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The United Nations on Tuesday strongly urged the US to investigate racism within its judicial and law enforcement systems, after a white police officer who killed an unarmed African-American teenager was not indicted.
“I am deeply concerned at the disproportionate number of young African Americans who die in encounters with police officers, as well as the disproportionate number of African Americans in U.S. prisons and the disproportionate number of African Americans on Death Row”, UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said.
A grand jury did not arraign police officer Darren Wilson, who had shot and killed 18-year-old African American Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August.
Zeid stated that since he did not see the evidence presented to the grand jury, he could not comment on the verdict, which has already sparked violence and riots in Ferguson and protests all over the US. He echoed the call for calm issued by Michael Brown’s parents’, urging “all protesters to avoid violence and destruction in the wake of this decision”.
He also stressed that “at least among some sectors of the population, there is a deep and festering lack of confidence in the fairness of the justice and law enforcement systems”.
“I urge the U.S. authorities to conduct in-depth examinations into how race related issues are affecting law enforcement and the administration of justice, both at the federal and state levels”, he said.
Zeid pointed out that “concerns about institutionalized discrimination in the US” have been raised several time by various UN bodies; only two weeks ago, the UN anti-torture watchdog in Geneva, in a review of the US’ record attended by Michael Brown’s parents, had brought up the issue.
“Mr. Brown’s parents’ tremendous dignity and deep anguish for their lost son profoundly impressed everyone they met when they were here in Geneva, and have once again been demonstrated, despite their evident disappointment, by their call for protests to remain peaceful”, Zeid said.