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

In examining how systemic racism affects Africans and people of African descent in the criminal justice system, speakers and participants are invited to discuss obstacles, challenges, lessons learnt and promising initiatives at different stages of the criminal justice proceedings, including before, during and after a trial. They will also explore how race and other intersecting factors contribute to discrimination against, and disproportionate outcomes for, Africans and people of African descent in the criminal justice system as well as the correlation between racial discrimination and the overrepresentation of Africans and people of African descent in detention.

In the fourth consultation (intersecting factors of discrimination), participants are invited to discuss how race and ethnicity intersect with other factors of discrimination, such as sex, gender, age, disabilities, mental health condition, migratory status, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other things, and how this particularly affects individuals and groups in vulnerable situations.


Guiding questions include:

1. How do intersecting identities affect the way that individuals are treated in the criminal justice system?

2. How can the application of an intersectionality framework support greater protections for different groups of Africans and people of African descent who are exposed to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination at different stages of the criminal justice system?

3. How do intersecting identities impact the likelihood of compounded forms of discrimination and disproportionate outcomes, including harsher sentences and regimes and lower access to alternatives to detention?