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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/UN-Report-Reveals-Systemic-Racism-in-US-Police--Justice-System-20230929-0002.html">telesurenglish.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">UN Report Reveals Systemic Racism in US Police & Justice System</h1>September 29, 2023</div>
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<img src="cid:ii_ln50e1wh0" alt="racism.jpeg_1718483346.jpeg" width="399" height="226"><br><p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"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."</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The report made 30 recommendations to the United States and all its jurisdictions, including over 18,000 police agencies.</p>
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