UN urges Belgium to face colonial past

By Bayram Altug

GENEVA

Belgium needs to acknowledge the crimes of its colonial past “to tackle the root causes of present-day racism faced by people of African descent," a group of UN human rights experts said Monday.

“The Government of Belgium needs to adopt a comprehensive national action plan against racism,” said Michal Balcerzak, chair of a UN working group of experts on people of African descent.

“We found clear evidence that racial discrimination is endemic in institutions in Belgium,” he said and urged Belgium to review educational textbooks to accurately reflect historical facts.