – not the sum of race and sex discrimination, but as Black women.” 

For like any group, Africans and people of African descent are not homogeneous or a monolith. We must reject a reductionist view of identity. Identities, experiences, and needs are multiple. They are context specific. They shift over time. And they may come up against entrenched societal power structures such as racism of course but also sexism, homophobia, or the patriarchy – which perpetuate privilege, oppression, and subordination.

In addition to being African or of African descent, a particular individual may also be a woman, or a migrant, or a child, or belonging to the LGBTIQ+ community, or have a disability, or is living in poverty – or a combination of these. 

And these various facets of who they are compound the discrimination that they face.

Let me share some examples of intersecting forms of discrimination provided in the report.

Across the Americas, women and girls of African descent reported experiencing deep disparities in accessing sexual and reproductive health services, resulting, in some specific country contexts, in high rates of maternal deaths and maternal health disparities across income levels. 

In Australia, racial profiling, racial abuse in public spaces, vilification in the media, and the presumption of being in a gang were reported by young South Sudanese Australians.

In Brazil, high levels of gender-based violence, including killings, of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women were reported particularly for women of African descent.

Some Muslim women of African descent wearing religious dress have reported offensive gestures, verbal insults, and physical attacks in Europe.

Migrant women and girls of African descent are reportedly at particular risk of violence in Libya.

We also see intersectional discrimination in interactions with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. For instance, young African men or men of African descent report higher rates of identity checks or police stops. And higher risks of torture or arbitrary detention were reported when race intersected with other factors. 

Mr. Vice-President, 

Thanks to leadership and advocacy, notably by women of African descent, some authorities have taken steps towards incorporating an intersectional analysis in their policymaking. Some courts, such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of South Africa, have used an intersectional analysis in some of their judgments. 

But more efforts are needed to collect and use disaggregated data so that States have a more accurate picture of patterns of discrimination; and are able to adopt and implement comprehensive anti-discrimination laws and policies that respond to people’s rich, lived experiences. 

A stronger push is required to tackle harmful racial stereotypes as well as gender-based and other stereotypes. 

And to end cultures of denial about the existence and impact of systemic racism, including its historical roots.

Placing the lived experiences and expertise of Africans and people of African descent – in all their diversity – at the centre of policymaking makes it more effective. And so, we must ensure their meaningful, inclusive, and safe participation, particularly of women and youth, in public affairs, and representation at every level.

Mr. Vice-President, 

I reiterate my strong call for full justice and accountability regarding seven illustrative cases of deaths of people of African descent during or following contact with law enforcement officials that my Office has been following. These relate to the deaths of: Luana Barbosa dos Reis Santos, João Pedro Matos Pinto, Janner (Hanner) García Palomino, Adama Traoré, Kevin Clarke, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. 

Prolonged processes take a heavy toll on families. Mothers and other relatives of victims of police violence continue to carry the burden when seeking justice and redress, affecting their physical and mental health. 

I urge accountability in similar situations in various countries around the world, and for States urgently to put in place measures to ensure that such tragedies don’t occur ever again. 

Approaching systemic racism facing Africans and people of African descent through an intersectional lens can be a game changer. It would enable States to analyse holistically and comprehensively the human rights concerns faced by Africans and people of African descent in all their diversity; as well as their root causes.

It is really important to confront the institutional, structural, and historical root causes of systemic racism. And to take action to address them. This also means tackling the legacies of colonialism and enslavement, alongside other systems of oppression, and delivering reparatory justice. 

Change is possible: my Office’s “Agenda towards transformative change for racial justice and equality” and the recommendations of the Expert Mechanism provide a pathway to achieve this – what is needed is implementation.

I reiterate my call to States to proclaim a second International Decade for People of African Descent, as an important signal of political will needed to make justice and equality a reality.

My Office is available and ready to support governments and societies in these efforts. 

As Amartya Sen wrote: “The hope of harmony in the contemporary world lies to a great extent in a clearer understanding of the pluralities of human identity, and in the appreciation that they cut across each other and work against a sharp separation along one single hardened line of impenetrable division.”

Thank you.