GENEVA, Jul 7 UN urges France to fight with systemic racism in the police and to punish the police officers responsible for the murder of a teenager near Paris, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) published a statement on the OHCHR website.
“The Committee is concerned that structural discrimination in law enforcement, in particular the police, and racial inequalities against people of African and Arab descent persist and increase, in particular in the exercise of the right to equal treatment before the courts, security of the person and other rights enshrined in in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,» the document says.
UN Committee urges France to immediately ensure a «thorough and impartial» investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of a 17-year-old in Nanterre, prosecute the alleged perpetrators and, if found guilty, punish them in a manner that is proportionate to the gravity crimes.
“The Committee is also deeply concerned about the continued practice of racial profiling, coupled with the excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies, especially the police, against members of minority groups, in particular those of African and Arab descent, which often results in a disproportionate number of killings with little to no punishment.” the UN committee regretted.
On Friday, Politico cited Laurence Boone, secretary of state for Europe at the French Foreign Ministry, as saying that Brussels should not care how police resources are used in France during outbreaks of riots.
Earlier, the UN asked France to seriously address the problems of racism and racial discrimination in the police against the backdrop of unrest caused by the death of a teenager at the hands of police. The French Foreign Ministry then responded that the accusations against the police were unfounded.
On Tuesday, June 27, police officers shot and killed a 17-year-old teenager during a check on a road in Nanterre, who, according to security officials, refused to comply with their demands. During the week, riots broke out in a number of French cities. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, across the country, youth set fire to more than 12,000 cars, as well as about 500 city halls, police stations and other authorities. More than four thousand people were detained, a significant part of them were minors. According to the Ministry of Economy, more than a thousand retail outlets, about 370 bank branches, 200 grocery stores and 436 tobacco shops were looted.