UN report calls for massive action to eradicate racism
MOGADISHU, Somalia – A senior United Nations official has tabled a report that builds on sweeping actions to eradicate racism, which has primarily targeted people of African descent around the world for decades now.
Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, released a report calling for sweeping action to dismantle discrimination, with a major focus on policing and repatriation being her primary focus in the report.
“The status quo is untenable,” Michelle Bachelet said in a statement. “Systemic racism needs a systemic response. There is a momentous opportunity today to make a turning point for racial equality and justice. “
The report is 20 pages long and is accompanied by a 95 page lecture that features evidence from nearly 60 countries. Compilation of the report began in May 2020 following the death of George Floyd, who was killed in Minnesota and the release comes days after the officer, Derek Chauvin, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.
“We couldn’t find a single example of a state that has fully considered the past or taken into account the impacts on the lives of people of African descent today,” said Mona Rishmawi, who oversaw preparation of the report.
The human rights office is now recommending the creation of a commission or other body with a one or two year term to review and monitor the application of the law, reports The New York Times.
In addition, he urges reinventing the police to combat racial stereotypes, the militarization of weapons and tactics, and lack of accountability. The report is based on interviews with over 340 people and over 100 written contributions from civil society and academic organizations.
In addition, it highlights common experience patterns for people of African descent in Europe, Latin America and North America struggling with poverty and barriers to education, health care, employment and political participation.
But the deaths recorded in the preparation of this report were only “the tip of the iceberg,” Ms. Rishmawi noted. She quoted a mother in Latin America who protested “you always talk about George Floyd, every day we have a George Floyd and nobody talks about him”.
The report calls for reparations as an essential step in alleviating the suffering inflicted by slavery and colonialism. Monetary compensation is important, according to the report, but reparations “should not only be equated with financial compensation”. They could also include official recognition and apologies, education reform and measures to commemorate the experience of people of African descent, he said.
Ms Bachelet will present the report to the United Nations Human Rights Council next month at the start of a debate that will test the Biden administration’s willingness to engage in racism in a multilateral setting.
In a written statement on Monday, the State Department said it had received a copy of the report that it supported “amplifying the voices of victims, as well as their families and communities in all countries.”
“The United States is committed to treating every person with dignity, defending human rights, defending opportunity, defending freedom and strengthening the rule of law,” the statement said. “We recognize that our country has not always lived up to these ideals, especially for African Americans and other people of color.”
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