UN human rights chief calls for ‘wide range of reparations measures’

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Monday called on countries to address their histories of slavery, colonialism and racism through “a wide range of reparations measures.”

As The Associated Press reports, Bachelet told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that research that was launched last year “could not find a single example of a state that has comprehensively reckoned with its past or accounted for its impacts on the lives of people of African descent today,” despite some attempts.

“Establishing the truth about these legacies, and their impact today, and taking steps to address this harm through a wide range of reparations measures is crucial to healing our societies and providing justice for terrible crimes,” the U.N. official said. “Measures taken to address the past will transform our future.”

According to the AP, Bachelet recommended that countries “fully fund comprehensive processes” that had the full involvement of affected communities in order to address their histories and the true effects they have had on people.

The Human Rights Council commissioned the report for which the research was conducted shortly after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.