UN report exposes negative effects of racism on right to development

GENEVA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- A group of United Nations (UN) experts Friday presented a thematic report exposing the negative effects of racism and racial discrimination on the right to development, urging the international community to prevent racism in all forms and fight inequalities.

Mihir Kanade, chair rapporteur of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, presented the report to the 51st session of UN Human Rights Council. He said the experts hoped that the report would help to address racial discrimination and the obstacles it posed to social and economic development worldwide.

Kanade said that racism and racial discrimination are among the biggest obstacles to the realization of the right to development, and the right to development and the issue of racism are two of the most overlooked areas of human rights advocacy.

He cited the report as saying that inequalities based on race have not received the same attention as other forms of inequality set out in the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

According to studies shown in the report, in Britain, women and men of African descent were, respectively, 4.3 and 4.2 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than their white counterparts.

Data from the United States reveals that the COVID-19 death rate among African Americans is more than double that of other racial groups in the country, the report showed.

Individuals of African descent in the United States have a substantially lower life expectancy than the white population. In Australia and Canada, aboriginal peoples also have significantly shorter life expectancies than other ethnic groups.

Likewise, the report showed, Roma populations across Europe have an average life expectancy between 5-20 years shorter and face infant mortality rates 2-3 times higher than the general population.

Friday's report also indicated that in the United States, black people are nearly three times more likely to be killed by a police officer than white people, even though they are 1.3 times more likely to be unarmed.

"As societies become ever more multi-ethnic, multireligious and multicultural, greater investments in inclusivity and cohesion are required to harness the benefits of diversity for all humanity rather than perceiving it as a threat," the report stressed.

"The international community is called upon to reaffirm its commitment to universal human rights and shared values that enshrine equality and dignity for all within and beyond the framework of the right to development," it added.