2023-07-08 12:31:00
A committee of experts from the UN had heavily criticized the management by the police of the riots which shook France. Paris responded.
By VD with AFP On June 30, already, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had asked France to look seriously at the problems of racism and racial discrimination within the forces of order. (Illustrative photo.) © PAULINE TOURNIER/Hans Lucas/Hans Lucas via AFP Published on 07/08/2023 at 12:31 p.m.
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France “contests remarks that it considers excessive” and “unfounded” from a UN committee of experts who had heavily criticized, this Friday, July 7, the management by the police of the riots which shook France. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Cerd) had urgently adopted a declaration denouncing “the excessive use of force by the forces of order” French.
He also asked Paris “to adopt legislation that defines and prohibits racial profiling”. On Saturday, the Foreign Office responded emphatically that “any measure of ethnic profiling by law enforcement [est] prohibited in France”, ensuring that “the fight against the excesses of so-called “facies” controls [s’est] intensified”.
Incomprehension
“Any reported discriminatory behavior is followed up, and when proven, an administrative or judicial sanction”, adds the text, which argues that the police officer who fired the fatal shot that sparked the riots ” was immediately brought before the court and is charged with intentional homicide”. According to the Quai d’Orsay, “the forces of order in France are subject to a level of internal, external and judicial control such as few countries know”.
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France invites the Cerd “to show more discernment and moderation in its remarks, of which it regrets the partial and approximate nature”. She expresses her “incomprehension in the face of the lack of solidarity and compassion with regard to elected officials or representatives of French institutions who have been the subject of attacks […] as well as with regard to the 800 injured police officers, gendarmes and firefighters”.
A “persistent practice of racial profiling”
The death of young Nahel, killed by a policeman during a traffic check, sparked nights of riots across the country. The urban violence that followed, unprecedented since 2005, cast a harsh light on the ills of French society, from the difficulties of working-class neighborhoods to the stormy relations between young people and the police.
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Cerd said it was deeply concerned about “the persistent practice of racial profiling combined with the excessive use of force in law enforcement, particularly by the police, against members of minority groups, including people of African and Arab origin. In its press release, France recalls “that it is a State of law, respectful of its international obligations and in particular of the International Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination”. “The fight against racism and all forms of discrimination is a political priority”, still assures the ministry.
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