Systemic racism within the UK criminal justice system is a serious concern, say UN human rights experts

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We are deeply concerned about impunity and the failure to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system, deaths in police custody, convictions for joint ventures, and the dehumanizing nature of the so-called arraignment strategy and police search, the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, said in a statement at the end of an official visit to the UK.

Will this ever end?

Experts appointed by the Human Rights Council said they had gathered evidence of the all-too-real trauma felt by people of African descent who suffered racial discrimination and injustice: a woman of African descent whom we met during our visit lamented, will this ever end?they said.

A decade of economic austerity measures in the UK following the global crash of 2007-2008 has exacerbated racism, racial discrimination and other forms of intolerance faced by people of African descent, eroding their rights, the experts observed.

From the perspective of people of African descent, racism in the UK is structural, institutional and systemic, experts said.

The experience of dealing with the state and public institutions, the private sector and society, is that it perpetuates racial hierarchies, the experts concluded.

Persistent and widespread racist acts

Racist acts targeting people of African descent have remained constant and the experience is similar in different parts of the UK, experts said. They are victims and have no guarantee of an effective remedy from the authorities or the judicial system.

Welcoming the emerging efforts towards redressing the legacies of the trade and trafficking of enslaved Africans, the Task Force encouraged all stakeholders, including the government, to do more to ensure the rehabilitation, restoration and reconciliation.

According to Catherine Namakula, chair of the working group, it is imperative to streamline accessible, independent and effective complaints mechanisms to combat racism, to ensure police accountability, to guarantee a fair trial for all people and to repair all those affected by the Windrush scandal.

Austerity at risk to fundamental rights is a costly undertaking for the UK, she said.

Windrush Legacy

The Windrush scandal broke more than five years ago involving people born in the Caribbean who were brought to the UK as children, at the request of the UK Home Office while living in the country for 50 years – to prove their status as citizens, some having never been officially naturalized or having never applied for a passport.

Dozens have been deported or told they will be deported from the UK, despite being legal British subjects in their home country, and hundreds have suffered hardship, threats and other disenfranchisement, which led to the resignation of the then interior minister in 2018.

The Task Force traveled to London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol during its official visit.

The experts will present a report with their findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council later this year in September.

Independent experts

The Working Group was established in 2002, following the World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban, South Africa, the previous year.

It is composed of five independent experts: Catherine Namakula (Uganda) current Chairperson-Rapporteur; Barbara Reynolds (Guyana) current vice-president; Dominique Day (United States of America); and Miriam Ekiudoko (Hungary).

Independent Experts are not United Nations personnel and are independent of any government or organization. They serve in an individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.

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