UN calls for reparations for centuries of race injustice

Reparations and formal apologies are needed to make amends for centuries of racial injustice, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said as the UN Human Rights Council discussed recent events in the United States as well as racism around the world.

"Behind today’s racial violence, systemic racism, and discriminatory policing lies the failure to acknowledge and confront the legacy of the slave trade and colonialism," high commissioner Bachelet said.

Countries must not only reform police institutions, but they must also address racial inequalities that result in poor health care, inadequate education, employment hurdles, higher incarceration rates and restrictions to the right to vote, she said.

"Time is of the essence. Patience has run out," Bachelet said.