A new UN report said that the police use of racial profiling and excessive force is entrenched in much of North America, Europe and Latin America.
The global report was released in the wake of the murder of 46-year-old African American George Floyd in America by a police officer in Minneapolis in May last year.
“I am calling on all states to stop denying, and start dismantling, racism; to end impunity and build trust; to listen to the voices of people of African descent; and to confront past legacies and deliver redress,” UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said in the report.
The report documented 190 deaths of Africans and people of African descent across the world at the hands of police forces.
The document pointed out that those involved in the reported deaths are “rarely held accountable”.
“Racism and racial discrimination against Africans and people of African descent are often rooted in policies and practices grounded in the debasement of the status of individuals in society,” the report said.
Police violence is more problematic in the US, however, lack of standardised indicators for measuring the use of police force and its consequences makes it difficult to compare between the European countries.
Demonstrations against police violence in the US have found a powerful echo in several European countries such as the UK and France.
Protests against racialised police brutality have spread across Europe following the police brutal killing of Floyd in America.
Despite initial denials from European leaders, people across Europe have protested and demonstrated to say: “Europe is not innocent”.
Amnesty International has earlier shed light on the “illegal use of force” by French police officers during demonstrations in a recent report.
Accroding to the report, evidence has shown that there are disproportionate stops and searches or racial profiling, police violence and incarceration of racialised groups.
