In a letter sent on Monday to the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, the families call for an “independent inquiry into the killings and violent law enforcement responses to protests in the US”. They argue that such robust international accountability would complement the Biden administration’s efforts to “dismantle systemic racism in the US, especially in the context of police violence against people of African descent”.
Among the families who have joined the call are relatives of victims of some of the most notorious police killings in recent memory. They include the families of Floyd; Michael Brown, the 18-year-old whose 2014 killing by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, spurred the growing Black Lives Matter movement; and Daunte Wright, who was shot in a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, last month.
Commission Finds Anti-Black Police Violence Constitutes Crimes Against Humanity
Demonstrators protest near the Hennepin County Courthouse on April 19, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
prima facie case of crimes against humanity and they asked the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to initiate an investigation of responsible police officials.
These crimes against humanity under the ICC’s Rome Statute include
murder,
persecution of people of African descent, and
inhumane acts causing great suffering or serious injury to body or mental or physical health. All of the crimes occurred in the context of a widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population of Black people in the United States, as documented by the findings of fact in the 188-page report.
State leaders, officials and public figures react after Derek Chauvin found guilty on all charges in the death of George Floyd
Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Author: Briauna Brown Updated: 6:58 PM CDT April 20, 2021
After a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty on all charges, including the second-degree murder of George Floyd Tuesday afternoon, state leaders and public figures shared their thoughts across social media platforms.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson tweeted there s more work ahead, but justice was delivered and the system worked.
A jury of Derek Chauvin’s peers has delivered justice in the only way that they could. Ultimately, the rule of law prevailed.
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