After George Floyd: Measures Taken by the United Nations to Address Systemic Racism and Police Violence Against Persons of African Descent
Over two years ago, the murder of George Floyd sparked massive worldwide protests due to systemic racism and police violence against black communities.[1] Thanks to the dedicated efforts of black activists around the world, the international community has taken concrete measures to hold administrations accountable in order to dismantle systemic racism in law enforcement.[2] Called to action by the murder of George Floyd, the United Nations has created three new mechanisms to address police violence against persons of African descent.
First, the Human Rights Council passed a resolution in July 2021 creating the U.N. Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement ("The Expert Mechanism"), commonly known as “the George Floyd Mechanism.”[3] The Expert Mechanism consists of three independent experts who are appointed for a three year term to investigate governments’ responses to peaceful anti-racism protests and make recommendations to ensure that victims of police violence have access to justice.[4] In particular, the Expert Mechanism was established to investigate the ongoing historical legacy of colonialism and the Transatlantic slave trade in enslaved Africans in relation to law enforcement agencies.[5]
Second, the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights issued a historic report in June 2020 establishing a Transformative Agenda to end systemic racism and the excessive use of force against persons of African Descent in law enforcement.[6] The Commissioner’s Transformative Agenda called for state governments to take four concrete steps: 1) stop denying racism, 2) end impunity for human rights violations by law enforcement officials, 3) listen to the voices of people of African Descent, and 4) redress past injustices committed by law enforcement officials against persons of African Descent and their families.[7] Civil Society activists have praised the groundbreaking nature of the Commissioner’s Transformative agenda for putting the voices of victims of police brutality at the center of the conversation.[8]
Third, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution in August 2021 establishing the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.[9] The Permanent Forum is a panel of ten experts created to provide consultation to the Human Rights Council, other UN Bodies, and state and non-state actors to address racism against persons of African Descent.[10] The Permanent Forum will host their first session in December 2022.[11]
Since the establishment of these three mechanisms, the U.N. has identified a few key recommendations for addressing police violence against persons of African descent.
The U.N. Expert Mechanism emphasized the importance of collecting data on police violence against persons of African Descent in their first report.[12] The absence of data disaggregated by race or ethnic origin on police interactions with black communities is a major impediment to implementing necessary criminal justice reform.[13] Lack of appropriate data collection measures cause instances of police violence against persons of African descent to go underreported, making it more difficult to hold police officers accountable for their actions.[14] Furthermore, the absence of data disaggregated by race and ethnicity prevents human rights defenders from measuring the racially disparate impact of police violence on black communities and understanding the intersectional effects of race, class, gender, etc. on police violence.[15] Therefore, appropriate data collection measures is an essential first step to addressing systemic racism against persons of African descent.
In addition to data collection measures, the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights urged state governments “to listen to people of African descent, meaningfully involve them and take genuine steps to act upon their concerns.”[16] The Commissioner’s report highlighted several issues that needed to be addressed, such as the disproportionate number of people of African descent killed by the police, the significant barriers to victims of police violence accessing justice, and the discriminatory treatment of African migrants by law enforcement and government officials.[17]
While there is still significant progress needed, these mechanisms established by the United Nations are promising signs that the international community will continue to address global systemic racism.
Elizabeth Garrison is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLVI.
This is a student blog post and in no way represents the views of the Fordham International Law Journal.
[1]See The world reacts as American cities erupt in anger over George Floyd's death, CBS News: World (last updated June 1, 2020, 12:08 PM) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/protests-around-the-world-george-floyd-death-international-sympathy-and-scorn-today-2020-06-01/
[2] See Christine Eldabh et al., The UN’s George Floyd Resolution is a Vital Step Toward International Accountability, ACLU (July 19, 2021) https://www.aclu.org/news/human-rights/the-uns-george-floyd-resolution-is-a-vital-step-toward-international-accountability
[3] See Human Rights Council Res. 47/21, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/RES/47/21 (July 26, 2021). https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G21/199/03/PDF/G2119903.pdf?OpenElement
[4] See Press Release, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Council President Appoints Members of Racial Justice Body (Dec. 16, 2021). https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/12/human-rights-council-president-appoints-members-racial-justice-body
[5] See Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement: Overview, OHCHR (last visited Oct. 13, 2022). https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrc-subsidiaries/expert-mechanism-racial-justice-law-enforcement
[6] See U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Promotion and Protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officer, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/47/CRP.1 (June 28, 2021). https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Racism/A_HRC_47_CRP_1.pdf
[7] See id. at 95.
[8] Christine Eldabh et al., supra note 2.
[9] See G.A. Res. 75/314 (Aug. 6, 2021). https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N21/213/97/PDF/N2121397.pdf?OpenElement
[10] See Permanent Forum of People of African Descent: Overview, OHCHR (last visited Oct.13, 2022). https://www.ohchr.org/en/permanent-forum-people-african-descent
[11] See id.
[12] See Rep. of the U.N. Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement, 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, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/51/55 (Aug. 4, 2022). https://documents-dds ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G22/442/50/PDF/G2244250.pdf?OpenElement
[13] See id. at 1.
[14] See id. at 5.
[15] See Id. at 4.
[16] See Press Release, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Report records piecemeal progress in combatting systemic racism against people of African descent, insists on urgent need for transformative change (Sep. 30, 2022) https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/09/un-report-records-piecemeal-progress-combating-systemic-racism-against
[17] See U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, 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, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/51/53 (Aug. 2, 2022). https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G22/440/71/PDF/G2244071.pdf?OpenElement