Geneva: The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, Tendayi Achiume, has expressed grave concerns about racist threats and xenophobic treatment against non-white people fleeing Ukraine.
"I have joined other independent experts in condemning the Russian Federation’s attack on Ukraine, and urging swift action to protect the millions forced to flee this attack," she said in a statement on Thursday.
Since then, she said, Black Africans, Indian nationals, Pakistani nationals, people of Middle Eastern descent and others have sent urgent reports documenting life-threatening racist and xenophobic treatment as they attempt to flee the violence in Ukraine.
"Some report being denied access to bomb shelters within Ukraine, many report border guards preventing them from crossing the border or pushing them to the back of queues for transportation that would grant them safe passage out of the country and, in some cases, they report being denied access to consulates of their countries of origin in neighboring countries." she said.
Many, she said, are being forced to wait longer in below freezing temperatures with no shelter.
"In all of these cases, these individuals and groups are being singled out for discriminatory treatment through racial, ethnic, and national profiling that is prohibited under international law, even in the context of armed conflict," she said.
According to her, the reality is that non-white migrants and refugees face deadly discrimination all over the world as they attempt to cross international borders.
"The images and testimonies from non-white people attempting to flee Ukraine attest to this fact, and they should motivate immediate action to ensure that racist and xenophobic treatment — whether official or unofficial — is brought to an end," she stated.
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