ANTONIO Guterres, UN Secretary General has spoken against racism describing it as abhorrent and nasty which must be rejected everywhere at any moment, and condemned in a clear way.
Guterres spoke as anti-racism protests spread across the globe after police killing of George Floyd, an African-American.
A number of monuments with links to colonialism and slavery have either been defaced or pulled down in Europe and the US as protests continue for racial justice, Aljazeera reported.
“The societies that are diverse can only succeed if there is a massive investment in social cohesion, by governments, local authorities, civil society, churches, against discrimination and inequality,” Guterres wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
He said that racism is the rejection of people’s common humanity, which is a central aspect against the charter of the United Nations.
The UN scribe said his position on racism is crystal clear, noting that racism violates the UN charter and debases its core values.
“My position on racism is crystal clear: this scourge violates the UN Charter and debases our core values. Every day, in our work across the world, we strive to do our part to promote inclusion, justice, dignity and combat racism in all its manifestations,” he said.
According to him, the The United Nations has a proud record of fighting racism and all forms of discrimination.
“I am proud of @UN staff who are condemning racism and expressing their solidarity with the victims of hate,” he said.
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill.
Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down in the street, begging for his life and repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe”.
A second and third officer further restrained Floyd while a fourth prevented bystanders from intervening. During the final three minutes Floyd was motionless and had no pulse while Chauvin ignored onlookers’ pleas to remove his knee, which he did not do until medics told him to.