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Floyd’s brother to address UN debate on US ‘systemic racism’
GENEVA, June 17, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – George Floyd’s brother was
expected to speak before the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday as
it holds an urgent debate on “systemic racism” in the United States
and beyond.
African countries are pushing for the Michelle Bachelet, the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to investigate racism and
police civil liberties violations against people of African descent in
the United States.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis on May 25 after
a white police officer — since charged with murder — pressed his
knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
Amateur video of the incident sparked demonstrations and calls to
address systemic racism in the United States and around the world.
Floyd’s brother Philonise is due to address the council via video-link.
Last week he made an emotional plea to the US Congress to “stop the
pain” and pass reforms that make officers accountable for brutality.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump issued an order to improve
policing, calling for a ban on dangerous choke holds — except if an
officer’s life is at risk.
However his executive order stopped well short of demands made at
nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.
– Probe proposal dropped –
The draft resolution being debated in Geneva, introduced by the 54
African countries, condemns ongoing “racial discrimination and violent
practices perpetrated by law enforcement agencies against Africans and
of people of African descent and structural racism endemic to the
criminal justice system in the United States” and elsewhere.
But it has been heavily watered down after stark opposition from
the US and some of its allies to an initial text presented on Tuesday.
The new draft dropped an earlier demand for the establishment of an
independent international commission of inquiry — one of the UN’s
highest-level probes, generally reserved for major crises like the
Syrian conflict.
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Instead it now calls on Bachelet and UN rights experts to
“establish the facts and circumstances relating to the systemic
racism, alleged violations of international human rights law and
abuses against Africans and people of African descent” by law
enforcement in the US and beyond — especially those incidents that
resulted in deaths.
The aim, it said, was “to ensure the accountability of perpetrators
and redress for victims”.
– ‘Break old patterns’ –
Andrew Bremberg, the US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said his
country was transparent in its commitment to addressing racial
discrimination and injustice, citing Trump’s executive order.
“As the world’s leading advocate for human rights, we call upon all
governments to demonstrate the same level of transparency and
accountability that the US and our democratic partners practice,” he
said.
“Sadly, there are too many places in the world where governments
commit grave violations of human rights and practice systematic racial
discrimination while many of those assembled in Geneva are silent.”
Trump’s executive order encourages de-escalation training, better
recruitment, sharing of data on police who have bad records, and money
to support police in complicated duties related to people with mental
or drug issues.
“We have to break old patterns of failure,” he said.
Trump said he would use access to federal funding grants as
leverage to persuade departments “to adopt the highest professional
standards.”
US policing is mostly run at state and local level.
– ‘Dismantle racist institutions’ call –
Meanwhile 22 African leaders within the UN agencies, including
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, penned a
joint opinion piece voicing outrage at pervasive “injustice of
racism”.
“We owe it to George Floyd and to all victims of racial
discrimination and police brutality to dismantle racist institutions,”
they wrote.
“It is time for the United Nations to step up and act decisively.”
The UN Human Rights Council’s 47 members are due to vote on the
resolution following the urgent debate, which was set to begin
Wednesday and conclude Thursday.
The Trump administration withdrew the United States from the
council two years ago.
Wednesday will mark only the fifth time in the council’s 14-year
history that it has agreed to hold an “urgent debate”, which is like a
special session, but within a regular session of the council.
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