Date & Time: May 2, 9am – 12pm CT
Livestream the event here: https://umn.zoom.us/j/94155044128
What: The United Nations is coming to Minneapolis! During this meeting with civil society on May 2, they will hear from Black directly impacted community members regarding police violence and systemic racism against people of African descent. The UN will also, separately, meet with government officials and other stakeholders.
Themes: Youth, Solitary Confinement and the School-to-Prison Pipeline, Families of Victims of Police Violence.
MINNEAPOLIS UN VISIT ORGANIZED BY:
Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, Atlas of Blackness, Urban League Twin Cities/Minneapolis, RFK Human Rights, University of Minnesota, Center for Victims of Torture, Advocates for Human Rights, and UN Antiracism Coalition (UNARC).
*Please note that all testimonies have already been selected by community members, so there is no opportunity to testify during the event.
The International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement (EMLER) will visit the United States of America from April 24 – May 5, 2023. During the mission, the Expert Mechanism will travel to different cities around the country to meet with national stakeholders, including government officials, law enforcement authorities, civil society organisations, United Nations representatives, academics, lawyers, survivors of police violence and families of victims.
Background: After the killing of George Floyd, advocates (including the families of those killed by police and George Floyd’s brother) went to the UN Human Rights Council to ask for an investigation into the killing of Black people in the U.S. by law enforcement and the targeting of protestors. At the time, advocates did not get what they wanted, but UNARC founding members strategized and pressured the UN to create a mechanism to specifically address this issue and also to include the root causes (colonialism and the Transatlantic slave trade). As a result of this advocacy, EMLER was created.
United States: Now, nearly three years after advocates, alongside George Floyd’s brother and many of the victim’s families, pleaded for the UN to come to the U.S., EMLER is conducting an in-person country visit to the United States (April 24-May 5, 2023).
hreusa.org 