- Title: U.N. rights body to examine 'systemic' racism, police brutality
- Date: 15th June 2020
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (JUNE 15, 2020) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF UNITED NATIONS BUILDING
- Embargoed: 29th June 2020 15:55
- Keywords: Black Lives Matter Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger George Floyd UN Human Rights Council United Nations anti-racism protests racism
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / NEW YORK CITY AND WASHINGTON D.C, UNITED STATES / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / PARIS, FRANCE
- City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / NEW YORK CITY AND WASHINGTON D.C, UNITED STATES / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice
- Reuters ID: LVA001CIHEP8N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The top U.N. human rights body will hold an urgent debate on allegations of "systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests" in the United States and other countries, its president said on Monday (June 15).
The U.N. Human Rights Council's decision to hold the debate on Wednesday (June 17) followed a request last week by Burkina Faso on behalf of African countries in response to the killing of George Floyd, an African American, under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer. His death has ignited protests across the nation and worldwide.
"This is not a debate about the United States. This is about the generalised phenomenon in many countries," said the President of the Human Rights Council, Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger.
The United States is not a member of the 47-member state forum in Geneva, having quit it two years ago alleging bias against its ally Israel.
The U.S. mission in Geneva had no immediate comment on the Council's decision, but last week issued a statement decrying the "senseless death of George Floyd" and saying that justice and transparency were "core values" of the United States.
The African group's request, in a letter made public by the United Nations, said: "The death of George Floyd is unfortunately not an isolated incident. The numbers of previous cases of unarmed people of African descent who met the same fate because of uncontrolled police violence are legion."
The outrage provoked by the death underlines the importance of the Human Rights Council discussing these issues, the letter said, noting that 600 activist groups and victims' relatives had called last week for a special session.
(Production: Cecile Mantovani, Iona Serrapica) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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