Black Lives Matter

A statement from CLES

Like many, we at CLES have been shocked and angered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police brutality. Similarly, we have watched in horror the force with which police have met protestors peacefully exercising their rights. We wholeheartedly condemn acts of police brutality and any government that continues to support them.

This incident has, rightly, painfully, shone a light on the systemic racism and hatred experienced by many across the world and particularly that experienced by Black people. The Covid-19 pandemic in our own country has highlighted at scale the extent to which race still represents a social, economic and health divide that is unacceptable.

It is incumbent on us all to educate ourselves, ask searching questions and dismantle the origins and impacts of the systemic discrimination that exists in our communities. Social justice is at the heart of what CLES does – and so we and our partners in public services and government must undertake to work harder at understanding and tackling the ways that our own practices and assumptions may help or hinder progress. Especially, we must address the reality and impact of anti-Black racism raised by the Black Lives Matter movement.

CLES stands shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the Black community and urge our partners and friends across the globe to do the same.

Please consider supporting Amnesty International’s campaign for racial justice →