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U.N. Demands End to Impunity for Officers Who Violate Human Rights of Black People 

HeadlineJun 29, 2021

A new U.N. report is calling on all nations to dismantle racism and end impunity for police officers who kill and violate the human rights of Black people. The long-awaited report was released by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Monday — just days after former Minneapolis police officer and convicted murderer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 years in prison for killing George Floyd. The report looked into over 190 police killings, most of which occurred in the United States, followed by Latin America. This is Mona Rishmawi with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mona Rishmawi: “We found worrying trends of associating Blackness with criminality and other biases that shape the interaction of people of African descent with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Our research shows that in a number of states, people of African descent are particularly vulnerable to racial profiling, notably as a basis for discriminatory identity checks, stops and searches, arrests and related abuses, also to violence, including serious injury and deaths.” 

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