The United Nations took action in the wake of George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020 by creating a report with recommendations to end systemic racism and human rights violations by law enforcement against Africans and those of African descent.

A panel of independent experts was appointed to investigate systemic racism, including in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, and develop steps to address it. It’s called the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the Context of Law Enforcement.

The Mechanism came to Minneapolis on Tuesday.

“It was more than a big deal to me, it was huge,” said Courteney Ross, George Floyd’s fiancé, who addressed the panel at Urban League Twin Cities on Tuesday.

She was joined by others who’ve lost loved ones at the hands of police, including Valerie Castile, and individuals who experienced mistreatment in the criminal justice system. Each shared emotional testimony about the effects of police brutality and solitary confinement.

“And [the panel] extended the time, and they extended the time,” said Ross. “It was so powerful that they were not going to leave us, they were going to hear our stories and that was particularly significant to the families I came with.”

Minneapolis was one of six cities the independent experts visited, including Washington D.C., Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City.

“Throughout the visit we heard harrowing pain of victims and their families,” said Juan Méndez, a professor on the panel. “We got the sense we were only listening to the tip of the iceberg because the stories were so consistent with each other.”

The panel members met with community members, local and state officials, police departments and police unions in the cities they visited. They also toured L.A. County prisons.

“The thing that surprised me the most was the openness of the [police] unions,” said Dr. Keesee. “I would also say the amount of work that is happening across the unions in regards to trying to participate in what policing looks like in a different context.”

On Friday, Méndez and fellow panel member Dr. Tracie Keesee presented preliminary findings.

“Existing local and national standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials do not meet international standards,” said Méndez.

They detailed concerns about the use of force in schools, the “generalized practice” of solitary confinement, systemic racism within police agencies and human rights violations during anti-racism protests nationwide.

The Mechanism experts recommended Congress pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. They also encouraged the establishment of a commission to study reparations and called for more proactive Department of Justice intervention after learning consent decrees appear to lead to systemic reforms.

“We have a moment here where we know we can be re-thinking what we mean by safety and what it means to be safe and what it means to have law enforcement communities of African and African descent,” said Dr. Keesee.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS asked if they found meaningful progress in Minneapolis over the last three years.

“We did have good access to authorities and the programs they discussed with us sound promising, of course we need to learn more about them,” said Méndez.

Dr. Keesee explained they still have written testimony to consider.

“We know there’s been a lot of work in the City of Minneapolis,” said Keesee. “We’re going to be doing a lot of reading and conversations have yet to be had to begin to make any kind of recommendation around Minneapolis specifically.”

Dr. Alvin Akibar, the director of the Center for Social Justice at Urban League Twin Cities, hopes the UN’s work will result in an end to practices such as solitary confinement.

“And then real accountability for folks who do actually abuse that responsibility of law enforcement,” said Dr. Akibar. “The loss of a person to the incarceration system or losing their life outright, it hits more than just one person. It hits their family, their community.”

The Mechanism will present its full report to the Human Rights Council this fall.

“While the U.S. is sitting on a lot of these committees they will be testifying to, we are not above reproach,” said Akibar. “It’s okay for us to fix things at home here.”

Ross told us, “I believe we need help from the outside because the U.S. is not changing enough on its own.”