Uduegbunam ChukwujamaInternationally renowned human rights lawyers who represented the family of George Floyd have filed urgent appeal to the United Nations along with a coalition over the plight of Black refugees facing racism at Ukraine borders.
Ben Crump and Jasmine Rand during a Wednesday virtual news conference to which Prime Business Africa was invited announced it was petitioning the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the United Nations and to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The global coalition of lawyers and activists include one of first Black judges in Britain and co-chair of Bandung Conference, Peter Herbert and Jamaican MP G. Anthony Hylton. Others are solicitor Jacqueline McKenzie and Carlos Moore, President of the National Bar Association in the US.
“The blatant racism exhibited by both Ukrainian and Polish border guards and police is a disgrace,” Peter Herbert said shortly after the virtual news conference.
“Freedom rights should not be subject to racism whatever the circumstances.”
Both Ukraine government and United Nations have acknowledged that black refugees have been subjected to discriminatory treatment while trying to flee Ukraine at the borders.
Yetunde Asika, a Lagos-based International Human Rights Attorney, is part of the “Civil Society Coalition” convened by the internationally renowned human rights attorneys Ben Crump and Jasmine Rand.
The appeal to the United Nations on behalf of African Refugees facing racial discrimination in Ukraine and Poland is also extended to the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and all relevant mandate holders.
It specifically requests urgent action regarding the racial discrimination levied at persons of African descent and other racial and ethnic minorities by Ukrainian and Polish governments, military forces, police forces, and border control agents.
Yetunde Asika, on her part, drew the attention of the media to efforts by Nigeria’s Federal Government to safeguard the lives of 5,000 citizens currently living in Ukraine.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved some $8.5 billion for evacuation of nationals in Ukraine.
Most of Nigerian citizens in Ukraine are students. Asika then discussed specific examples of mistreatment of Nigerians.
“It is essential that Nigeria and the UN continue to remain an integral part of the conversation as there have been very many accounts and worrying situations reported where Nigerians and other people of African decent have not been assisted or given the right support. They have been threatened and treated as lower humans. It is unacceptable and we are deeply concerned about our people,” Ms Asika said.
She concluded by stating that “…all countries need to resolve this issue of endemic racism and it is heartbreaking to see Africans being victims of these conflicts and not being given the same rights as all other citizens and residents in terms of safety and security.”
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