‘The law is breaking children’: black people in UK tell UN of daily injustices

L-R: Dominique Day, Barbara Reynolds and Catherine Namakula of the working group at a meeting in Manchester. Photograph: Colin McPherson/The Guardian

The UN working group of experts on people of African descent last paid a visit to the UK in 2012. The country has transformed dramatically since then, with many people reeling from the impact of austerity measures, Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.

For Catherine Namakula, a human rights professor at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, who chairs the working group, the bewildering changes that have taken place make it difficult to compare and contrast their previous findings with what they have witnessed on their most recent visit. Yet, one thing is clear: the situation for young people of African descent is “highly concerning”.