All 50 states in the USA have been stages for mass protests calling for structural changes which would address the racism which has penetrated every aspect of American society. The death of George Floyd on 25 of May 2020 sparked a global movement of demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality. More than 10,000 people were arrested from clashing with the police during peaceful protests, with the use of rubber bullets and mace by police being reported on a daily basis. 

INTIMIDATION AND EXCESSIVE FORCE

Rachel Ward, the National Director of Research at Amnesty International USA, urged the police to change their tactics in order to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly which was guaranteed in international law could be exercised. She argued that the use of military equipment was intimidating protestors attempting to exercise this right, risking escalating the situation to one of a violent nature. Furthermore, Ward asserted that the use of excessive force needed to stop and be properly investigated in order to hold police officers accountable for any misconduct. 

The right of peaceful assembly is guaranteed by Article 21 in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and conduct of the U.S police in the last two weeks has on many occasion violated that right. Unlawful arrests, excessive force, and attacking journalists at the protests are all examples of violations that have taken place.

THE GLORIFICATION OF VIOLENCE 

In a response to the protests in Minneapolis, President Trump tweeted a disapproving statement regarding the few incidents of criminal activity among the thousands of peaceful protestors. This tweet involved the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”. It was later censored by Twitter for violating their platform’s policy regarding the glorification of violence. Ernest Coverson, the ‘End Gun Violence’ Campaign Manager at Amnesty International USA, said that the President is trampling on the rights of millions of Americans to call for accountability and needs to make changes that would result in the protection of all citizens, “not just those he deems worthy”. 

CONDEMN RACISM

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, stated that the voices of these demonstrations need to be heard. Bachelet called upon US officials to make changes that would ensure that human rights were afforded of all US citizens, and a stop to violating their freedom of expression, assembly, and association. Not only did she express that the disproportionate use of violence by police officers and arbitrary arrests needed to stop, but also that an investigation in the deeply rooted discrimination in the US needed to be conducted as soon as possible

Perhaps now, because of the express violations of international human rights law, there could be a possibility for the international community to put pressure on the US to hold police officers accountable for misconduct. Condemnation will only go so far. It is time for legal action.  

Sam is a Masters student in human rights at Uppsala University in Sweden. He focuses on migration and international law. He is also an activist working with Amnesty International Sweden to make changes to policy in line with the human rights framework.

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