Thank You For Helping Europe

Editors’ Note: Continuing views from Europe, Prof. Kjaerum sends this post.

Morten Kjaerum, Adjunct Prof., Aalborg University Law School, Denmark

Director of Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Sweden

Former member of UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

“For 400 years, we have been suppressed. Now it is time for change.”  The Afro-American community with supporters from many other communities across the US are sending clear messages about change. The message is so clear that it is picked up at the root of the historical injustice in Europe. The statue of slave trader Edward Colston in the harbor of Bristol which has stood there for 125 years, was finally pulled down by demonstrators and absorbed by the water. Suddenly, it is a mystery to everybody that it has had such a prominent position in Bristol for so many years without protests. During these weeks, this scenario is repeated across Europe.

The neglect of the historical wrongdoings and the profound unwillingness to address them should be seen in the light of studies across Europe that unanimously show that Afro-Europeans are the most discriminated against people in Europe. The European Union Fundamental Rights Agency published in 2019 a study, “Being Black in the EU” that in great detail and depth describes a high level of discrimination in most EU countries. This report together with previous reports go un-noticed.

In the report, 30% of the respondent say they have been racially harassed. One fourth have been stopped by the police. A majority (63 %) of victims of physical racist attacks by a police officer did not report the incident to anybody, either because they felt it would not change anything or because they do not trust the police.

The European situation is less grave than the one in the US, or as expressed by a French sociologist: “in the US the police kill people, in France they only mutilate them”.

In light of this, the resounding call for change in the US can be a wakeup call for Europe before it spins out of control. The timing is good. The call from the American movements could merge with the Covid-19 call from the UN Secretary General: Build back better. Reports are now being released recognizing that in many European countries the Afro-Europeans and ethnic minorities have suffered disproportionally in the Covid-19 crisis. Not because they could not read or because they follow traditional customs as often claimed by populists, but rather because they were in frontline functions as nurses, taxi-drivers, and shop stewards trying to assist as best they could. They again paid a higher price than others, but this time it has become visible. This fact has finally been understood and picked up thanks to the mirror provided by the demonstrations in the US.

The economic aid-packages linked to the Covid-19 crisis are already linked to climate and environmental issues. In some countries, they are also linked to issues related to tax havens. The question is if these packages can be used as a lever for more inclusive societies, with the aim of bringing those that are left behind or discriminated against to the forefront. These disempowered groups should be supported and profound reforms insisted on. EU labels itself as a human rights front runner, so this is an obvious approach to building back better.

In this process, obvious partners are the many human rights cities across Europe and in all continents. The inclusive city is a place where everybody feels safe and welcome. It is a city without slave traders and other perpetrator statues, and instead a city using its historical past as an inspiration for creating a better city for all.

Observed from Europe, it is inspiring to follow the actions taken by some cities in the US addressing the unrest and the demonstrations. In particular, Minneapolis stands out by taking steps to dismantle the police force to create a new security system based on trust and human rights values. It has the potential to become a source of inspiration for similar changes in all continents struggling with powerful police forces far from a human rights-based approach to their work.

So, with this, a huge thanks to the protest movement across the US for assisting Europe in opening its eyes to its own history and challenges with racism. There is a vast agenda for everybody to contribute to turning the tide. There is no time to waste if the right to a future shall be realized for everybody. To paraphrase the German thinker Ulrich Beck; ‘this should not be a gradual change, nor a revolution but a metamorphosis’.