LONDON (PA) – A body of experts advising the United Nations on human rights issues has criticized a highly criticized report by the British government which concluded that there was no systemic racism in the country.
The United Nations Expert Working Group on African African Descent of the United Nations said Monday that it found it “impressive” that the report “repackaged de facto racist troops and stereotypes” and urged the British government to reject its findings.
“The report cites dubious evidence to make claims that rationalize white supremacy through the use of family arguments that have always justified racial hierarchy,” the Geneva-based working group said.
“This attempt to normalize white supremacy despite considerable research and evidence of institutional racism is an unfortunate diversion from the opportunity to acknowledge the atrocities of the past and everyone’s contributions to progress,” he added.
The Commission on Races and Ethnic Inequalities, which was set up by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson following last year’s black life protests, released its report on racism last month.
His findings that Britain is neither “institutionally racist” nor “manipulated” against minorities have been widely vilified, some critics even argue that the report downplayed the country’s historic role in slavery.
Citing steps to reduce differences between ethnic groups in educational and economic achievement, the report said race was becoming “less important” as a factor in creating disparities that also feed into family backgrounds. and class.
Many academics, legislators’ unions and anti-racist activists were skeptical of the findings of the 258-page report, with some saying the commission ignored barriers to equality, while others said it downplayed the ongoing legacy of the colonial past. of Britain, as well as its role in slavery.
Johnson’s spokesman Max Blain said the UN working group’s statement “distorts the conclusions” of the UK’s racism report.
“This report in no way endorses racist behavior and in fact highlights that racism and inequality are still problems for our country,” he said.
The commission, which was made up of eleven members from a broad section of ethnic background, has also previously defended itself against the charges, arguing that some of the criticism has been “based on misrepresentation” and that it never argued that racism does not exist in society or in institutions.
The UN working group also spread what it described as the report’s “mythical representation of slavery”, saying it was “an attempt to clean up the history of the enslaved Africans trade”.
This, he continued, is “a reprehensible, though not unknown, tactic employed by many whose wealth came directly from the slavery of others, since slavery was outlawed.”
One of the main calls for clarifications of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests across the UK was for the government and institutions to confront the legacy of the British Empire and the country’s vast benefits of trade. of slaves.
The demolition of a statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston in the city of Bristol in June sparked a debate over how to deal with Britain’s past. Many felt that these statues exalt racism and are an affront to black British. Others, including the prime minister, argued that removing them was to erase a piece of history.
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Jill Lawless contributed to this report.