“Addressing and Responding to Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System”

Video statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Excellencies,
Distinguished colleagues,

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in today’s event.

Fair trial. Equal access to justice. Due process. These are just some of the fundamental human rights central to today’s discussion.

They are rights which should be enjoyed by all, without discrimination.

Yet around the world, these rights are in peril, threatened by criminal justice systems which discriminate, harass, and intimidate.

The United Nations human rights mechanisms have long documented concerns about policies and practices in law enforcement and the criminal justice system which affect various groups disproportionately, in particular racial and ethnic minorities.

The evidence is clear: racial profiling, harassment, verbal abuse and abuse of power by law enforcement officials are widespread in many countries. So too are discriminatory stop-and-search measures, ill-treatment, arbitrary arrests, and excessive use of force, at times leading to death.

And all too often, these human rights violations are accompanied by broad impunity and little to no accountability.

I welcome the 2015 Doha Declaration’s reaffirmation of the commitment and strong political will of States to effective, fair, humane and accountable criminal justice systems. The recognition of the responsibility of States to uphold human rights - including for vulnerable members of society who may be subject to multiple and aggravated forms of discrimination - is an important step forward.

The Doha Declaration further commits States to intensify national and international efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination, including racism. The Kyoto Declaration in 2021 reaffirmed the commitment to “ensure equal access to justice and application of the law to all regardless of their status, including by taking appropriate measures to ensure treatment with respect and without discrimination or bias of any kind by criminal justice institutions.”

States have a responsibility to uphold these commitments.

Some States have undertaken welcome steps to address racism and racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. But further comprehensive efforts are needed to achieve racial justice and equality for all.

Excellencies,

As we know, the brutal murder of George Floyd in 2020 prompted global outrage, sparking a wave of protests and increasing attention to the issue of systemic racism against people of African descent both within and outside the criminal justice system.

In June last year, I presented a report to the Human Rights Council focusing on systemic racism and international human rights law violations by law enforcement agencies against Africans and people of African descent. Beyond criminal justice, the report also highlighted a litany of violations of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights suffered by people of African descent on a daily basis around the world, rooted in histories and legacies of enslavement, the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, and colonialism.

My Agenda towards Transformative Change for racial justice and equality – outlined in the report – sets out 20 actionable recommendations that provide a roadmap for making real progress.

It is rooted in the obligations of States under international human rights treaties and their political commitments.

It is also rooted in the lived experiences of people of African descent. Behind the data and the reports are the faces and daily lives of people and families.

People and families suffer discrimination, marginalization and exclusion in many States. Their experiences are shaped by historical legacies, compounded by cycles of structural inequalities that have lasted generations.

Nowhere is this discrimination more visible than in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. We see an alarming picture of system-wide, disproportionate impacts on people of African descent in some countries. We see excessive numbers of Africans and people of African descent in prison populations. We see Blackness being associated with criminality and delinquency.

This is both dehumanising and deeply destructive. And this blatant discrimination is only compounded by other factors such as socio-economic, work or migration status, sex, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, religion and psychosocial disabilities.

Lack of accountability for law enforcement officers is also an enormous obstacle. Investigations are deficient. Oversight, complaint and accountability mechanisms lack independence. There is widespread ‘presumption of guilt’ against people of African descent. With rare exceptions, investigations, prosecutions, trials and judicial decisions fail to consider the role that racial discrimination, stereotypes and institutional bias may have played.

Additionally, families of those who died after an encounter with law enforcement officials have expressed a profound lack of trust in the criminal justice system, highlighting the lack of support they faced during accountability processes.

We cannot sit by and continue to watch history repeat itself.

I urge States to reimagine and reform their policing and criminal justice systems, placing human rights at the centre of these efforts. People of African descent and other communities must be included in these discussions.

New models of justice need to protect and serve everybody, without discrimination.

Such new models must play a crucial role in ending impunity, strengthening public trust and fostering strong relationships between law enforcement and all the communities they serve. They should tackle the discriminatory application of criminal law.

I call on States to reform their drug-related policies, laws and practices in line with international human rights standards.

I also urge States to implement reforms to restrict use of force and prohibit racial profiling. Law enforcement officials who commit violations against Africans and people of African descent and other racial and ethnic groups must be brought to justice. And victims and their families must be provided redress.

Excellencies,

Racial discrimination in law enforcement and the criminal justice system cannot be separated from systemic racism. Only by addressing both – and the legacies they are built on – can we succeed in eliminating it.

The UN human rights system – including the new international independent expert mechanism – will continue its commitment to support States and others to achieve racial justice in the criminal justice system.

This is a priority – and responsibility - for all of us here today.

Let’s all commit to ensuring it happens.

Thank you.