{"id":5514,"date":"2020-12-10T15:12:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theadvocatespost.org\/?p=7645"},"modified":"2020-12-10T15:12:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:12:00","slug":"the-advocates-for-human-rights-addresses-systemic-racism-in-us-policing-before-two-un-bodies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/10\/the-advocates-for-human-rights-addresses-systemic-racism-in-us-policing-before-two-un-bodies\/","title":{"rendered":"The Advocates for Human Rights Addresses Systemic Racism in US Policing Before Two UN Bodies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The flag of the United Nations <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 2013, the UN General Assembly proclaimed<\/a> the International Decade for Persons of African Descent, to be observed from 2015 to 2024. More than halfway through the Decade, little progress has been made toward addressing the systemic racism faced by people of African descent in the US and around the world. As part of its ongoing advocacy for eradicating systemic racism in US law enforcement and urgently addressing racially biased police violence, The Advocates for Human Rights recently submitted statements to two United Nations human rights bodies that are currently examining these issues.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (WGEPAD) was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2002. Its mandate broadly calls for it to study the racial discrimination faced by people of African descent living in the diaspora and to recommend measures to address and eliminate this discrimination in order to ensure full and fair access to justice and to promote the human rights of people of African descent around the world. In late November of 2020, in preparation for a full session in December, the WGEPAD held a series of regional meetings with civil society organizations to receive their input about the situation of human rights for people of African descent, including the most currently urgent concerns, and the measures civil society believes should be prioritized to address those concerns. The Advocates participated in the WGEPAD\u2019s meeting with civil society in Western Europe and North America and was among the organizations presenting oral statements.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early December of 2020, the UN\u2019s High Commissioner for Human Rights called for inputs from civil society to assist in the preparation of a report requested by the Human Rights Council. The Office of the High Commissioner is the leading UN human rights entity, established by the General Assembly in 1993. The report requested by the Human Rights Council is to address \u201csystemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, especially those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and people of African descent, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims.\u201d The request follows an unprecedented debate<\/a> at the Council last summer on the subject of systemic racism in the U.S., urged by the African group of nations in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. The debate has prompted renewed examination of issues of systemic racism and police violence. However, a resolution<\/a> passed by the Council at the conclusion of the debate was unfortunately (and to widespread criticism) stripped of all references to the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to the call for inputs, The Advocates has submitted to the High Commissioner the same information it previously provided to the WGEPAD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the\u00a0full\u00a0text of our statement to\u00a0both of these\u00a0human rights mechanisms:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis resident murdered by police officers last May in the city where The Advocates for Human Rights is headquartered, starkly illustrated the widespread and longstanding human rights violations experienced by people of African descent in the United States. The problems we address today are longstanding ones. The post-slavery era of racial segregation laws enforced by police violence and lynchings was nominally ended by laws passed during the 1960s and 70s, but soon gave way to the criminalization of Black Americans and the era of mass incarceration, with millions deprived of the right to vote following criminal convictions, as well as through widespread voter suppression and racial gerrymandering designed to dilute the influence of Black voters.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most immediately urgent human rights concerns facing people of African descent in the US today are racially discriminatory police violence and criminalization, and the deliberate suppression of their right to participate in the political process.<\/strong> These challenges are intertwined, as the unequal criminalization of Black people is a tool for their disenfranchisement, and their disenfranchisement prevents them from exercising political power. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider these statistics on the scope of racially discriminatory police violence: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n