Countries need to confront the legacy of slavery and colonialism and make amends for “centuries of violence and discrimination” through reparations, as advised by the UN’s human rights chief. Tara Pilkington reports.
Michelle Bachelet addressed an urgent debate on racism and police brutality at the UN human rights council in Geneva and has called on countries to examine their pasts and to seek a better understanding of the scope of the continuing “systemic discrimination” present across the globe.
She referenced the recent killing of George Floyd and commented on the presence of systemic racism, saying” “[This] has become emblematic of the excessive use of disproportionate force by law enforcement, against people of African descent, against people of colour, and against indigenous peoples and racial and ethnic minorities in many countries across the globe,”
She also stressed the need to: “make amends for centuries of violence and discrimination, including through formal apologies, truth-telling processes, and reparations in various forms”.
In a final comment, Bachelet insisted that it needs to be made clear that: “black lives matter. Indigenous lives matter. The lives of people of colour matter. All human beings are born equal in dignity and rights: that is what this council, like my office, stands for.”
