[News] UN Report Reveals Systemic Racism in US Police & Justice System

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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UN Report Reveals Systemic Racism in US Police & Justice SystemSeptember
29, 2023
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A new United Nations report said that systemic racism against people of
African descent pervades America's police forces and criminal justice
system, and U.S. authorities must urgently step up efforts for reform.

The report was issued by the UN International Independent Expert Mechanism
to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement on
Thursday.

The UN experts heard testimonies from 133 affected individuals, visited
five detention centers and held meetings with civil society groups and
various government and police authorities in the District of Columbia,
Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis and New York City.

"In all the cities we went to, we heard dozens of heart-breaking
testimonies on how victims do not get justice or redress. This is not new,
and it's unacceptable" Tracie Keesee said.

"This is a systemic issue that calls for a systemic response. All actors
involved, including police departments and police unions, must join forces
to combat the prevailing impunity," the expert added.

The report found that racism in the United States -- a legacy of slavery,
the slave trade, and one hundred years of legalized apartheid that followed
slavery's abolition -- continues to exist today in the form of racial
profiling, police killings and many other human rights violations.

The report said that Black people in America are three times more likely to
be killed by police than whites and 4.5 times more likely to be
incarcerated. It also said that of the more than 1,000 cases of killings by
police each year, only 1 percent result in officers being charged.

"We reject the 'bad apple' theory," said Juan Mendez, another member of the
team. "There is strong evidence suggesting that the abusive behavior of
some individual police officers is part of a broader and menacing pattern."

The report cited with profound concern instances of children of African
descent being sentenced to life imprisonment, pregnant women in prison
being chained during childbirth and persons held in solitary confinement
for 10 years.

It also described how some people of African descent have been prevented
from voting years after completing their sentences and how some are
subjected to forced labor in "plantation-style" prisons, which constitutes
a contemporary form of slavery.

The report made 30 recommendations to the United States and all its
jurisdictions, including over 18,000 police agencies.
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