In 2020, the black man George Floyd was killed by the American police “kneeling his neck in law enforcement”, prompting the United Nations to set up a working group of independent human rights experts to investigate and evaluate the issue of racial discrimination in the US law enforcement system. The working group started a two-week visit to the United States on the 24th.
According to the official website of the United Nations, the human rights expert working group named “International Independent Expert Mechanism for Advancing Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement” was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council and established in July 2021 to “advance the law enforcement process for Africans and African-descendant groups.” Transformational change for racial justice and equality in
The working group plans to visit six cities in the United States from April 24 to May 5, namely the capital Washington, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis and New York, and will discuss with federal, state and local government officials. Meetings, visits to law enforcement, civil rights groups, places of detention, etc.
According to the British “Guardian” report, Juan Mendes, a member of the working group, said: “We look forward to obtaining first-hand information about the living experiences of African-American groups in the United States, and will make recommendations to all levels of government to support the fight against systemic racist and excessive force efforts.”
According to the United Nations, the working group’s visit to the United States will investigate laws and practices related to the use of force by law enforcement officers and determine whether they comply with international human rights standards. The task force will also recommend improvements to ensure that “law enforcement officials address excessive violence and other human rights abuses against Africans and African-Americans in the United States.”
Colette Flanagan, founder of the rights group “Mothers Against Police Brutality”, welcomes the visit of UN human rights experts to the United States. Her son Clinton Allen was unarmed when he was shot and killed by police in Dallas, Texas, in 2013.
Flanagan said, “In American policing, extrajudicial killings have become more common” and occur almost every day. “This kind of deadly police brutality is a major violation of human rights, and African Americans suffer the most.