A/HRC/45/44 D. People of African descent in the diaspora seeking redress for systemic racism within the United Nations 60. People of African descent have sought redress from the United Nations before.45 As the United Nations was being established, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and W.E.B. Du Bois, an African-American sociologist and thought leader, petitioned the nascent intergovernmental body for recognition of systematic violations and the denial of the human rights of people of African descent faced in the United States.46 The initiative immediately actualized an early, stated concern of the United States, namely that the creation of the United Nations might offer redress to people of African descent in the United States, which at the time tolerated legalized racial discrimination, manifested in, inter alia, considerable exploitation, violence and inequality. The petition was rejected with the knowledge of Eleanor Roosevelt, NAACP board member and key figure in the drafting of the Charter of the United Nations. 61. In June 1946, the National Negro Congress in the United States petitioned the United Nations Secretariat for redress for systemic racism, submitting A Petition to the United Nations on Behalf of 13 Million Oppressed Negro Citizens of the United States of America, for consideration by the Economic and Social Council. Although systemic racism faced by African-Americans was well-established and enshrined in law, the Secretary-General indicated that the Organization could not consider the petition without more data.47 The International Court of Justice has never offered an advisory opinion on the legality of the institutionalized systemic racism evident in many Member States.48 62. The midterm review of the International Decade for People of African Descent and its programme of action and activities, adopted by consensus by the General Assembly, is an opportunity for Member States to demonstrate their commitment by addressing racial injustice for people of African descent, implementing the programme of activities, establishing a permanent forum and starting work on a declaration for the protection of the human rights of people of African descent. 63. The urgent debate held by the Human Rights Council at its forty-third session, in June 2020, was an opportunity for States Members of the United Nations to address systemic racism against people of African descent globally, particularly at the hands of law enforcement. Several States made a commitment to racial justice, while expressing their concern at the legacy of the trade and trafficking in enslaved Africans and colonialism. In its resolution 43/1, the Council acknowledged systemic racism as a grave violation of human rights, strongly condemned the continuing racially discriminatory and violent practices perpetrated by law enforcement against Africans and people of African descent, deplored the recent incidents of excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers against peaceful demonstrators, requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the assistance of relevant special procedures of the Council, to prepare a report, on systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent and government responses to anti-racism protests, and called upon Member States and stakeholders to cooperate in the preparation of that report. 64. The urgent debate also brought to mind a previous unsuccessful attempt to seek redress using international human rights system. In 1964, under the pressure of the United States, African States were dissuaded from taking up the urgent appeal made by American civil rights activist Malcolm X for the United Nations to conduct an investigation into the situation of African Americans.49 45 46 47 48 49 14 See Ursula Tracy Doyle, “Strange fruit at the United Nations”, Howard Law Journal, vol. 61, No. 187, 2018. An Appeal to the World: A Statement of Denial of Human Rights to Minorities in the Case of citizens of Negro Descent in the United States of America and an Appeal to the United Nations for Redress (1947). See Doyle, “Strange fruit at the United Nations”, p. 226. Ibid., p. 235. See OHCHR, Statement on the Human Rights Council Urgent Debate Resolution, 19 June 2020.