INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN - A United Nations committee has called on France to urgently address the causes of racial discrimination.France is still on edge
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination or CERD has issued a statement on the situation, in which it expressed concerns and
called on the authorities to take urgent action on racial profiling and the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials.In
particular, CERD has called on France to promptly ensure that the investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of Nahel is
The UN committee also wants authorities to prosecute the alleged perpetrators and, if they are convicted, to sanction them in a manner that
is equal with the gravity of the crime.While activists are pleased that the UN has now been involved, many have expressed their
will lead to nowhere and bring no changes on the ground as the government lacks the will to reform the police over its treatment of
African and Arab descent and their right to equal treatment before the tribunals and other rights as enshrined in the International
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as well as a number of other
obligations, in particular those arising from the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to
international human rights law and standards.The UN committee also urges France that mass protests and demonstrations should be respected
announced for Saturday after French authorities banned a memorial rally, fearful of reigniting the recent unrest that engulfed the
country.Seven years after Adama Traore, a young black man who died in police custody, his sister planned to lead a commemorative march north
older sister said "the government has decided to add fuel to the fire" and "not to respect the death of my little brother"
Instead of the planned march, she announced her participation at a march on Saturday afternoon in central Paris to tell "the whole world
that our dead have the right to exist, even in death".However, according to the Paris police headquarters, this same "march for justice"
cities of Lille, Marseille, Nantes and Strasbourg.Trade unions, opposition political parties and other associations had called on supporters
old, died shortly after his arrest in 2016
His murder sparked nights of unrest similar to the week-long violent protests that erupted across France in the wake of the point-blank
shooting of Nahel.Campaign group organizers said Saturday's "citizens marches" would be an opportunity for people to express their "grief
and anger" at discriminatory police policies, especially in working-class communities.They are also urging reforms to the police, including
also calls on France to take immediate and appropriate reforms aimed at eliminating structural discrimination in the criminal justice
system, ensuring the rights of victims of racially motivated crimes, promoting ethnic diversity within the police as well as promoting
introduce continuous training to law enforcement officials, particularly on de-escalation techniques in line with relevant international
standards.Protests this year against Macron's controversial pension overhaul, which the French leader bypassed the parliament to introduce
A record 52 deaths were recorded in 2021.The decade-long calls by groups inside France for international organizations to get involved over
