Discriminatory practices by US police during protests involving African-Americans are in violation of the right to freedom of assembly, a UN official said Wednesday, after a more than two-week official visit to evaluate the situation in the US, according to dpa. Maina Kiai, UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, warned that discrimination against black protesters, lack of accountability for police action and cities requiring permits for protests in the US run contrary to international law and freedom of assembly standards. Kiai said that much of his visit focused on the Black Lives Matter movement, in which people protesting discrimination and police violence against African-Americans were often met with riot police and high numbers of arrests. The special rapporteur, who visited US 10 cities including New Orleans and Baton Rouge in the state of Louisiana, and Ferguson, Missouri, said it was "disturbing" to learn that black protesters were handled differently, often being met with "disproportionate force" by law enforcement. Kiai noted that such responses by police only lead to further resentment and alienation between black communities and authorities. A full report of the visit to the US will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2017.
