UN human rights chief calls for 'systemic racism' to be dismantled

GENEVA • Racism against people of African descent remains systemic in many parts of the world, the United Nations human rights chief said, calling on states to dismantle discrimination and prosecute law enforcement officials for unlawful killings.

Ms Michelle Bachelet said police use of racial profiling and excessive force is entrenched in much of Europe, North America and Latin America.

Structural racism creates barriers to minorities' access to jobs, healthcare, housing, education and justice, she said. "I am calling on all states to stop denying, and start dismantling, racism; to end impunity and build trust; to listen to the voices of people of African descent; and to confront past legacies and deliver redress," she said in the report to the Human Rights Council yesterday.

Ms Bachelet welcomed a "promising initiative" by US President Joe Biden in signing an executive order in January to address racial inequity across the United States.

Her report cited 190 deaths of Africans and people of African descent worldwide at the hands of law enforcement officials who are "rarely held accountable".

"Racism and racial discrimination against Africans and people of African descent are often rooted in policies and practices grounded in the debasement of the status of individuals in society," the report said.

The scourge is most prevalent in countries with a legacy of slavery, the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, or colonialism resulting in large communities of people of African descent, it added.

"Systemic racism needs a systemic response," Ms Bachelet said. "There is today a momentous opportunity to achieve a turning point for racial equality and justice."

REUTERS