This is the Open Letter that will be sent to Ms. E. Tendayi Achiume (https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-racism). Letter signers are listed at the bottom of the letter. To find out more details about this action here - Invite Special Rapporteur to Minneapolis in 2022.
We intend to send this letter on June 1st, 2022.
If you would like to participate in the letter as a signatory, please use this form to add your signature:
If you have other questions, please contact us - Special Rapporteur Questions
Dear Special Rapporteur Achiume,
The following groups and individuals join in inviting you to visit Minneapolis as part of your upcoming U.S. Country Visit. In particular we urge you to investigate issues of racism in the Minneapolis Police Department.
As you know, the murder of George Floyd received international attention and resulted in a worldwide cry for justice. It has been described as the epicenter for overdue and necessary police reform. There is a well-documented history of abuse by members of the Minneapolis Police Department toward members of minority communities going back decades. Attempts to address the issues by use of civilian review boards have failed in large part because of police refusal to cooperate with citizen boards.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) has released its findings that the Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern-or-practice of discrimination against people of color. A Department of Justice (DOJ) pattern-or-practice investigation is underway. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights findings will likely result in a consent decree mandating changes in how the Minneapolis Police Department deals with members of protected classes. If the Department of Justice makes comparable findings a federal consent decree will also result. But after the consent decrees expire the city must continue to pay an independent monitor in order to ensure continuing independent monitoring. It is necessary to create the political will for policymakers and taxpayers to support retaining an independent monitor in order to make lasting changes in the Minneapolis Police Department. Past interventions by the Department of Justice including one in 2015 have failed. Recommendations have fallen through the cracks. There has been no lasting change.
The Minneapolis City Council has established a workgroup to create a truth and reconciliation process. It is currently a work in progress. To do it well will also require political will by policymakers and taxpayers to make it work.
We believe that an investigation and report by you will focus public attention on this issue in ways that past attempts to deal with racism within the Minneapolis Police Department have not. We believe that it will help to bolster the political will to make meaningful enduring changes to address this issue and complement the findings of the Department of Justice and Minnesota Department of Human Rights. It will also have a carryover effect on other cities and police departments.
We urge you to visit Minneapolis as part of your upcoming U.S Country visit.