René Cassin strongly condemns the unjust acts of state violence over the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the countless others, and violence against protestors in the USA, especially at a time when COVID-19 with its merciless impact on BAME communities has exposed a level of inequality that existed and was tolerated long before the pandemic. There is no place for racism in our society and the right to safety and protection is a basic right of all human beings regardless of the race, ethnicity or religion.
We continue to witness and experience the tragic and preventable human consequences of hatred and inequalities: the structural inequalities that allow the murders of George and Breonna to go unpunished are intrinsically linked to those which enabled the tragedy of Grenfell and betrayal of the Windrush Generation.
Now more than ever, we must stand up to racism and white supremacy and for ending discrimination – in narratives, policies and actions. That is true for the USA as it is for the UK.
We remember the immortal words of pastor Martin Niemöller:
“Then they came for the Jews,
And I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Jew.”
We choose to speak out and stand up in solidarity with black people. Black lives matter.
#BLM #blacklivesmatter #CutItOut