France on Saturday disputed "excessive" and "unfounded" remarks by a UN committee that raised racial profiling and excessive use of force by law enforcement during recent widespread rioting in the country.
"Any ethnic profiling by law enforcement is banned in France," the foreign ministry noted, adding that "the struggle against excesses in racial profiling has intensified".
La 🇫🇷a pris connaissance de la déclaration du Comité pour l'élimination de la discrimination raciale : des propos excessifs, que la 🇫🇷 conteste. Le Comité oublie les violences injustifiables contre forces de l'ordre, élus et services publics.
— France Diplomatie🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@francediplo) July 8, 2023
Communiqué intégral… pic.twitter.com/NWW3HDNKrh
A UN committee on Friday called on France to ensure the investigation into the killing of Nahel, the teenager shot dead by police near Paris, is "thorough and impartial", and called for racial profiling to be banned.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), made up of 18 independent experts, flagged concerns on racial profiling and the excessive use of force by law enforcement".
The experts also condemned "looting and destruction of private and public property as well as reports of mass arrests and detention of protesters".
The UN committee said it welcomed the opening of an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the killing of Nahel, whose death sparked an eruption of violence in France.
"France (should) promptly ensure that the investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of Nahel M. is thorough and impartial... prosecute the alleged perpetrators and, if convicted, to sanction them" accordingly, it said.
It also called for France to "adopt legislation that defines and prohibits racial profiling".
The French government also banned dozens of marches against police violence scheduled in different parts of France, and a memorial rally for the late Adama Traoré, killed in July 2016.
Traore, who was black, died in police custody in 2016 sparking several nights of rioting.
The authorities said they were fearful of seeing marches reigniting the recent unrest that engulfed the country.
(with AFP)
