Photograph — The Daily Princetonian

On Friday June 12, African countries called on the United Nations Human Right Council( UNHRC) to make a debate against racism and police brutality in the United State(US) a matter of priority, following the death of George Floyd.

In a letter written by the ambassador of Burkina Faso to the United Nations in Geneva, on behalf of the 54 African countries, the UN human right body was asked to organize an “urgent debate on the current racially-inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality against people of African descent and violence against peaceful demonstrations.”

The letter which was addressed to the President of the Human Rights Council, Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger of Austria, requested that the debate take place next week, at the resumption of the 43rd session of the Council, initially scheduled to take place in March but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter called for a debate on racism around the globe, as the world witness a rejection of the fundamental racial inequality and discrimination that characterise life in the United States for black people, and other people of colour.

According to the ambassador, “the tragic events of May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, USA, which resulted in the death of George Floyd, sparked worldwide protests over the injustice and brutality faced by people of African descent daily in many regions of the world.”

More so, family of George Floyd and families of other victims of police violence as well as over 600 NGOs have called on the Human Rights Council to urgently address the problem of racism and impunity guarding the police in the United States.

However, for the Council to consider such a request, the approval of at least one country is required.

With the request now coming from a large number of countries, “the chances” that such a debate can take place “increase,” a spokesman for the Council told AFP.

Council President Tichy-Fisslberger is expected to announce today, a proposed day for the urgent debate.

John Fisher, head of the Human Rights Watch’s Geneva office, voiced hope earlier on Friday, before the African Group letter went out, that the council would order some form of scrutiny of the US situation.

“There are underlying issues of systemic racism that need to be addressed and addressed meaningfully,” he told journalists.

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