The US State Department has invited UN experts who investigate racism and minority issues to make an official visit to the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
“Responsible countries should not shy away from the scrutiny of their human rights record, but they should acknowledge the intent to improve it,” Blinken said in a statement.
“I urge all UN member states to join the United States in this effort and confront the scourge of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia,” he said.
Blinken said the United States welcomed the UN Human Rights Council’s adoption on Tuesday of a resolution to address systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent in the context of law enforcement.
Last year’s killing of George Floyd, a black man by a Minneapolis police officer, sparked nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.
US President Joe Biden, who won the White House with significant support from black voters, made fighting racial inequality a key platform for his 2020 campaign.
Blinken said the invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism and the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues was the first step on plans to issue a permanent invitation to all UN experts reporting on human rights issues.