Ban calls for impartial probe in killings of 2 Afro-Americans

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today called for an "impartial" probe into the fatal police shootings of black men this week even as he condemned the subsequent killing of five police officers in Dallas, saying there is no "justification" for such violence.
Ban, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, said those responsible for the killings of the five police officers during a rally in Dallas yesterday "compounded the suffering that many in the United States feel following the killing of two African-American men over two days."
The statement was issued following this week's deaths of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana at the hands of the police, and Thursday night's sniper attacks on police officers in downtown Dallas during a protest over the killings of African-American men in other cities.

Underscoring that there is "no justification" for such violence, Ban said the killing of the two African-American men over two days must be the subject of a "thorough and impartial investigation".
"They once again put the focus on the need to address discrimination, including racial disparities in law enforcement, in a comprehensive manner," he said.
Chair of the UN expert panel on people of African descent Ricardo Sunga also condemned the killings of the two African-American men by police, saying the incidents demonstrate "a high level of structural and institutional racism".

"The Working Group [of Experts on People of African Descent] is outraged and strongly condemns the new police killings of two African-American men," he said in a statement.

"These killings which were captured on video cannot be ignored. We call for prompt independent investigations to ensure the perpetrators are prosecuted and punished," he added.
According to the statement, excessive use of force by the police against African-Americans in the US is a "regular" occurrence and African-Americans are reportedly shot at more than twice the rate of white people.
The Working Group is monitoring the situation and has repeatedly expressed its concern to the Government about police killings of African-Americans and called for justice, and is convinced that the root of the problem lies in the lack of accountability for perpetrators of such killings despite the evidence.

"The killings also demonstrate a high level of structural and institutional racism. The United States is far from recognizing the same rights for all its citizens. Existing measures to address racist crimes motivated by prejudice are insufficient and have failed to stop the killings," the human rights expert said.
"It is time, now, for the US Government to strongly assert that Black lives matter and prevent any further killings as a matter of national priority," he said.