Blacks are victims of structural racism in many places

Police and offices, regulations and attitudes systematically discriminate against people of African origin, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office.

Geneva - The UN human rights office in Geneva accuses countries, especially in Europe and in North and Latin America, of racism against people with African roots.

Centuries of violence and discrimination have produced state structures in which blacks are systematically disadvantaged by the police and offices, laws, ordinances and attitudes, a highly anticipated report said on Monday.

This structural racism is largely denied to this day.

Countries must finally face the consequences of the slave trade and colonialism and take care of reparations.

"Don't deny racism"

"The current situation is untenable," said the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.

"I call on all countries not to deny racism any more, but to reduce it." Small adjustments are not enough, systems have to be fundamentally reformed.

The report goes back to a decision of the UN Human Rights Council after the violent death of the black American George Floyd.

Floyd died in May 2020 after an arrest that resulted in a police officer kneeling on the man's neck for more than nine minutes.

The policeman was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for second degree murder.

In too many similar cases, however, hardly anyone is held accountable, the report says.

Stereotypes sometimes arise in childhood

In many countries people with African roots are socially, economically and politically marginalized. In North and Latin America and Europe in particular, a disproportionate number of them lived in poverty and found it difficult to enforce basic human rights such as education, health services, work, decent housing and clean water.

Stereotypes sometimes arise in childhood when teachers trust children with African roots less than others and steer them towards educational paths that give them fewer opportunities. When it comes to performance, blacks are often only mentioned in areas such as sports, music, and dance. The report criticizes a statement by ex-US President Donald Trump, who described participants in protests against racism as "sick and deranged anarchists and agitators" as degrading.

There are redress initiatives in various countries, but not enough, the report said. It is praised, for example, that the German government recently recognized the atrocities committed by the German colonial power against the Herero and Nama ethnic groups in what is now Namibia as genocide and officially wants to ask for forgiveness. Germany wants to support the descendants in the next 30 years with 1.1 billion euros. dpa