Human Rights Council extends mandate of anti-racism experts

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Penang, 12 Jul (Kanaga Raja) — The UN Human Rights Council has renewed the mandate of the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement, a body set up to address the issue of systemic racism in law enforcement globally, for a further three years.

This came in a resolution (A/HRC/56/L.21), adopted without a vote, at the current 56th regular session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 10 July.

The International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement was established following the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minnesota, the United States, on 25 May 2020.

In a resolution adopted at its 47th regular session in July 2021, the Human Rights Council had established an international independent expert mechanism, comprising three experts with law enforcement and human rights expertise, “in order to further transformative change for racial justice and equality in the context of law enforcement globally, especially where relating to the legacies of colonialism and the Transatlantic slave trade in enslaved Africans, to investigate Governments’ responses to peaceful anti-racism protests and all violations of international human rights law and to contribute to accountability and redress for victims.”

Ahead of the 56th regular session of the Human Rights Council, some 65 civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch, as well as the families affected by police violence around the world had called on Council members and observer states to support the renewal of the mandate of the Expert Mechanism.

“The renewed UN mechanism to address systemic racism within law enforcement worldwide has much work ahead of it. Black people are killed and harassed by law enforcement and yet the calls for systemic change fall on deaf ears,” said Almaz Teffera, researcher on racism in Europe at Human Rights Watch, following the adoption of the resolution extending the mandate of the Expert Mechanism.

“Governments should accept visit requests by the UN experts, listen to affected communities and civil society, and adopt the necessary structural changes to eradicate systemic racism within law enforcement,” she added.

In its resolution adopted without a vote on 10 July, the Human Rights Council acknowledged that slavery and the slave trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, were appalling tragedies in the history of humanity not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude and organized nature, and especially their negation of the essence of the victims.

The Council also acknowledged that enslavement is a crime against humanity and should always have been a crime.

The Council noted that the transatlantic slave trade is among the major sources and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and that Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent and Indigenous Peoples were victims of these acts and continue to be victims of their consequences.

The Council recognized that the dehumanization of people of African descent – a practice rooted in false social constructions of race historically created to justify enslavement, pervasive racial stereotypes – has sustained and cultivated a tolerance for racial discrimination, inequality and violence.

The Council acknowledged that there is an increasing willingness and emerging practice to acknowledge the need to repair the continuing impact of enslavement, the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and colonialism, and inviting States to seize opportunities to advance the anti-racism agenda, to prioritize attaining racial equity in implementing the 2030 Agenda, and to ensure that people of African descent are not left behind.

It recognized that systemic racism, particularly against Africans and people of African descent, needs a systemic response to rapidly reverse denial and alter structures, institutions and behaviours leading to direct or indirect discrimination against Africans and people of African descent in every part of life.

It recognized further that changing the unwritten, tacit rules governing the culture of policing, including by fostering an internal culture of accountability and providing for proper training and recruitment processes, are all essential to building the necessary trust and ensuring that the police and the criminal justice system serve and protect all members of society without discrimination.

The Council expressed deep concern at the extent of the challenges that victims and families of victims report in their pursuit of justice, and underscored that the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, the integrity of the judicial system and an independent legal profession are essential prerequisites for the protection of human rights, the rule of law, good governance and democracy.

It stressed that the implementation of robust measures to end impunity and ensure accountability and redress for victims and their families of excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers, in accordance with international human rights law, is critical.

In this regard, the Council decided to renew the mandate of the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement, comprising three experts with law enforcement and human rights expertise, until the sixty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council to enable the Expert Mechanism to continue its work in accordance with the terms of reference contained in Human Rights Council resolution 47/21.

The Council requested the three members of the Expert Mechanism to participate in all of its country visits and consultations, given the complementary nature of their expertise.

It called upon all States and other relevant stakeholders to cooperate fully with the Expert Mechanism towards the effective fulfilment of its mandate, including by responding promptly to its requests for information and by providing it with any information or documentation it may require, as well as any other forms of assistance pertaining to its mandate.

It requested the Expert Mechanism to prepare, on an annual basis, a report and to present it to the Human Rights Council jointly alongside that presented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pursuant to Council resolution 47/21 during an enhanced interactive dialogue that prioritizes the participation of directly affected individuals and communities, including victims and their families.

The Council also requested the Expert Mechanism to present its annual report also to the General Assembly, engaging in an interactive dialogue with the Assembly under the agenda item entitled “Elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”.

It requested the Secretary-General, through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to strengthen the administrative and substantive support to the Expert Mechanism, and to provide the resources necessary for it to effectively fulfil its mandate to investigate government responses to peaceful anti- racism protests and all violations of international human rights law and to contribute to accountability and redress for victims, including by adopting a victim-centred approach throughout its work, in accordance with the mandate described in Human Rights Council resolution 47/21.

It also called upon all States and all relevant stakeholders to ensure the accountability of law enforcement officials for human rights violations and crimes against Africans and people of African descent, to close trust deficits and to strengthen institutional oversight.

The Council further called upon all States and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that Africans and people of African descent and those who stand up against racism are protected, that their voices are heard and that their concerns are acted upon.

The Council invited all treaty bodies, special procedure mandate holders and international and regional human rights mechanisms, within their respective mandates, to pay due attention to all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including against Africans and people of African descent, and to bring them to the attention of the Human Rights Council. – Third World Network