UN human rights experts' U.S. tour welcomed by activists: The Guardian

LONDON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- A team of United Nations (UN) human rights experts has arrived in the United States on a tour focusing on racial justice, law enforcement and policing, The Guardian reported on Monday.

The independent panel, appointed by the UN human rights council, will visit Washington DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis and New York during its two-week tour, the British newspaper said.

"Activists in Atlanta are especially looking forward to the panel," the newspaper said, citing activists like Collette Flanagan, who founded Mothers Against Police Brutality after her black son Clinton Allen was killed by police in Dallas, Texas in 2013.

"Extrajudicial killings have become increasingly routine in American policing," Flanagan said, adding that police brutality represents a massive human rights violation.

"We hope this visit will help us move America to live up to its obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights agreements," she said.

According to The Guardian, the panel will hear testimonies discussing topics including families affected by state violence after it arrives in Atlanta on Wednesday.

The UN trip is to "further transformative change for racial justice and equality in the context of law enforcement for Africans and people of African descent," said the UN.

The panel was established "in response to widespread outcry" following the police murder of George Floyd in 2020, The Guardian reported.

After Floyd's murder, protests against police brutality and racial inequality, especially toward black people, quickly spread across the United States and globally. His dying words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying slogan.