George Floyd death: African nations urge US to act over ‘ongoing racism against black people’

Name: Asian-Americans in New York among those joining US protests after George Floyd’s death
Uploaded: 2020-06-02T14:20:34.000Z
Duration: 3 min 30 s
Description: Asian-Americans in New York among those joining US protests after George Floyd’s death

African Union calls for US clampdown on discrimination and inquiry into Floyd’s death, over which a white policeman has been charged with murder

Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo laments ‘great bastion of democracy grappling with systemic racism’ amid protests at Africa’s US embassies

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Moussa Faki Mahamat, head of the African Union Commission, said the bloc condemned “in the strongest terms the murder of George Floyd”. Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Jevans Nyabiage

Published: 10:20pm, 2 Jun 2020Updated: 11:57pm, 3 Jun 2020

African countries have condemned the death of George Floyd and “denounced ongoing racism against black people in the United States”.

The African Union, the continent’s 55-member bloc of countries, demanded a full investigation into the African-American’s death in an incident involving a white police officer, and criticised “continuing discriminatory practices against black citizens” as protests over the killing of the unarmed Floyd continued across the US and anger spread worldwide.

An autopsy commissioned by Floyd’s family has found that he died of asphyxiation when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on the 46-year-old’s neck for several minutes. Chauvin has been charged with Floyd’s murder.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, the head of the African Union Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said the US authorities should intensify efforts to “ensure the total elimination of all forms of discrimination based on race or ethnic origin”.

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Asian-Americans in New York among those joining US protests after George Floyd’s death

“On behalf of the entire African Union family, I condemn in the strongest terms the murder of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement officers in the United States of America,” Faki, the former prime minister of Chad, said in a statement over the weekend.