RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, today denounced that the number of people of African descent killed by police remains disproportionately high in many countries such as Brazil and the United States.
Taking stock at the Human Rights Council today, she pointed out that in the United States, civil society groups have cited a figure of 266 police killings of people of African descent by 2021, suggesting that they are “nearly three times as likely to be killed by police as whites.” Other research suggests the number could be even higher.
In Brazil, Bachelet said, 79% of people killed in police operations in 2020 were of African descent, according to a nongovernmental organization. “Worrying statistics along these lines also exist in several other countries. I call on national authorities in all regions of the world to ensure immediate and effective accountability for police deaths.”
Presenting the annual report to the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner denounced that “warfare directed against civilians, the violent or unconstitutional overthrow of governments, autocratic rule, and governance and policing that suppress people’s rights deny this vision.”