The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
"Transformative change needed to dismantle racism and police violence": rights chief
The Human Rights Council embarked on a discussion over police violence against people of African descent on Friday, with a warning from UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet that “brutality and discrimination against people of African descent continue to occur”.
In an appeal on Friday for States to take action, the High Commissioner for Human Rights insisted that “no police officer or any other agent of any State should ever be above the law”.
But she said wider prejudice in society and its institutions can only be addressed by digging deeper, and facing “the mass below the surface,” to understand “the roots of today’s inequalities and the unacknowledged and unredressed racism upon which they have grown”.
Her comments coincide with the US trial of a former police officer accused of killing black American George Floyd in May 2020.
Mr. Floyd, who was 46, died after an officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes in Minneapolis, sparking worldwide protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.
His killing also prompted widespread calls for a discussion of the issue at the Human Rights Council in Geneva barely a month later.
It resulted in Resolution 43/1, mandating Member States to look at systemic racism and human rights violations by law enforcement agencies against Africans and people of African descent – and to contribute to accountability and redress for victims.
This “opportunity for justice is denied to countless other families” of other black victims of police violence, Ms. Bachelet continued, adding that “so many cases involving deaths of people of African descent never make it to court” and “officials responsible for human rights violations are not being held to account”.
To help end racial injustice in law enforcement, the High Commissioner noted that her Office would present a report to the Geneva-based body in June.
It will outline “an agenda for transformative change” with proposals to “dismantle” systemic racism and police brutality against Africans and people of African descent, and to tackle impunity.
The upcoming report will also offer an analysis of Governments and the disproportionate use of force by law enforcement officers to “recent, overwhelmingly peaceful, demonstrations for racial justice”.
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a cloudy day.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet: “Ten months after the killing of George Floyd set off new waves of outrage and demands for change across the world, a key trial related to his killing is now beginning. But this crucial, defining opportunity for justice is denied to countless other families.”
- Wide shot, podium with speakers, Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet: “Many of the families we consulted clearly felt their governments are not doing enough to acknowledge or counter systemic racism in law enforcement and justice – and their officials responsible for human rights violations are not being held to account.”
- Wide shot, near-empty Assembly Hall in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet: “I want to be very clear: impunity for crimes that may have been committed by agents of the State is profoundly damaging to the core values and social cohesion of every nation. No police officer or any other agent of any State should ever be above the law. This is, after all, the basic premise of the rule of law.”
- Wide shot, Assembly Hall balcony, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet: “To end racial injustice in law enforcement, we cannot simply see tip of the iceberg, we must face the mass below the surface. We must understand the roots of today’s inequalities and the unacknowledged and unredressed racism upon which they have grown.”
- Medium shot, journalists sitting in front of laptops, Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet: “My report to the Council in June will recommend an agenda for transformative change to dismantle systemic racism and police brutality against Africans and people of African descent, and to advance accountability and redress for victims.”
- Medium shot, journalists in the Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet: “It will also analyse Government responses to recent, overwhelmingly peaceful, demonstrations for racial justice – including credible reports of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement officers against protesters, bystanders and journalists, and broader threats to people of African descent and others who stand up against racism.”
- Medium shot, UNTV camera filming in foreground and podium to rear, Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, journalists typing on laptop, Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations.
- Wide shot, podium with speakers, side shot, Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
2
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Sudan: Women’s bodies ‘a crime scene’ as tens of thousands flee El Fasher atrocities – UN Women
In war-torn Sudan, rape is being systematically used as a weapon and simply being a woman is “a strong predictor” of hunger, violence and death, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday called for an end to continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where “unchecked” settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza began more than two years ago.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gaza: One million receive food parcels as humanitarians race to ‘push back hunger’
Food is slowly returning to the shelves in Gaza amid “apocalyptic scenes” but supplies are still desperately inadequate, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as they issued fresh calls for wider access and continued financial support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy terrorize population as winter starts; could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’
The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
Navi Pillay Retires After Decades Defending Human Rights and Pursuing Justice
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.