UN Rights Council orders global probe

The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday highlighted the global "scourge" of systemic racism and ordered an independent investigation into racially-fuelled police violence around the world.  

In a resolution brought by a group of African countries, the council harshly condemned "continuing racially discriminatory and violent practices perpetrated by many law enforcement officials against Africans and people of African descent."

The text, which was adopted without a vote, decried "systemic racism in the law enforcement and criminal justice systems," and highlighted the need to bring offenders to justice.

It ordered the creation of an "international independent expert mechanism" to "advance racial justice and equality in the context of law enforcement in all parts of the world."

The resolution follows a damning report published last month by UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet calling for systemic racism against black people to be immediately dismantled.

In her report, Bachelet called on countries to confront colonial pasts and racially discriminatory policies and systems, and to seek "reparatory justice".

In a bid to help address the problem, the new expert team called for in Tuesday's resolution will be asked to examine "the root causes of systemic racism in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, the excessive use of force, racial profiling".