The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR) this week called for major criminal justice reforms as the United Nations reviews the United State’s record on human rights issues. The call for a U.N. review comes in the wake of recent police killings of unarmed Black men in Baltimore, Md.; New York City; Ferguson, Mo.; Los Angeles; North Charleston, S.C.; and in Cleveland, Ohio.
A number of civil rights groups, including the NAACP, have complained in recent months about “police bias and violence” in the U.S. as tensions between law enforcement and minority communities continue to rise.
“Biased law enforcement against communities of color is a nationwide issue,” said June Zeitlin, director of human rights policy at the Leadership Conference. She also said racial profiling, police misconduct and sentencing reform must be addressed in the United States.
Sakira Cook, policy counsel at the Leadership Conference, said eradicating the issues of racial profiling and police brutality is critical to ensuring equality, justice and fairness.
“Though the U.S. government has implemented measures in recent years to alleviate the racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, much more needs to be done to sufficiently address the growing disparities,” Cook said. Both Zeitlin and Cook testified earlier this week before the U.N. about what they see as “policing bias” around the country. Cook said Black men are [reportedly] “six times” more likely to be locked up than White men.
“As the United States seeks to implement its human rights objectives, it must take into account the discrimination and racial disparities that persist at every stage of the U.S. criminal justice system, from policing to trial to sentencing to reentry,” Cook added.
The last time the U.N. reviewed the United State’s human rights record was in 2010.
Formerly called the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, (LCCR) was an umbrella group composed of American civil rights organizations. It was founded originally in 1950 by Roy Wilkins, Arnold Aronson and A. Philip Randolph. The organization currently consists of more than 200 civil justice organizations.
