"The life of blacks counts," proclaims the European Parliament in a resolution adopted this Friday, taking up the slogan Black Lives Matter of the world movement that has left the United States against racism and police violence. European MEPs also declare in this resolution, adopted by 493 votes in favor, 104 against and 67 abstentions, that the slave trade is "a crime against humanity".
This resolution is a direct response to the protests that have multiplied since the death of George Floyd, an asphyxiated death during his arrest by the police in Minneapolis, in the United States but also in Europe and all over the world.
In its text, Parliament "strongly condemns the appalling death of George Floyd in the United States, as well as similar murders elsewhere in the world". He shows his support for the recent demonstrations against racism and discrimination and condemns "white supremacism in all its forms".
Trump's "inflammatory rhetoric"
MEPs condemn police intervention against "peaceful American protesters and journalists" and the "inflammatory rhetoric" of US President Donald Trump. "The excessive use of force against the crowd is contrary to the principle of proportionality," they write. The resolution also underlines that racist and xenophobic speech is not a matter of freedom of expression.
PODCAST. Black Lives Matter: from Trayvon Martin to George Floyd, the story of a movement that went global
During the debate in plenary Wednesday, a German MEP of African origin, Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana (ecologist), had claimed to have been victim the day before of police violence in Brussels while she photographed an intervention which she considered abusive, a version challenged by Belgian police.
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The UN Human Rights Council also unanimously adopted a resolution this Friday condemning systemic racism and police violence, but after removing a reference specifically targeting the United States.