TEHRAN - A United Nations committee has called on France to urgently address the causes of racial discrimination.

France is still on edge following a week of unrest over the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel, who was of African origin, at a traffic stop. 

The death has raised long-held complaints among minority groups over racial profiling practices in France, especially by the police. 

President Emmanuel Macron blamed social media for fuelling violent protests, while security forces have arrested thousands of people ever since. 

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination or CERD has issued a statement on the situation, in which it expressed concerns and called on the authorities to take urgent action on racial profiling and the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials.

In particular, CERD has called on France to promptly ensure that the investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of Nahel is thorough and impartial. The UN committee also wants authorities to prosecute the alleged perpetrators and, if they are convicted, to sanction them in a manner that is equal with the gravity of the crime.

While activists are pleased that the UN has now been involved, many have expressed their disappointment that an international body will not deal with a very serious matter. 

The statement calls on France to investigate the death of Nahel, but many in France want the UN to probe the death of the teenager and many others. 

Activists argue that an investigation in France will lead to nowhere and bring no changes on the ground as the government lacks the will to reform the police over its treatment of non-white citizens, especially African French nationals. 

The UN statement recommends that French authorities address, as a matter of priority, the structural and systemic causes of racial discrimination. 

The statement points to the racial disparities against people of African and Arab descent and their right to equal treatment before the tribunals and other rights as enshrined in the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. 

But in the absence of an international body to probe the events in France, observers say African teenagers will continue to view law enforcement officers with fear. 

The statement is endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as well as a number of other UN bodies. 
 
The UN committee does express its deep concern at the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, in particular the police, against minority groups, particularly people of African and Arab descent, which frequently results in killings with near impunity. 

It highlights racial profiling issues against minorities, such as excessive identity checks, discriminatory stops, and the use of racist language by law enforcement forces.

This has created a climate of continued tension between the police and minority groups, the committee says. 

It deplores reports of mass arrests and detention of protesters and calls on France to fully respect its international obligations, in particular those arising from the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which France is a party. 

The committee does call on France to adopt legislation that defines and prohibits racial profiling and to adopt clear guidelines for the police that ban racial profiling in police operations, discriminatory identity checks and other racist behaviors. 

It urges France to review its legal system on the use of lethal force by law enforcement officials to ensure full compliance with international human rights law and standards.

The UN committee also urges France that mass protests and demonstrations should be respected with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and nondiscrimination. 

However, dozens of marches against police violence were announced for Saturday after French authorities banned a memorial rally, fearful of reigniting the recent unrest that engulfed the country.

Seven years after Adama Traore, a young black man who died in police custody, his sister planned to lead a commemorative march north of Paris.  However, with tensions still high, a French court has ruled that the march cannot proceed.

In a video posted on social media, Adama's older sister said "the government has decided to add fuel to the fire" and "not to respect the death of my little brother". Instead of the planned march, she announced her participation at a march on Saturday afternoon in central Paris to tell "the whole world that our dead have the right to exist, even in death".

However, according to the Paris police headquarters, this same "march for justice" will also be banned. 

Dozens of similar demonstrations against police violence are being planned across France this weekend, including in the cities of Lille, Marseille, Nantes and Strasbourg.

Trade unions, opposition political parties and other associations had called on supporters to join the memorial march for Traore this year as France reels from institutionalized racism in its police ranks. 

Traore, who was 24 years old, died shortly after his arrest in 2016. His murder sparked nights of unrest similar to the week-long violent protests that erupted across France in the wake of the point-blank shooting of Nahel.

Campaign group organizers said Saturday's "citizens marches" would be an opportunity for people to express their "grief and anger" at discriminatory police policies, especially in working-class communities.

They are also urging reforms to the police, including policing tactics and the use of force against minorities. 

The UN committee has called on France to ensure excessive use of force by law enforcement officials in the recent protests are investigated, including through independent oversight bodies to ensure accountability. 

It also calls on France to take immediate and appropriate reforms aimed at eliminating structural discrimination in the criminal justice system, ensuring the rights of victims of racially motivated crimes, promoting ethnic diversity within the police as well as promoting understanding between the police and the general population, in particular minority groups. 

The statement further calls on France to introduce continuous training to law enforcement officials, particularly on de-escalation techniques in line with relevant international standards.

Protests this year against Macron's controversial pension overhaul, which the French leader bypassed the parliament to introduce were met with angry complaints over police brutality and the excessive use of force. 

Environmental protesters have echoed those calls, saying they have been attacked by police with an iron fist. 

The Yellow Vest movement that saw weekly nationwide protests also saw police brutality, with some protesters shot in the eye and paralyzed for life. 

Critics say France has a serious problem with police tactics and the impunity of officers who use illegal force to quell demonstrations. 

The number of people killed as a result of police action has been rising since 2010. That year, ten people died in such circumstances, compared with 39 in 2022. A record 52 deaths were recorded in 2021.

The decade-long calls by groups inside France for international organizations to get involved over police brutality has finally been met, albeit on a limited scale.