Slavery of Blacks in US has left long-lasting legacy on country: UN experts

The slavery of Blacks in the US has left a deep and enduring legacy on the country, including systematic racial discrimination that penetrates America’s law enforcement and judicial system, UN experts said in a new report.

The report was prepared by a commission established in 2021 by the UN Human Rights Council, called the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement.

The commission, a network of independent UN experts and monitors, ended a 12-day visit to the US on Friday, calling on the US government to boost efforts to combat racial discrimination affecting Black Americans.

Though they have no powers to enforce their findings, UN experts have shown themselves able to profoundly influence domestic political debate, especially within the US.

"Slavery has left a deep and long-lasting entrenched legacy on the country, which can be perceived through generational trauma," the independent experts noted.

"Racial discrimination permeates all contacts with law enforcement, from the first contact – often during early school years – by means of racial profiling, arrest, detention, sentencing and disenfranchisement in some US states," they said.

“In each of those aspects, available data points to a clear disproportional impact upon people of African descent.”

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