Steerpike Steerpike

The United Nations race report hypocrisy

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Oh dear. Four weeks after the government’s Sewell report on race relations was released, a group of United Nations experts has decided to weigh in, claiming that it attempts to ‘normalise white supremacy’ and could ‘fuel racism’ in the UK. According to a lengthy press release issued today, the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on Monday ‘strongly rejected’ the ‘stunning’ report, arguing it ‘repackages racist tropes and stereotypes into fact, twists data and misapplies statistics.’

It argues that: ‘The report’s conclusion that racism is either a product of the imagination of people of African descent or of discrete, individualized incidents ignores the pervasive role that the social construction of race was designed to play in society, particularly in normalizing atrocity, in which the British state and institutions played a significant role.’ 

Strong stuff but Mr S cannot help but ask where was this energy last October when China was re-elected last October to the UN Human Rights Council? In vain did Steerpike search for a statement from the group looking for a comment in solidarity with the Uyghurs of Xinjiang. Other members of the council include Russia and Saudi Arabia where there are numerous reports of African migrants being mistreated such as those ‘left to die’ in the country’s Covid detention centres.

Mr S wonders how much of a ‘significant role’ such states can be said to be playing in ‘normalizing atrocity’ at home and overseas?

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