Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein
UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein raises his concern "at the disproportionate number of young African Americans who die in encounters with police officers" Reuters

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has raised his concerns over the disproportionate number of young African Americans dying in police confrontations in the wake of the Ferguson shooting verdict.

The acquittal of white St Louis police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown has prompted Hussein to call upon the US to re-examine how race-related issues affect law enforcement and justice, which is responsible for a "deep and festering" mistrust within sectors of the population, reported Reuters.

He would not comment on the grand jury's decision which determined on whether Brown's shooting contravened international human rights law because he did not have the complete details.

"Nevertheless, I am deeply concerned at the disproportionate number of young African Americans who die in encounters with police officers, as well as the disproportionate number of African Americans in US prisons and the disproportionate number of African Americans on Death Row," he said.

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