4th Annual Session of the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Ad

Public consultations: 

Human Rights Council Resolution 47/21 mandates the Expert Mechanism “to advance racial justice and equality in the context of law enforcement in all parts of the world by, inter alia, conducting country visits, inclusive outreach and consultations with States, directly affected individuals and communities, and other stakeholders, and taking into account an intersectional approach”. It further requests the Expert Mechanism to make “recommendations with regard to addressing systemic racism, in law enforcement and the criminal justice systems”, among other areas.

In the framework of its 4th annual session, to be held between 5 and 9 May 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, the Expert Mechanism will hold public in-person consultations on 7 and 8 May in relation to systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent in the criminal justice system. The key observations and recommendations emanating from the consultations will inform the Expert Mechanism's 4th annual report to be presented to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council (8 September - 3 October 2025). 

Through these public consultations, the Expert Mechanism aims to:

• Collect information on the challenges and discrimination faced by Africans and people of African descent regarding their interactions with the criminal justice system.
• Identify good practices and lessons learned regarding tackling systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent in the criminal justice system.

Reach out to EMLER Secretariat team at ohchr-emler@un.org for info and more.