US police violence goes beyond all reasons: Russian human rights activists urge the UN to clamp down

An issue of the police authority and the appropriateness of the use of force, especially when defending against crowds, has been very acute for many years. There have been a number of recent cases in Europe that have reinvigorated this issue. In May, for example, a video was published on social media that shows how the German police in Frankfurt am Main beat and sprayed a person lying on the street with batons. That same month, police in Brussels used water cannons on demonstrators when they tried to pellet officials with branches and bottles. Large-scale protests began in London in March against the “On Police, Crime, Penalties and Courts” bill, which could give police more tools to prevent violations of law and order during demonstrations and to punish those responsible if they do but.

While in European countries authorities and society try to find a compromise solution about the limits of police powers and disciplinary measures if they are violated, in the United States police officers regularly commit violence against citizens of the country and go unpunished. In 2021, 1,068 people died by American law enforcement agencies. And last year the number was almost similarly shocking – 999 people were killed.

One of the most well-known and prominent cases of police violence in the United States was the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 when a Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin put Floyd’s neck on the asphalt with his knee and held him in position for 7 minutes and 46 seconds while Floyd lay face down in the street. The case attracted widespread attention and sparked numerous protests across the country. Few know, however, that in the United States, police officers killed six other people on duty the day after the court sentenced him in the case of George Floyd’s murder.

Among the new victims of American law enforcement officers were a man in Escondido, California who was previously often charged with crime, a 42-year-old American from eastern North Carolina, an unidentified man in San Antonio, and one other person who was killed that same city within hours of the death of the first. A 31-year-old man from central Massachusetts and a 16-year-old girl from Columbus, Ohio also died as a result of police actions.

In addition, US law enforcement officers have repeatedly shown cruelty to illegal protests. This spring, a police officer threw Whitney Mitchell, who has no arms and legs, out of a wheelchair during a rally against police brutality in Texas. The girl attended the event because of her boyfriend, who was killed by a police officer a year earlier during a similar operation defending the rights of African Americans.

Such a terrifying situation suggests that American human rights organizations are not living up to their responsibilities as thousands of people suffer as a result of the actions of US law enforcement agencies. The Russian Foundation to Battle Injustice (FBI) decided to come to the aid of their US counterparts.

The FBI was founded with the support of Russian entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin as a human rights organization to fight police brutality around the world. The initiative group of the foundation works to consistently defend the rights of victims of violence by police officers and to draw attention to this problem in the USA and other Western countries.

In early July, the Foundation to Combat Injustice sent an open letter to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). The FBI is calling on HRC Chairman Najat Shamim Khan to hold an emergency meeting to authorize an ongoing humanitarian mission to the United States of America with the aim of halting constantly observed crime and police brutality.

“The entire civilized world is witnessing a racially motivated civil war initiated by the police against people in the United States,” the open letter said.

The UN human rights group recently released a report on racist incidents involving US police officers. According to experts, 190 out of 250 cases, the deaths of people of African descent were caused by police officers. The most common incidents of this kind occur in Europe, Latin America and North America. At the same time, law enforcement officers are most likely to avoid punishment. In its appeal, the Foundation to Battle Injustice names the names of Americans killed by the police – Marvin Scott III, Tyler Wilson, Javier Ambler, Judson Albam, Adam Toledo, Frankie Jennings and Isaiah Brown.

In these circumstances, the Foundation to Battle Injustice suggests considering sending an international humanitarian mission to the United States to prevent systematic human rights violations. The FBI noted in an open letter that the UN had successful experience of conducting such operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, El Salvador, Cambodia and Liberia.

FBI members believe that “the current situation in the United States with regard to human rights and freedoms bears terrifying similarities to South Africa during the apartheid era.” That is why the Foundation to Battle Injustice calls on the UN Human Rights Council to “react immediately to the crisis of state violence against citizens in the USA”.

It is recalled that the Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world and for addressing and making recommendations on human rights violations. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention.